Llyn Llech Owain
Llyn Llech Owain is a shallow lake with an area of which gives its name to the country park in which it sits, it is also a Site of Special Scientific Interest which was designated in 1993. The country park is managed by Carmarthenshire County Council and has an area of . The park is near the village of Gorslas with its entrance on Church Road. Etymology The name of the lake ''Llyn Llech Owain'' translates into English as "the lake of Owain's slab". The identity of the Owain referred to is not certain but local legend has it to be a Welsh mercenary, called Owain Lawgoch or "Owain of the Red hand", who commanded a company of French troops against the English during the Hundred Years War. According to this tale Owain was tasked with looking after a well, called ''Mynydd Mawr''. on the nearby mountain. Each day he extracted enough water for himself and his horse, carefully replacing the slab over the well but one day he forgot to replace the slab and a torrent poured down the slope, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Goldcrest
The goldcrest (''Regulus regulus'') is a very small passerine bird in the kinglet family. Its colourful golden crest feathers, as well as being called the "king of the birds" in European folklore, gives rise to its English and scientific names. The scientific name, ''R. regulus'', means king or knight. Several subspecies are recognised across the very large distribution range that includes much of the Palearctic and the islands of Macaronesia and Iceland. Birds from the north and east of its breeding range migrate to winter further south. This kinglet has greenish upper-parts, whitish under-parts, and has two white wingbars. It has a plain face contrasting black irises and a bright head crest, orange and yellow in the male and yellow in the female, which is displayed during breeding. It superficially resembles the common firecrest (''Regulus ignicapilla''), which largely shares its European range, but the latter's bronze shoulders and strong face pattern are distinctive. T ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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List Of Sites Of Special Scientific Interest In Carmarthen & Dinefwr
SSSIs in the UK are notified using the concept of an Area of Search (AOS), an area of between and in size. The Areas of Search were conceived and developed between 1975 and 1979 by the Nature Conservancy Council (NCC), based on regions created by the Local Government Act 1972.Joint Nature Conservation Committee (1998 revision); ''Guidelines for the Selection of Biological SSSIs'', section 4.5, pp. 14–15. . Whereas England had its Areas of Search based on 46 counties, those in Wales were based on a combination of the counties and smaller districts. In 1974, Wales was divided into 8 counties, with 37 districts. The NCC created 12 Welsh Areas of Search; they mostly follow county borders, but the larger counties (Dyfed, Powys and Gwynedd) were divided into multiple Areas using district borders. Mid and South Glamorgan were merged into a single AOS, whilst Llanelli district was included in the West Glamorgan AOS. Due to subsequent local government reorganisation in the UK s ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Hazel Dormouse
The hazel dormouse or common dormouse (''Muscardinus avellanarius'') is a small mammal and the only living species in the genus ''Muscardinus''. Distribution and habitat The hazel dormouse is native to northern Europe and Asia Minor. It is the only dormouse native to the British Isles, and is therefore often referred to simply as the "dormouse" in British sources, although the edible dormouse, ''Glis glis'', has been accidentally introduced and now has an established population in South East England. Though Ireland has no native dormouse, the hazel dormouse was discovered in County Kildare in 2010, and appears to be spreading rapidly, helped by the prevalence of hedgerows in the Irish countryside. The United Kingdom distribution of the hazel dormouse can be found on theNational Biodiversity Network website A 2020 study found that hazel dormice in Britain have declined by 51% since 2000. Woodland habitat loss and management and a warming climate are seen as material threats to th ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Northern Hobby
The Eurasian hobby (''Falco subbuteo'') or just hobby, is a small, slim falcon. It belongs to a rather close-knit group of similar falcons often considered a subgenus '' Hypotriorchis''. Taxonomy and systematics The first formal description of the Eurasian hobby was by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his ''Systema Naturae'' under the present binomial name ''Falco subbuteo''. The genus name ''falco'' derives from Late Latin ''falx'', ''falcis'', a sickle, referring to the wing profile of the bird. The species name ''subbuteo'' is from Latin ''sub'', "below, less than, under" and ''buteo'', "buzzard". The species' English name comes from Old French ''hobé'' or ''hobet''. It became the trademark for the Subbuteo games company after its creator, who was an ornithologist, was refused permission to register "Hobby". Currently two subspecies are recognized: * ''F. s. subbuteo'': the nominate race is resident in Africa, Europe and Central and Ea ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Grass Snake
The grass snake (''Natrix natrix''), sometimes called the ringed snake or water snake, is a Eurasian non-venomous colubrid snake. It is often found near water and feeds almost exclusively on amphibians. Subspecies Many subspecies are recognized, including: ''Natrix natrix helvetica'' ( Lacépède, 1789) was formerly treated as a subspecies, but following genetic analysis it was recognised in August 2017 as a separate species, ''Natrix helvetica'', the barred grass snake. Four other subspecies were transferred from ''N. natrix'' to ''N. helvetica'', becoming ''N. helvetica cettii'', ''N. helvetica corsa'', ''N. helvetica lanzai'' and ''N. helvetica sicula''. Description The grass snake is typically dark green or brown in colour with a characteristic yellow or whitish collar behind the head, which explains the alternative name ringed snake. The colour may also range from grey to black, with darker colours being more prevalent in colder regions, ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Viviparous Lizard
