Llanelli Naturalists Newsletter - June 1984
Ian Morgan

Upper Lliedi - Mynydd Sylen

This area, now occupied by two large reservoirs, deciduous oak woodland, conifers, wet and rough pasture, is of a varied nature and consequently its wildlife is diverse. The Lliedi Reservoirs, in the Cwm which is now popularly known as Swiss Valley, have attracted a variety of aquatic plants and visiting and nesting wildfowl - birds such as Pochard, Tufted Duck; Mallard, Coot, Grebes, sometimes Whooper Swans, Goldeneye and even Ruddy Duck or a Little Gull. All this gain was not without some loss, however, for the wooded lower slopes were cut down to make way for the reservoirs, and lost with them from a site below Ystradfair Farm, was the moisture-loving Wilsons Filmy Fern (Hymenophyllum wilsonii), a very scarce species; its nearest known station to Llanelli is now on the North side of Mynydd Du.

Above the reservoirs, a good variety of woodland still survives however, rising steadily northwards to the slopes of Mynydd Sylen (284 m), the highest point around Llanelli and commanding such good views of the Burry Estuary, Carmarthen Bay and landwards, the hills of Wales. Mynydd Sylen would have also been covered with Oak - Rowan - Birch woodland in the past, then clearance would have resulted in heather and bilberry-dominated slopes, but in recent years this too has gone to make way for agriculturally-improved grassy pasture on which the hardy beef-producing Welsh Blacks of Ystodwen-uchaf and other farms graze. As for the name 'Sylen', I cannot offer any satisfactory etymology, but it has a suggestion of being a personal name.

To the east of this hill, lies a belt of rough, often marshy ground, beloved of roving bands of Fieldfares in winter. Both the Anglo Saxon and the Welsh name (Socan-yr-Eira = 'Snow wanderer'), refer to this species wandering habits. Wet sphagnum patches hold Hare's-tail (Eriophorum vaginatum), Cranberry (Vaccinium oxycoccos) and other bog plants.

Here can sometimes be heard the 'tacking' of Stonechats, 'reeling' of summer Grasshopper Warblers and the twittering of Linnets - always watching out for passing Buzzard, Kestrel or Sparrowhawk. Little Owls have been quite frequent in this area and were proved nesting one year about a decade ago.

A routeway of great antiquity is reputed to cross this depression to the East of Mynydd Sylen, but now only the occasional farmer disturbs the stoney slopes, where Lapwings nest, Ravens soar and Foxes hunt. On Mynydd Sylen itself, a great gathering of people took place in the middle of the last century, airing the Rebecca Riots, when many local people physically opposed the financial burden imposed upon them by the Tollgates Trusts, and when nearby Five Roads and Pontyates both saw scenes of importance in the course of these events.

Southwards from nearby Mynydd Sylen, the Afon Lliedi flows, passing through bogland and later some very nice oakwoods, full of Nuthatches, woodpeckers and other woodland birds. By the river itself, Dippers and Grey Wagtails nest, with the trilling song of Wood Warblers adding much to the atmosphere of these relict woods in May and June. The old oaks seem eminently suitable for Pied Flycatchers, but only one singing male was located in 1984, just south of Horeb. Above the canopy Purple Hairstreaks flit elusively, but sometimes descending to sip dew or mineral-enriched scum at the drying edge of the summer reservoir.

Badgers and foxes forage in these oakwoods, (do Polecats occur?), the floor of which has many plants typical of acidic soils - Wood Sorrel, Hard Fern, Broad Buckler Fern, Golden-scaled Male Fern and masses of Bluebells in parts. On more base-rich areas grow Sanicle, Wood Anemone and Moschatel; damper flushes hold the graceful Wood Horsetail. In wooded bogland South of Capel Sylen grows a grand colony of the vigorous and impressive Royal Fern, the colony is outstanding both for the number of plants (hundreds) and their massive size - the plants are sometimes well over-head-height with bases of great thickness.    This rare Fern, much sought after during the 'Victorian Fern craze', has its stronghold in Carmarthenshire on the Coal Measures of the South-east, where it is known from many sites, but few can match this locality.

Woodland thickets arc often rich with the songs of Garden Warblers and. Chiffchaffs, Willow Warblers and Blackcaps are common, all showing different ecological preferences Chiffchaffs and Blackcaps in woodland proper, Garden Warblers in tangled clearings, high scrub or bramble brakes and Willow Warblers on bushy roughland. A rough quartzitic-rocky hillside below Fferm Fach, on Mynydd Sylen's southern slope, has birds of a more open habitat - Whitethroats, Linnets and the Yellowhammer (Melyn-yr-Eithin - 'Yellow of the Gorse', as it is known locally) . Fferm Fach is a good example of an old Welsh longhouse, but although its once-thatched roof is now corrugated, it still occupies a favoured position amongst species-rich hay meadows and a south-facing sunny aspect.

Areas with scattered trees have the Tree Pipit in summer, delighting all with their slow, 'parachute' song flight and evocative song.    Another noted songster but this time rare - the Woodlark was recorded in a recent year singing in the Cynheidre area. Sadly, though, this species has declined greatly since the early 1960's, and it is interesting to be told or read that its song (well into the autumn) was a feature, in the past, of the St. Ishmaels - Cydweli area, and closer to home, around 'Furnace Pond'. Staying with rarities, Hawfinches were seen once in the 1970' s near Horeb and in c. 1840 a Miss Innes recorded White Bryony (Bryonia dioica) , as "near Five Roads". It has not been seen since and it is presumed extinct in Carmarthenshire; this species is more typical of calcareous scrub in South & East England.

The Brondini bogland, North of Horeb, has a rich flora with Cirsium dissectum (Meadow Thistle), Myrica gale (Bog Myrtle), Narthecium ossifragum (Bog Asphodel), Dactylorhiza maculate (Heath Spotted Orchid), Drosera rotundifolia (Sundew), more Osmunda regalis (Royal Fern), Pedicularis palustris (Marsh Red Rattle) & Lysimachia vulgaris (Yellow Loosestrife).

There is a wealth of insects, with Marbled Whites, Marsh Fritillaries, Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries and several species of dragonfly and damselfly; there; is always the strong possibility that one of the scarcer damselflies might turn up in this sort of habitat.