The big three

The big three is a bit of a misnomer. These are the three medium sized waterbodies around Brynmawr that I once studied closely through weekly wildlife counts. The sites are Dunlop Semtex Pond (DSP), Beaufort Ponds, and Machine Ponds. These days with less time and energy counting for me has become more occasional and ad hoc. However, my son's new found photography hobby is generating some new found motivation to get out during the winter months. So this is just a brief account of last weekends (05/11/2023) wildfowl counts at the 'big three', complete with some site background notes.

1. Beaufort Ponds

Tucked behind houses off the Brynmawr to Ebbw Vale road this was once the feeder waterbodies for Ebbw Vale steelworks. Always holds a small number of wildfowl. The most significant species from many years of counting was three Bewick's Swan. Can also be useful for gull watching especially when during cold spells.

Mute Swan - 1 

Goosander - 12

Tufted Duck - 14

Wigeon - 2

Coot - 14

2. Machine Pond

This pond is behind the Lakeside Retail Park and has seen investment over recent years to improve access for walkers and anglers. It has a nice developing margin of phragmites and a floating island that sadly lacks vegetation.

Kingfisher - 1

Goosander - 3 (including 2 fly over)

Canada Goose - 2

Moorhen - 1

Mallard - 12

Tufted Duck - 11

Coot - 8

also a single Stonechat

3. Dunlop Semtex Pond

This site first came to my attention following an item in the Gwent Bird Report in the 1980's by Jonathan Avon highlighting a record of a smew at the lake. Then the pond was surrounded by the derelict Dunlop Semtex Factory with its distinctive concave roof. Around its northern margin was also an area of rough semi improved grassland that supported many hundreds of orchids such as southern marsh. Nowadays a regeneration project has resulted in the demolition of the factory for a new supermarket and a housing estate on the aforementioned grassland. Most notable changes in the assemblage wildfowl has seen pochard counts fall from a peak count of over 90 birds to zero, contrasting with an increase in wigeon numbers especially from the months of September and October. This species appears to be taking advantage of extensive rafts of Nuttell's pondweed that covers large parts of the lake in late summer early autumn.

Coot - 80

Mallard - 22

Mute Swan - 4 ( 2 ads, 2 imms)

Moorhen - 4

Tufted Duck - 40

Wigeon - 20

Canada Goose - 8