Tuesday 8th August 2017 - Dunham Park

A select group donned waterproofs for an evening at Dunham. A stroll from the Swan With 2 Nicks showed numerous Canada and Greylag Geese in the fields and a squirrel delicately balanced on the tip of one of the posts.  Very calm and quiet in the park itself. Over to one of the pools, where a surprising number of slightly unusual flowers were seen: Sweet Flag, Gypsywort, Skullcap and Marsh Pennywort.


Pool in Dunham Park

Whatever the weather...
Whatever the weather...

Sweet Flag (Acorus calamus), Marsh Pennywort (Hydrocotyle vulgaris)
Sweet Flag (Acorus calamus), Marsh Pennywort (Hydrocotyle vulgaris)
Other plants in the pool included Purple Loosestrife, Water Mint, Great Willowherb, Bulrush, Marsh Woundwort  and Yellow Water-lily (both finished flowering). Mallards, coots and Moorhens were in or around the pool.

Numerous Fallow Deer and a couple of rabbits were seen while walking over to the lake nearer to Charcoal Road, with much tormentil in some of the boggy areas. A Green Woodpecker was heard but not seen. On the lake were a couple of Mute Swans and a female Tufted Duck.

We saw a couple of Crows and a dead, young Long-tailed Tit on the ground en route to the Clock Tower area.

Given the cloud cover, the light faded quite early, which was encouraging for bat watching. However the dampness did not encourage the insects that might attract the bats. Nevertheless at least one Pipistrelle braved the conditions to justify our waiting, and brought the bat detector to life, clicking vigorously but briefly (at about 50kHz).

So despite a little drizzle (it could have been much worse), it was an enjoyable evening - and much quieter than if it had been sunny.

Saturday 29th July 2017 - Formby

A good turnout for the day excursion to the Sefton Coast. This time to Formby, instead of our more usual venue of Ainsdale.

Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)
Red Squirrel (Sciurus vulgaris)
An initial walk around the Red Squirrel reserve - where the residents were fairly relaxed and tolerant of visitors. Plenty of opportunities to see these attractive animals.


Dune Helleborine (Epipactis dunensis)
Dune Helleborine (Epipactis dunensis)
This reserve incidently provided our best view of helleborines special to the dune environments - Dune Helleborine:


While most of the specialities of this coastal area are found in the dune slacks, the woodland itself is very interesting, with trees stunted and sculpted by the harsh conditions and many pines closest to the sea looking like Bonsai trees. A birch 'tree' seemed to be successfully coping with the environment by adopting a creeping strategy rather than growing vertically.




Birch 'tree'
Birch 'tree', with Bonsai pines

Species seen:

Woodpigeon, Carrion Crow, Jay, Magpie, Pheasant, Cinnabar Moth Caterpillar, Common Blue Butterfly, Gatekeeper or Hedge Brown, Burnet Moths, Wild Parsnip, Garden Asparagus, Yarrow, Lesser Burdock, Creeping Thistle, Spear Thistle, Canadian Fleabane, Garden Fleabane, Mayweed, Common Fleabane, Common Ragwort, Corn (or Perennial) Sow-thistle, Prickly Sow-thistle, Himalayan Balsam, Bugloss, Hound's-tongue, Viper's-bugloss, Green Alkanet, Harebell, Honeysuckle, White Campion, Common Chickweed, Sand Sedge, Sea-buckthorn, Portland Spurge, Common Bird's-foot-trefoil, Common Restharrow, Red Clover, White Clover, Tufted Vetch, Turkey Oak, Lesser Centaury, Common Stork's-bill, Herb-Robert, Black Currant, Montbretia, Selfheal, Lilac, Rosebay Willowherb, Great Willowherb, Evening-primrose, Dune Helleborine, Common Toadflax, Ribwort Plantain, Marram, Lyme-grass, Agrimony, Dewberry, Bramble, Cleavers, Creeping Willow, Common Figwort, Bittersweet (Woody Nightshade)

After refreshments from the squirrel cafe and ice cream van, some of the party continued towards Gypsy wood and some dune slacks to see if there would be anything different in these areas. It was surprising how many different plants were seen with an apparently small change in habitat. Also surprising were the patchy distributions - with a patch of Fat Hen; then Spring Beauty; then Polypody (Western Polypody, we think); then Corn Sow Thistle; then Common Valerian and Angelica; then Common Fleabane.

