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Wildlife at Llechwedd |
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Llechwedd Slate Caverns make an unexpected contribution to the conservation of Wales' endangered wild life. Choughs' Cavern, which visitors see while riding the Miners' Tramway, was named after the shy crow-like birds which nested there for many years, returning in 1969, disappearing in the 1970s but rediscovering the same unlikely spot in 1991, since when annual nesting has been re-established. The chough is distinctive with its red-orange legs, and matching long beak with pronounced downward curve. It was once common on the coastal cliffs of Celtic Britain but inland breeding sites were rare, and never very far from the sea. Bats have never colonised old workings at Llechwedd. They do not like draughts, and apart from a few places like Choughs' Cavern, where the side of the mountain has been pierced, the underground temperature remains almost constant at a cool 12C (54F). On the surface hovering kestrels are a common sight, evidence of some wildlife amid the sparse patches of vegetation. Buzzards nest on the northern rock face, which has never been quarried, though once inhabited by Victorian miners - the ruins of their barrack ruins are visible from different parts of Llechwedd, including the viewing point which rises behind the Smithy. One of nature's most beautiful contributions is rhododendron ponticum which bursts into flower each spring. First imported to North Wales in 1763, it is the only shrub which thrives on mounds of slate waste. The strange geological feature seen while walking through the Deep Mine, runs right across the mine, and is known as the Clay Slant. The white clay is aluminium sulphate, discoloured by manganese oxide to create the blue part. |
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