There was originally a virtual cache here - Strictly for the Birds
- but the information board it referred to was resited into one of
the hides.
So we now have a micro near the visitor centre. There is no need
to enter the Reserve to find the cache but it is well worth
spending an hour or four exploring the Reserve and visiting the
hides where there are a great variety of birds to be seen and if
you are lucky even otters.
Ynys-hir Nature Reserve
Ynys-hir Nature Reserve lies just off the main road between
Aberystwyth and Machynlleth. It covers 427 hectares (1,056 acres),
and provides a range of exciting habitats.
Woodland In spring, the woods are carpeted with bluebells and
wood anemones. Speckled wood and green-veined butterflies are
common here, and you can see holly blue butterflies in most years,
especially in Cae'r Berllan Wood. The oak woodlands have a rich
community of breeding birds in spring, including buzzards,
pied-flycatchers, wood warblers, redstarts and lesser-spotted
woodpeckers.
Freshwater pools and streams Watch out for dragonflies and
damselflies hunting over the open water any time between May and
the end of October. Feeding cormorants, goldeneyes and red-breasted
mergansers can be seen from the Domen Las Hide.
Saltmarsh Ynys-hir's saltmarshes are very important for
wild-fowl in winter. In spring and autumn, up to 1,000 curlews and
many other waders use the estuary on their migration.
Peatbogs Bog mosses and insect-eating sundews are characteristic
plants of Ynys-hir's remnant peatbogs, which also supports bog
asphodel, the fragrant bog myrtle, and the rare bog rosemary.
Reedbed The reserve's small reedbed in Covert Du supports
breeding reed, sedge and grasshopper warblers.
Facts and Figures:
* Parts of the oakwood date from the 17th Century.
* About 100 pairs of pied flycatchers nest in special boxes in the
woodland.
* Thirteen species of dragonfly, 26 species of butterfly and 300
species of moth have been recorded here.
The reserve is open from 9 am-9 pm, or dusk if earlier. The
visitor centre is open daily 9 am-5 pm from April to October and 10
am-4 pm from November to March (closed Mondays and Tuesdays).
Cache location is wheelchair accessible but a disabled cacher
may need assistance to retrieve the actual cache
I am grateful to the managers of the Reserve for permission to
site this cache – please support them