European pied flycatcher
Penhow Woodlands is one of the best sites in Wales for spring flowers such as bluebells, as well as primroses, wood anemone and lesser celandine. The spring is also the best time to see the native wild daffodils in these woods, and these small, pale daffodils can ben in bloom from February to April.Herb paris, an indicator to the age and semi-natural nature of the woodlands, grows here and is today very localised and becoming rarer in the UK. Other rare and localised plants include green hellebore, a specialist of wood on limestone soils, and birds-nest orchid which grows in leaf litter and usually blooms around June. The upright spurge ("Euphorbia stricta") grows only in south-east Wales and Gloucestershire in the UK and this reseve contains the largest population in Gwent. The birds recorded here include various species of warbler, common redstart, European pied flycatcher and tree pipit, which breed in the nature reserve.