Wildlife at Foel Frech Bird Hide

 

Mammals: Open moorland provides ideal habitat for small upland mammals such as the water vole and the shrew. Water voles are active during the daytime and prefer to live in colonies of 10 or so. Mink is their main predator and they prefer to live in the smaller tributaries of the rivers in an attempt to escape the mink.
The shrews are active day and night mainly above ground level and will use burrows made by other small mammals. Their diet mainly consists of insects, arachnids and wood lice and each day they have to eat 125% of their body weight to survive. Their main predator is the owl. We have information about Red squirrel

Birds: In the wooded areas you will see many common woodland birds. You may see goldcrest, one of Britain’s smallest birds. The birds are green while the male has an orange crest, the female has a yellow one. They feed on insects and flies. The goldcrest population is affected by a long harsh winter and to counter this they usually lay two broods of 7-10 eggs in one season. The goldcrest builds a hanging nest of moss and spiders webs, attaching it to the underside of a conifer branch. The more open moorland areas provide an excellent environment to see Kestrels and Ravens. It is also possible to see Buzzards flying up in the skies with their dark brown plumage with bars and streaks on its paler underside. Buzzards have broad wings with slotted tips, when flying their wings are held slightly forward in a shallow V shape. We have information about Black grouse

Insects and reptiles: Bramble shrubs are found in even the most dense of woodlands. They can be erect, sprawling or rambling. Once the bramble is established a whole host of insects and birds visit and feed on the blossom and fruit. Aphids are to be found sucking the sap from the young shoots. The shield bug is one of the few insects that care for its young. During July the females can be seen on a leaf with her brood of 30-40 babies. Once her alarm has been activated she can be seen herding them to safety under the leaf while she stays on top to act as a decoy.
The later summer months brings the common wasp to the bramble shrub to feed on the sugars contained within the berries. They bite through the skin of the individual fruits to reach the juicy flesh inside. Once the skin has been successfully pierced then other insects begin to swarm to the fruit. Both the metallic greenbottle flies and the grey-haired red-eyed flesh flies are visitors, they feed by dribbling saliva on to the fruit which partly digests the flesh which they can then suck up in the form of juice.

Habitats: Foel Frech is located within the interior of the Clocaenog forest. Cleared conifereous forest has given way to open spaces boradleaf trees such as birch,hawthorn,rowan and larch have self seeded regenerating ideal habitat for the Black Grouse. Moorland conditions have once again established themselves and the area is now thriving and has become an ideal habitat for the recovery of the Black Grouse and other species of plants, animals and birds.
The Bilberry shrub often grows with the heather on the moorlands. Its flowers are rich in nectar and the fruit is succulent and available from July onwards. The bilberry bumble bee has an extra long tongue which probes deep into the flower for the nectar.

How to get there:
On the B5105 Ruthin to Cerrigydrudion road, in Clocaenog forest, take the right hand turn signposted for Cyffylliog. Follow this road to the next junction and take the left hand turn signposted for Pentrellyncymmer. On the left of the minor road from Cyffylliog to Pentrellyncymer, close to Nilig, turn left at the Foel Frech sign. The viewing hide is about a mile up the forest track and is waymarked from the forest gateway.

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Contact:
Steve Crosby
Local Area Manager
0845 604 0845
e-mail: steve.crosby@forestry.gsi.gov.uk