Carreg y Llam
Also within
Climate exposure
This is about exposure to a nationwide pressure this habitat type carries — not a verdict on this site's own management.
Coastal habitats are exposed to sea-level rise and storm erosion. Where hard sea defences sit behind them, there's nowhere landward to retreat to — a squeeze that keeps compressing the habitat no matter how well it's managed.
Geology & landscape
Landscape processes: Coastal
Birds & fish recorded
Birds
| Species | Season |
|---|---|
| cormorant | Breeding |
| guillemot | Breeding |
| herring gull | Breeding |
| kittiwake | Breeding |
| razorbill | Breeding |
Description
Description This is one of the most important seabird nesting sites in North Wales. The main feature of interest is a north-west facing sea cliff approximately 100 metres high. At its base, the cliff is vertical but the gradient eases slightly towards the top. The steeper parts of the cliff support nesting auks, guillemot, in particular and razorbill, and kittiwake in large numbers. The breeding colonies of guillemot (in excess of 2000 nests) and kittiwake (in excess of 550 nests) are the largest in North Wales. Other breeding species include fulmer, shag, cormorant and herring gull in smaller numbers. Chough are also known to breed in the vicinity. Grey seals frequent the coast.
Species mentioned
Show the 6 species mentioned in the description, with red-list status| English name search for this in other sites |
Latin name search with Google |
IUCN / Red List | Type | Family |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| razorbill | Alca torda | LC (Breeding) | bird-auk | alcidae |
| guillemot | Uria aalge | LC (Breeding) | bird-auk | alcidae |
| shag | Gulosus aristotelis | VU (Breeding) | bird-frigate | fregatidae |
| cormorant | Phalacrocorax carbo | NT (Breeding) | bird-frigate | fregatidae |
| herring gull | Larus argentatus | EN (NonBreeding), EN (Breeding) | bird-gull | laridae |
| kittiwake | Rissa tridactyla | EN (Breeding) | bird-gull | laridae |