Porthgwarra to Pordenack Point

Porthgwarra to Pordenack Point
Site of Special Scientific Interest
	Headland between Hella Point and Gwennap Head within the SSSI
	Location within Southwest Cornwall
Location	Cornwall
Grid reference	SW371217 to SW345241
Coordinates	50°02′40″N 5°41′12″W / 50.0444°N 5.6866°W
Interest	Biological
Area	158 hectares (1.58 km2; 0.610 sq mi)
Notification	1977
	Natural England website

Porthgwarra to Pordenack Point is a coastal Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) in west Cornwall, England, noted for its biological characteristics.^[1] The South West Coast Path runs through the SSSI.

Geography

The 158-hectare (390-acre) site, notified in 1977, is located on the western coast of Cornwall, 2.5 miles (4 km) south of Land's End. It starts in the south at the settlement of Porthgwarra and continues north along the coast of the last sections of the English Channel to Pordenack Point in the north.^[2]^[3] Other designations are part of the Cornwall Area of Outstanding Natural Beauty, a Geological Conservation Review site, part of the Penwith Heritage coast, Nature Conservation Reviewsite and there are scheduled monuments within the area.

Wildlife and ecology

Porthgwarra to Pordenack Point Site of Special Scientific Interest (SSSI) is designated for its vegetation of waved maritime heath, and for being of considerable ornithological interest; especially for passage migrants.^[1] The southern section, Tol Pedn or Gwennap Head, in particular is favoured by birdwatchers and many travel the length and breadth of Britain to track rare seabirds.^[4] The headland is renowned for its relative abundance of passing marine bird species with many common species such as northern gannet (Morus bassanus), Manx shearwater (Puffinus puffinus), common guillemot, (Uria aalge), razorbill (Alca torda), northern fulmar (Fulmarus glacialis), shag (Phalacrocorax aristotelis) and cormorant (Phalacrocorax carbo). Forty-five breeding species have been recorded including the red-billed choughs (Pyrrhocorax pyrrhocorax) which have recently been breeding successfully on Gwennap Head, but lost their young to a predator in early May 2015.^[1]^[5] Other species include Eurasian teal (Anas crecca), which is a rare as a breeding bird in Cornwall and European stonechat (Saxicola rubicola) and common whitethroat (Sylvia communis).^[1]

Resident butterflies include the silver studded blue (Plebejus argus), large white (Pieris brassicae), small copper (Lycaena phlaeas), common blue (Polyommatus icarus), small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae), peacock (Aglais io), comma (Polygonia c-album), small pearl-bordered fritillary (Boloria selene), speckled wood (Pararge aegeria), grayling (Hipparchia semele) and wall (Lasiommata megera). Some insects also migrate and butterflies often seen include clouded yellow (Colias croceus), red admiral (Vanessa atalanta) and painted lady (Vanessa cardui). Migrant moths include rush veneer (Nomophila noctuella), rusty-dot pearl (Udea ferrugalis), hummingbird hawk-moth (Macroglossum stellatarum) and silver Y (Autographa gamma).^[6]^[7]

In 2010 perennial centaury (Centaurium scilloides), a national rarity, was refound by Helen and Laurie Oakes. Despite many searches by botanists the species had not been seen in Cornwall (and England) since 1962 (or possibly 1967), and survived on only one Welsh site; coastal footpaths of Pembrokeshire National Park, Wales.^[8]^[9]

References

^ ^a ^b ^c ^d "Porthgwarra to Pordenack Point" (PDF). Natural England. 1986. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2013.
^ "Porthgwarra to Pordenack Point map". Natural England. Retrieved 11 July 2020.
^ Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 Land's End ISBN 978-0-319-23148-7
^ "Wildlife of Gwennap Head". National Coastwatch. Retrieved 13 July 2015.
^ Williamson, Laurie (25 June 2015). "CoastWatch". The Cornishman. p. 32.
^ Wynn, Russell B; Brereton, Tom M; Jones, Alice R; Lewis, Kate M, eds. (2010). SeaWatch SW Annual Report 2009 (PDF). Southampton: National Oceanography Centre. p. 118. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
^ Drayson, Paul (2012). Carey, Andrew (ed.). "Over Fifty Years of Observing Butterflies in West Cornwall" (PDF). The Butterfly Observer. 52 (Summer): 17–22. Retrieved 18 December 2014.
^ Ian Bennallack (2010). Bennallick, I A; Pearman, D A (eds.). "Centaurium scilloides, Juncus subnodulosus and Phegopteris connectilis re-discovered in Cornwall after many years". Botanical Cornwall (14). Truro: Environmental Records Centre for Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly (ERCCIS): 36–42. ISSN 1364-4335.
^ "UK: First centaury sighting in half a century". Plant Talk. Eden Project. Retrieved 13 July 2015.