The viviparous lizard, or common lizard, (''Zootoca vivipara'', formerly ''Lacerta vivipara''), is a Eurasian lizard. It lives farther north than any other species of non-marine reptile, and is named for the fact that it is viviparous, meaning it not only lays eggs, but also gives birth to live young. Both "''Zootoca''" and "''vivipara''" mean "live birth," in Greek and Latin respectively. It was called ''Lacerta vivipara'' until the genus ''Lacerta'' was split into nine genera in 2007 by Arnold, Arribas & Carranza. Male and female ''Zootoca vivipara'' are equally likely to contract blood parasites. Additionally, larger males have been shown to reproduce more times in a given reproductive season than smaller ones. The lizard is also unique as it is exclusively carnivorous, eating only flies, spiders, and insects. Studies show that the more carnivorous an individual is (the more insects they eat), the less diverse the population of parasitic helminths that infest the lizards. ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Common Buzzard
The common buzzard (''Buteo buteo'') is a medium-to-large bird of prey which has a large range. A member of the genus ''Buteo'', it is a member of the family Accipitridae. The species lives in most of Europe and extends its breeding range across much of the Palearctic as far as northwestern China (Tian Shan), far western Siberia and northwestern Mongolia.Ferguson-Lees, J., & Christie, D. A. (2001). ''Raptors of the world''. Houghton Mifflin Harcourt. Over much of its range, it is a year-round resident. However, buzzards from the colder parts of the Northern Hemisphere as well as those that breed in the eastern part of their range typically migrate south for the northern winter, many journeying as far as South Africa.Bildstein, K. L., & Zalles, J. I. (2005). ''Old World versus New World long-distance migration in accipiters, buteos, and falcons''. Birds of two worlds: the ecology and evolution of migration. Johns Hopkins University Press, Baltimore, Maryland, USA, 154–167. The ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Common Kestrel
The common kestrel (''Falco tinnunculus'') is a bird of prey species belonging to the kestrel group of the falcon family Falconidae. It is also known as the European kestrel, Eurasian kestrel, or Old World kestrel. In the United Kingdom, where no other kestrel species commonly occurs, it is generally just called "kestrel". This species occurs over a large range. It is widespread in Europe, Asia, and Africa, as well as occasionally reaching the east coast of North America. It has colonized a few oceanic islands, but vagrant individuals are generally rare; in the whole of Micronesia for example, the species was only recorded twice each on Guam and Saipan in the Marianas. Description Common kestrels measure from head to tail, with a wingspan of . Females are noticeably larger, with the adult male weighing , around on average; the adult female weighs , around on average. They are thus small compared with other birds of prey, but larger than most songbirds. Like the other '' Fal ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Willow Tit
The willow tit (''Poecile montanus'') is a passerine bird in the tit family, Paridae. It is a widespread and common resident breeder throughout temperate and subarctic Europe and across the Palearctic. The plumage is grey-brown and off-white with a black cap and bib. It is more of a conifer specialist than the closely related marsh tit, which explains it breeding much further north. It is resident, and most birds do not migrate. Taxonomy The willow tit was described in 1827 by the Swiss naturalist Thomas Conrad von Baldenstein under the trinomial name ''Parus cinereus montanus''. The type locality is the mountain forests in the Canton of Grisons, Switzerland. The willow tit is now placed in the genus ''Poecile'' that was erected by the German naturalist Johann Jakob Kaup in 1829. The genus name, ''Poecile'', is the Ancient Greek name for a now unidentifiable small bird, and the specific ''montanus'' is Latin for "of the mountains". ''Poecile'' was at one time treated as a ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Green Woodpecker
There are four species of bird named green woodpecker: * European green woodpecker, ''Picus viridis'' * Iberian green woodpecker The Iberian green woodpecker (''Picus sharpei'') is a medium-sized woodpecker endemic to the Iberian peninsula. It was formerly considered as a subspecies of the European green woodpecker but differs in having little black on the head and a dusk ..., ''Picus sharpei'' * Japanese green woodpecker, ''Picus awokera'' * Cuban green woodpecker, ''Xiphidiopicus percussus'' {{Animal common name Birds by common name ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Eurasian Jay
The Eurasian jay (''Garrulus glandarius'') is a species of passerine bird in the crow family Corvidae. It has pinkish brown plumage with a black stripe on each side of a whitish throat, a bright blue panel on the upper wing and a black tail. The Eurasian jay is a woodland bird that occurs over a vast region from western Europe and north-west Africa to the Indian subcontinent and further to the eastern seaboard of Asia and down into south-east Asia. Across this vast range, several distinct racial forms have evolved which look different from each other, especially when comparing forms at the extremes of its range. The bird is called jay, without any epithets, by English speakers in Great Britain and Ireland. Taxonomy and systematics The Eurasian jay was formally described by the Swedish naturalist Carl Linnaeus in 1758 in the tenth edition of his '' Systema Naturae'' under the binomial name ''Corvus glandarius''. Linnaeus specified the locality as "Europa" but this was restric ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |