Snowdonia’s extraordinary wildlife needs your help

Racomitrium lanuginosum moss, Snowdonia, Wales

Snowdonia’s dramatic scenery sets the stage for some of the most varied and fascinating wildlife in the UK.

For the hundreds of thousands of people who visit every year, it’s the flora and fauna living among the landscape’s jagged cliffs, lush valleys and crystal clear rivers that make its views and atmosphere so special. Even the toughest mountain habitats are home to rare plants and wildlife. And it’s these vulnerable species that are most at risk from damage caused by eroded paths. Find out more about some of Snowdonia’s remarkable residents and how your support will help protect their future.

Ring Ouzels sport a distinctive white collar and prefer the quiet life on rocky and remote slopes
A Ring Ouzel bird, found in Snowdonia, Wales
Ring Ouzels sport a distinctive white collar and prefer the quiet life on rocky and remote slopes

Ring Ouzel: the blackbird of the mountains

Ring Ouzels sport a distinctive white collar and prefer the quiet life on rocky and remote slopes. You might spot them swooping low over the Watkin Path as it winds up to Snowdon’s summit, or see – and hear – them calling melodically from a boulder. Although they’re one of the UK’s most endangered birds, their numbers have grown in Snowdonia in recent years thanks to kinder agricultural practices. But damage to the pathways poses a new threat. In places where they’re eroded and hard to follow, visitors often stray from the path, which can lead to trampling and compacting vegetation in potential Ring Ouzel breeding areas, making it harder for them to find insects to feed their chicks. With your support, we can repair the paths to protect these sites, and prevent this shy bird disappearing from Snowdonia’s slopes altogether.

The brightly coloured Snowdon beetle, also known as the Snowdonia Rainbow beetle
The Snowdonia Rainbow beetle (Snowdon beetle)
The brightly coloured Snowdon beetle, also known as the Snowdonia Rainbow beetle

Snowdon Beetle: a little living jewel

You’ll be lucky to spot a Snowdon Beetle – but if you do, you’re unlikely to forget it. About the size of a ladybird, what this tiny, thyme-eating creature lacks in stature, it makes up for in dazzling colour. Its wing cases are striped with iridescent bands of red, gold, green and blue, so it’s easy to see why it’s also called the Rainbow Leaf Beetle. Living elusively under stones and rocks, there are thought to be only 1,000 adults in the UK – all in just a handful of spots across Snowdonia. And sadly, crumbling paths will not help in the recovery of this tiny population. If we can repair those paths with more resilient building methods and materials, we can stop shifts and changes in their habitats, and give this little gem of an insect a better chance of survival.