Reserve is a carpet of colour ...with rich history
IF you visit RSPB South Stack at the moment you will see a carpet of pink, purples and yellow across the reserve.
There are four plants that make this amazing colour, three different types of heather and a gorse.
Did you know that people used to harvest the heather on the mountain and use it in their homes for thousands of years!
Common Heather also called Calluna vulgaris, Calluna is taken from the Greek meaning a ‘to brush’, makes a great brush that looks like a witch’s broomstick.
Have you ever visited the CADW stone hut circles? The people who once lived there are likely to have used the heather for lots of different reasons in their homes.
In their kitchen they would have used it to make a tea, brew ale and dye cloth orange.
As a firewood to cook on, stuffed in mattresses like a spring with a layer of wool over the top.
The small pink flowers also made a nice colourful decoration to people’s homes.
It has had a place in the hearts of many for thousands of years and today in a time when people are finding a connection to nature so important the reserve is a great place to visit.
The wildlife on the reserve loves the heather too, bees collect the pollen along with butterflies.
A rare small blue butterfly called the silver-studded blue can be seen across Penrhos feilw/The range now skipping across the heather.
The males are a pale blue and the females are brown.
They only live for a few weeks and can be seen from June to August.
most
days on the reserve as parents have been training their young to dive and catch prey. They are the fastest bird in the world so you need to be quick to spot them.
If you look out to sea you may spot a harbour porpoise who feed near the reserve most days. Gannets are seen most days too diving from a height of 30m/100ft reaching speeds of 60mph/100km/h!
They are large white seabirds
with black tips on their wings and yellow heads, their wingspan is nearly 2metres/6.6ft.
We have been busy meeting lots of people at the reserve, the new visitor centre that opened in April has been a great success.
There is a one-way system in the building due to the COVID restrictions, however things change regularly so please follow our social media pages for updates.
Our volunteers Rose, Mo and Eluned have created the most beautiful nature garden for our visitors to enjoy, the wildflower meadow has caused quite a stir with visitors keen to create their own at home.
The plants were kindly donated by Cemaes in bloom. Ellin’s tower has been closed this year, we will open it again when it is safe to do so.
Our café serves food made with local produce, J Raymond Jones butchers in Holyhead is one of our suppliers. We serve lots of different choices from breakfast bacon sandwich to home cooked ham.
Mon ar lwy ice cream has been very popular this summer along with Becws Mefus cakes. Eluned Jones our catering managers home made bara brith has been delighting customers near and far.
Our shop stocks an amazing array of gifts for all ages, Puffins of any shape and size being a favourite for our customers this summer.
We hope you manage to visit soon to see the beautiful colours across the reserve.
What’s about:
Peregrines, Chough, Gannets, stonechat, ravens, hooded crow, linnets, manx shearwaters, harbour porpoise.