Coed Dinorwig

Also within

Gwynedd County

Habitats

Ancient woodland, Bracken scrub

Birds & fish recorded

Birds

Description

Description Coed Dinorwig is a large representative example of a wood sage -oak/birch Teucrium scorodonia - Quercus/Betula type woodland. It is situated on a dry, south-west facing hillslope on an ancient woodland site and has been little grazed by sheep in recent times. The canopy is dominated by sessile oak Quercus petraea, although birch Betula occurs locally. The understorey, which is sometimes patchy, is characterised by mountain ash Sorbus aucuparia, holly Ilex aquifolium and hazel Corylus avellana. The field communities of heath (notably bell-heather Erica cinerea and bilberry Vaccinium myrtillus), greater woodrush Luzula sylvatica and bramble are characteristic of ungrazed hill woods on generally acidic soils and are relatively scarce in Wales. Bracken and grasses, particularly wavy hair-grass Deschampsia flexuosa, brown bent-grass Agrostis canina and creeping soft-grass Holcus mollis are also present. Bryophytes include Dicranum scoparium, Dicranum majus, Hypnum cupressiforme, Plagiothecium undulatum, Polytrichum formosum and Rhytidiadelphus loreus. A few Atlantic species have been recorded, including Wilson's filmy fern, Hymenophyllum wilsonii. Other herb species, particularly bluebell Hyacinthoides non-scripta, are locally abundant. The uncommon long-leaved helleborine Cephalanthera longifolia is present. The fauna includes wood ants, speckled wood butterfly and a range of charactaeristic oakwood bird species including pied flycatcher and redstart.

Species mentioned

Insects to look out for

These moths, butterflies and beetles are known to feed on plants recorded at this site, and carry a notable UK conservation status — but a host-plant being present doesn't mean the insect has actually been recorded here. Treat this as "worth watching for," not a confirmed sighting.

Host-plant data: Cook et al. (2025), Traits data for the butterflies and macro-moths of Great Britain and Ireland, 2024, UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology / Butterfly Conservation; and Padovani et al. (2020), Database of Insects and their Food Plants (DBIF), UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology (both Open Government Licence). Contains data supplied by UK Centre for Ecology & Hydrology.

Plant communities