A late afternoon jaunt to the margins of Waunafon Bog on the outskirts of Blaenavon was intended as a raptor watching session. This large expanse of molina dominated mire habitat sits at the headwaters of the Afon Lwyd and is strategically important for biodiversity as well as for its flood mitigation potential. To date all efforts to encourage the landowner and common land farmers to work in partnership with public bodies to enhance the site for mutual benefit has failed. In the meantime the bog continues to march along its successional route with an ever increasing amount of scrub development.
The bog has become something of a winter pilgrimage for birders mainly due to the presence of overwintering short-eared owls. Unfortuntely this visit produced nothing but a charm of around 20 goldfinch and a small roost of magpie. It was nevertheless nice to talk to a passer-by about the value of the bog and short-eared owls.
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