Welsh Journals

It would certainly seem that, despite the records set out in this paper, there are no large numbers of Lapland Buntings which habitually winter in north-west Wales. Again it cannot be main- tained that the wintering in Anglesey recorded for 1960-61 is a regular occurrence, but careful observation in the future may show that scattered individuals or small parties of this elusive species may occur in favoured localities in the region. REFERENCES WILLIAMSON, K., and DAVIS, P. (1956). The autumn 1953 invasion of Lapland Buntings and its source. British Birds, 49, 6-25. WITHERBY, H. F., et al. (1952). The Handbook of British Birds. NEW NATIONAL NATURE RESERVES (from the Nature Conservancy) CWM CLYDACH, BRECONSHIRE The beechwoods of Clydach Gorge in south-east Breconshire, within the Brecon Beacons National Park, have been established as a Nature Reserve by the Nature Conservancy with the co-operation of the Duke of Beaufort and his tenants. The Reserve, supporting a fine stand of mature Beech and stretching for about 1 h miles along the south bank of the River Clydach, lies across the valley from the hamlets of Cheltenham and Blackrock on the main Brynmawr- Abergavenny road. It covers approximately 50 acres. Two beechwoods within the Reserve-Coed Fedw-ddu and Coed Ffyddlyn-are all that now remain of a much larger wood which previously extended down the Clydach valley as far as Gilwern. The construction of the new Heads of the Valleys road linking South Wales with the Midlands has resulted in large- scale development in the gorge, but with the co-operation of the Ministry of Transport the spectacular beauty of the locality is being maintained and the beechwoods will be kept intact on the south bank of the river. Although Beech grows under natural conditions in a number of localities, mostly in eastern Britain, Cwm Clydach is the only sig- nificant remaining wood in Wales which is thought to be native. It is a fine example of a mature self-regenerating woodland and has developed on contrasting rock formations. In the upper section of Coed Fedw-ddu acid soils have been derived from underlying Millstone Grit but, over the greater part of the Reserve, Carbon- iferous Limestone has given rise to a base-rich soil with a charac-