The low-intensity farming that takes place at Brynmawr means that important wildlife habitats (that have so often been lost or significantly altered through drainage, high inorganic fertiliser inputs and pesticide use) remain in abundance on the farm and compliment the adjacent extensive area of upland moorland wildlife reserve known as Rhos Fiddle, which is managed as part of the farm. Find out more about the reserve at the Shropshire Wildlife Trusts’ website.
Cotton grass on Rhos Fiddle Reserve
Brynmawr Farm is characterised by a narrow stream that starts high up at the southern end of the holding and falls in a northerly direction towards a tributary of the Clun that eventualy winds down towards the village of Newcastle. This stream and the adjacent habitats are the locus for much of the wildlife interest as following it are areas of mire and wet grasland that have developed on poorly drained ground. Much of this habitat supports a diversity of plants, characterised from a distance by conspicuous rushes, including soft, sharp and sharp-flowered rush but, on closer inspection, includes many sedges including star sedge, oval sedge, yellow sedge and flea sedge as well as plants including marsh violet, wood horsetail, lousewort and marsh pennywort. During the winter, this is a favourite refuge for wintering snipe.
In the spring the stream supports vibrant clumps of marsh marigold with round-leaved crowfoot spreading along the banks. As well as providing foraging and water for wildlife, the stream enables movement and dispersal of wildlife throughout the wider landscape.
The stream cuts through the length of the farm between fields of wet grassland to a sunken area of wet alder woodland at the bottom of the farm. A number of nest boxes can be found here as well as decaying wood, left to benefit deadwood invertebrates. A recent bryophyte survey undertaken by the Border Bryologists found an enormous range of species, some of which are very rare and new to Shropshire.
A small pool along the stream, which is dammed by a track, is dominated with reedmace and willow, whilst another created in the 1980’s as a fish pond now lacks fish and instead supports a thriving ecosystem and provides breeding habitat for numerous dragonflies and damselflies. It also supports all three native British newts - great crested, smooth and palmate, the latter of which is by far the most common. Great crested newt below and the old fish pond.
On higher and drier ground above the farm are three species-rich hay meadows that have also escaped agricultural improvement and for their floristic interest are recognized as a County Wildlife Site.The low fertility inputs, low-intensity grazing and a late cut taken at the end of July ensure that species such as yellow rattle, eyebright and bird’s-foot trefoil are still to be found in abundance. The variety of plants means there is food for a diversity of invertebrates such as butterflies including ringlet, wall and meadow brown.
Other parts of the farm support semi-improved neutral grassland that has been subject to some modification previously but is now recovering under the organic system due to the low farmyard manure applications combined with extensive grazing.
Flower-rich meadow
Growing arable crops on the farm helps to provide food for the livestock and under the organic system is enormously beneficial to wildlife, particularly birds such as linnets, tree sparrows and yellowhammers that require weed seeds during the winter months. Weeds such as corn spurrey, large-flowered hemp nettle and redshank, which are typically sprayed out in conventional farming systems, are plentiful here. In more recent years the discovery of corn marigold, cornflower and the very rare small-flowered catchfly, are further testament to the organic way of farming, enabling the return of some of our rarer wildflowers.
Most of the hedgerows on the farm were formed during the enclosures and, as such, are typically linear and mostly support hawthorn. In places the hedgebanks support vegetation such as bilberry and heather - plants which are likely to be remnants of the upland moorland communities that were widespread here prior to the enclosing of the land. The rare mountain pansy can still be found along one of the hedgebanks.
Many birds have been recorded from the farm including snipe, which frequent the mire in winter, and curlew that arrive in spring and can be heard calling during the summer months. Other notable visitors include redstart, spotted flycatcher and red kite, the latter becoming more frequent in recent years. Another less conspicuous bird that has declined dramatically in more recent years but on the farm benefits from the availability of seeds within the arable fields is the tree sparrow. Colonies of nest boxes have been erected in recent years in an attempt to attract these birds on to the farm. A scrape, which was created within wet grassland, successfully attracted nesting lapwing to the farm.
Small mammals, including field voles, are less conspicuous but are occasionally caught by kestrels and the farm cats. Of particular note, however, is the large common pipistrelle maternity roost in the roof of the farmhouse. The last emergence survey identified almost 200 bats emerging from the building during a summer dusk survey. The bats clearly benefit from the diversity of night flying invertebrates. Hares are also found on the farm and are often seen on the more open areas of arable and grassland on the upper part of the farm. Foxes and badgers are frequent and seen throughout this part of Shropshire.
The farm is home to a diversity of invertebrates. However, a lack of expertise in this area means that most remain unidentified except for the more conspicuous ones including the many dragonflies and damselflies that frequent the ponds including red darter, southern hawker and the emerald damselfly. An invertebrate survey of the large pond recorded a great many other invertebrates including great diving beetle.
Flower-rich meadow