Most visitors come to Snowdon for the views. Many leave without realising they have walked through one of the most important upland wildlife habitats in Britain. Beneath the mountain’s reputation for adventure lies a fragile and fascinating ecosystem. The slopes, cliffs, lakes, and ridges of Yr Wyddfa support rare alpine plants, birds of prey, mountain mammals, unique insects, and important freshwater habitats, some of them found in very few other places in Britain.
Why Snowdon Is Exceptional for Wildlife
Several factors combine to create exceptional biodiversity. The altitude creates specialised habitats found nowhere in the lowlands. The cool, wet Atlantic climate favours unusual plant communities. The diverse geology (volcanic rocks, ancient slates, glacial deposits) supports different plants in different micro-habitats. And the isolation of alpine habitats has allowed certain species to persist here since the last Ice Age, relict populations cut off from their wider ranges as climates warmed and forests expanded.
The Snowdon Lily
Perhaps no species better represents the mountain’s wildlife significance than the Snowdon lily (Lloydia serotina, in Welsh Lili’r Wyddfa). This small white-flowered plant is one of the rarest in Britain. It survives in Eryri and nowhere else in Britain, having retreated to a few rocky ledges on high cliffs as the post-glacial climate warmed and lowland habitats became unsuitable. It flowers in late May and June, inconspicuous unless you know what to look for, clinging to crevices at high altitude. Its exact locations are deliberately not publicised by conservation organisations because accidental disturbance would be catastrophic for the UK population.
Birds of the Mountain
Peregrine falcons nest on the crags of Eryri and are seen throughout the year. They are most easily observed in spring and early summer near the nesting sites, when they are most visible and active. For coastal and wetland birds on the way into the mountains, RSPB Conwy is an easy day out. The peregrine is the fastest animal on Earth in a stoop, reaching speeds of over 200 mph in a dive. Watching one hunt above the cwm is one of the mountain’s great wildlife experiences.
Ravens are the mountain’s most conspicuous permanent residents, travelling the ridges in pairs, tumbling in thermals, and making the deep, resonant “cronk” call that is one of the defining sounds of the Welsh uplands. Ravens are highly intelligent and completely at home at any altitude on Yr Wyddfa.
Choughs, the red-billed, red-legged crow of Welsh heraldry, are found mainly on the coastal clifftops of Llŷn and Anglesey rather than on Snowdon itself, but they are part of the wider wildlife picture of Eryri. Their distinctive high, ringing call is unmistakable once heard.
Wheatears arrive in spring and summer, flicking between rocks on the open moorland with their conspicuous white rump. Ring ouzels, the mountain blackbird, are summer visitors to the upper slopes, increasingly scarce.
Buzzards are common throughout the year, circling above the lower slopes on warm days, sometimes giving their mewing call, and still sometimes confused with eagles by hopeful visitors.
Alpine Plants
Beyond the Snowdon lily, the upper mountain supports a number of other rare and interesting plants. Purple saxifrage flowers in March and April, sometimes while snow still lies nearby, on rocky ledges at high altitude. Starry saxifrage and mossy saxifrage both occur on wet cliff ledges. Alpine lady-fern and Wilson’s filmy fern, a tiny, almost translucent plant that requires very high humidity, grow in sheltered gullies. Alpine clubmoss survives in exposed positions on the high ground. The heather and bilberry of the lower mountain are abundant and support a range of specialist insects.
Mountain Mammals
Mountain hares are not established in Wales. Foxes are common throughout, including on the upper slopes. Stoats are present. Feral goats can sometimes be encountered on the remote crags and ridges: their ancestors were probably domestic animals that escaped or were released long ago and have since established self-sustaining populations. Pipistrelle and brown long-eared bats emerge at dusk from the stone walls and trees of the lower valleys.
The Lakes and Freshwater
The lakes around Yr Wyddfa support brown trout, and some of the larger, deeper lakes of the area, such as Llyn Padarn and Llyn Cwellyn, hold Arctic charr, a glacial relict surviving in cold, clear water as it has since the ice retreated (see torgoch: the Arctic charr of Llyn Padarn). Dippers, the short-tailed bird that walks underwater, are found on the faster-flowing streams at lower altitudes. Otters are present in the river valleys of Eryri generally, though shy and rarely seen. The freshwater invertebrate communities of the mountain streams include specialist species that require the clean, cold, oxygen-rich water of upland environments.
Conservation Challenges
The wildlife of Yr Wyddfa faces significant pressures. Several hundred thousand walkers a year erode paths, disturb nesting birds, and compact the thin alpine soils that rare plants require. Climate change is shifting the distribution of species upwards, but for plants already at the top of the mountain, there is no “further up” to go. Invasive plants (see tackling invasive rhododendron in Eryri), changes in grazing regimes, and the cumulative impact of visitor numbers all present challenges that the park authority and conservation organisations are actively managing. The most practical contribution visitors can make is to stay on marked paths, keep dogs under close control, and resist the temptation to pick plants or disturb nesting birds.