enquiries@tywigateway.org.uk Parc a Gerddi yr Esgob, Abergwili, Sir Caerfyrddin SA31 2JG

Bishop’s Pond

Spot wildlife on the Bishop’s Pond which supports everything from fish and wetland plants to birds and rare animals such as otters. It has protected SSSI status – and a fascinating history too.

The powerful River Tywi flowed on this very spot until 1802 when the river flooded and broke through its banks, and this section of the river became an ox-bow lake!

The Bishops Pond is a 5.5 hectare ox-bow lake designated as a Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI), half of which is part of our site.  It is considered to be the best example of an ox-bow lake in west Wales and is notable for its marginal reed sweet-grass, with bladder-sedge, branched bur-reed and particularly notable species including northern yellow-cress, trifid bur-marigold, least bur-reed, unbranched bur-reed and adder’s-tongue. Yellow water-lily covers the open water, and other species present include water pepper and purple loosestrife.

Some of the overhanging  tree/shrub canopy which had spread over the past few decades had resulted in increased shading along the northern boundaries of the pond, limiting the marginal vegetation beneath.  This is now in the process of being cut back, reducing levels of shade and benefiting the wildlife here – helping to increase the coverage of the marginal vegetation for which the site is designated.

Otters

Otters are present along the Tywi and its tributaries and a holt has been previously recorded on the Bishop’s Pond island, with evidence along the southern boundary ditch. In summer 2019 when our Ecologist surveyed the site, otter tracks were recorded crossing the southern boundary ditch where this joins the Bishop’s Pond close to a stone culvert – but were not seen anywhere else on the site. It’s likely that otters are present all year round but only use ditches significantly when water levels are higher in/around winter.

What else lives in the Bishops Pond?

Grass snakes are likely to be present in edges of the great meadow and Bishop’s Pond, and kingfisher live here too – along with mute swan, mallard, coot, moorhen and dipper.  The pond also supports a range of fish, while a pair of herons can regularly be seen fishing at the southern end of the Pond.