External links

Media related to Porthgwarra to Pordenack Point at Wikimedia Commons

[SSSI-1] "Porthgwarra to Pordenack Point" (PDF). Natural England. 1986. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 October 2012. Retrieved 13 July 2013.

[SSSImap-2] "Porthgwarra to Pordenack Point map". Natural England. Retrieved 11 July 2020.

[OS-3] Ordnance Survey: Landranger map sheet 203 Land's End ISBN 978-0-319-23148-7

[wildlife-4] "Wildlife of Gwennap Head". National Coastwatch. Retrieved 13 July 2015.

[5] Williamson, Laurie (25 June 2015). "CoastWatch". The Cornishman. p. 32.

[6] Wynn, Russell B; Brereton, Tom M; Jones, Alice R; Lewis, Kate M, eds. (2010). SeaWatch SW Annual Report 2009 (PDF). Southampton: National Oceanography Centre. p. 118. Archived from the original (PDF) on 24 September 2015. Retrieved 18 December 2014.

[7] Drayson, Paul (2012). Carey, Andrew (ed.). "Over Fifty Years of Observing Butterflies in West Cornwall" (PDF). The Butterfly Observer. 52 (Summer): 17–22. Retrieved 18 December 2014.

[8] Ian Bennallack (2010). Bennallick, I A; Pearman, D A (eds.). "Centaurium scilloides, Juncus subnodulosus and Phegopteris connectilis re-discovered in Cornwall after many years". Botanical Cornwall (14). Truro: Environmental Records Centre for Cornwall & the Isles of Scilly (ERCCIS): 36–42. ISSN 1364-4335.

[9] "UK: First centaury sighting in half a century". Plant Talk. Eden Project. Retrieved 13 July 2015.

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v t e Biological Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Cornwall and the Isles of Scilly
Summary	Summarised data for all sites (biological and geological)
Cornwall	Aire Point to Carrick Du Amble Marshes Baulk Head to Mullion Bedruthan Steps and Park Head Boconnoc Park and Woods Bodmin Moor, North Borlasevath and Retallack Moor Boscastle to Widemouth Brendonmoor Breney Common Bude Coast Cabilla Manor Wood Caerthillian to Kennack Carnkief Pond Carrick Heaths Carricknath Point to Porthbean Beach Carrine Common & Penwethers Chyenhal Moor Cligga Head Coombe Mill Coverack to Porthoustock Crow's Nest Crowhill Valley Dozmary Pool Draynes Wood East Lizard Heathlands Eglarooze Cliff Gerrans Bay to Camels Cove Godrevy Head to St Agnes Goonhilly Downs Goss and Tregoss Moors Greenamoor Greenscoombe Wood, Luckett Grimscott Gwithian to Mexico Towans Hayle Estuary & Carrack Gladden Kelsey Head Kennack to Coverack Kernick and Ottery Meadows Loe Pool Loggans Moor Lower Bostraze and Leswidden Lower Fal & Helford Intertidal Lymsworthy Meadows Lynher Estuary Malpas Estuary Marazion Marsh Meddon Moor Meneage Coastal Section Merthen Wood Minster Church Mullion Cliff to Predannack Cliff Nance Wood Newlyn Downs Ottery Valley Park Wood Penhale Dunes Pentire Peninsula Phoenix United Mine Plymouth Sound Shores And Cliffs Polruan to Polperro Polyne Quarry Porthgwarra to Pordenack Point Rame Head & Whitsand Bay Red Moor Redlake Meadows & Hoggs Moor Retire Common River Camel Valley and Tributaries Rock Dunes Rosemullion Rosenannon Bog and Downs St Austell Clay Pits St John's Lake St Nectan's Glen Steeple Point to Marsland Mouth Swanpool Sylvia's Meadow Talland Barton Tamar–Tavy Estuary Tintagel Cliffs Treen Cliff Tregonetha & Belowda Downs Tregonning Hill Trehane Barton Trelow Downs Trevose Head and Constantine Bay Upper Fal Estuary and Woods Upper Fowey Valley Ventongimps Moor West Cornwall Bryophytes West Lizard
Isles of Scilly	Annet Big Pool and Browarth Point Castle Down (Tresco) Chapel Down Eastern Isles Great Pool Gugh Higher Moors and Porth Hellick Pool Lower Moors Norrard Rocks Peninnis Head Pentle Bay, Merrick And Round Islands Plains and Great Bay Pool Of Bryher & Popplestone Bank Rushy Bay and Heathy Hill Samson Shipman Head & Shipman Down St Helen's St Martin's Sedimentary Shore Teän Western Rocks White Island Wingletang Down
Neighbouring areas Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Devon Sites of Special Scientific Interest in Somerset