SPA description
(information as published 2001)
Traeth Lafan / Lavan Sands, Conway Bay
Traeth Lafan / Lavan Sands is located in Conway Bay close to
Bangor in north-west Wales. It is a large intertidal area of sand-
and mud-flats lying at the eastern edge of the Menai Straits. The
area has a range of exposures and a diversity of conditions,
enhanced by freshwater streams that flow across the flats. The site
is of importance for wintering waterbirds, especially Oystercatcher
Haematopus ostralegus. In conditions of severe winter
weather, Traeth Lafan acts as a refuge area for Oystercatchers
displaced from the nearby Dee Estuary.
Qualifying species
For individual species accounts visit the Species
Accounts section
This site qualifies under Article 4.2 of the
Directive (79/409/EEC) by supporting populations of European
importance of the following migratory species:
Over winter;
Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus, 4,931
individuals representing at least 0.5% of the wintering Europe
& Northern/Western Africa population (5 year peak mean 1991/2 -
1995/6)
Note:
Many designated sites are on private land: the listing of
a site in these pages does not imply any right of public
access.
Note that sites selected for waterbird species on the basis of
their occurrence in the breeding, passage or winter periods also
provide legal protection for these species when they occur at other
times of the year.