Western Polypody (Polypodium interjectum)
Western? Polypody (Polypodium interjectum)

Sonchus arvensis
Corn Sow Thistle (Sonchus arvensis)

Common Fleabane (Pulicaria dysenterica)
Common Fleabane (Pulicaria dysenterica)

Marram Grass (Ammophila arenaria)
Marram Grass (Ammophila arenaria)

Other species noted included: Swift, Black-headed Gull, Common Gull, Lesser Black-backed Gull, Emperor Dragonfly, Wild Angelica, Wild Carrot, Mugwort, Carline Thistle, Blue Fleabane, Hemp-agrimony, Ploughman's-spikenard, Ox-Eye/Garden Daisy, Sea Rocket, Sea Radish, Red Valerian, Fat-hen, Stonecrop, Sea Spurge, Kidney Vetch, Yellow-wort, Water Mint, Purple-loosestrife, Common Poppy, Meadowsweet, Lady's Bedstraw, Common Valerian.

We were fortunate to have good weather after recent rainy days. An excellent day out, giving an indication of the great variety along the Sefton coast, if not the showy specialists in the Ainsdale dune slacks.

Saturday 3rd June 2017 - Great Orme

We were lucky to have a wonderful, sunny day for for day visit to the Great Orme - the limestone, peninsular (small) mountain  just west of Llandudno.
Great Orme - western side, looking north to the sea.
Great Orme - western side, looking north to the sea.


Great Orme - western side, looking south west towards Conwy
Great Orme - western side, looking south west towards Conwy
The Great Orme is known for rare or unusual flora, butterflies and seabirds. The first flower most of us were unfamiliar with was Dropwort. Not nationally rare, but predominantly a southern and eastern species. Sometimes known as downland Meadowsweet, indicating the typical distribution, and also that is is a member of the rose family.

Dropwort (Filipendula vulgaris)
Dropwort (Filipendula vulgaris)
 Another flower soon seen on exposed rocky areas, which is nationally scarce, is Hoary Rock-rose. It is smaller than the Common Rock-rose, with narrower leaves and noticeably downy.
Hoary Rock-rose (Helianthemum oelandicum)
Hoary Rock-rose (Helianthemum oelandicum)
Another rose, probably Burnet Rose, was found in similar locations.

Burnet Rose (Rosa pimpinellifolia)
Burnet Rose (Rosa pimpinellifolia)
 One of the landscapes of the Great Orme is limestone pavement, with clints and grykes. The grykes provide sheltered habitats in an otherwise very exposed location.


One species that is widely distributed throughout the country, but not necessarily expected in this environment is wild privet, taking advantage of the shelter offered.


Wild Privet (Ligustrum vulgare)
Wild Privet (Ligustrum vulgare)

 Others which enjoy such places include Maidenhair Spleenwort

Maidenhair Spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes)
Maidenhair Spleenwort (Asplenium trichomanes)
and Dog's Mercury, more typically seen in a woodland environment.

Mercurialis perennis
Dog's Mercury (Mercurialis perennis)
 We following flower gave difficulty in identification. The whorled leaves suggest a bedstraw, but it is not obviously one with which we are familar. About 2 feet tall and quite robust. However there a few hybrids, and Galium pomeranicum, a hybrid between Lady's Bedstraw and Hedge (or Upright) Bedstraw looks plausible.
Bedstraw Hybrid? (Galium pomeranicum?)
Bedstraw Hybrid? (Galium pomeranicum?)
 Other plants noted were: Common Stork's-bill, Thyme, Bird's-foot Trefoil, Salad Burnet, Heather, Tormentil, Eyebright, Milkwort, Quaking Grass, Germander Speedwell, Thyme-leaved Speedwell, Fairy Flax, Thrift, Bulbous Buttercup and a Bedstraw.

One of the most well known rarities of the Great Orme is the attractive Silver-studded Blue butterfly. The name comes form the blue 'studs' occurring within some of the black spots on the underside of the wings, which can just be seen in this photo.

Silver-studded Blue Butterfly (Plebejus argus)
Silver-studded Blue Butterfly (Plebejus argus)
There is even an unusual mammal on the Great Orme. Admittedly this was introduced - its ancestors roamed the mountains of northern India. The goats were originally brought to England in the 1800s in order to produce cashmere woollens. It is not clear exactly when and why some were moved to the Great Orme, but there was an old Welsh farming practice of putting goats with sheep, hopefully resulting in the goats foraging in the most precipitous places and discouraging the sheep form doing so.
Kashmiri Goat
Kashmiri Goat
No photos of the birds, but one we particularly wanted to see was the Red-billed Chough (although it would have been even more interesting to see the yellow-billed Alpine Chough). It breeds in some coastal mountainous areas of the west coasts of Britain and Ireland, including the Great Orme. A few of us thought we heard a group flying over, but others were not convinced. However one was definitely seen later on the edge of the cliffs near the lighthouse. A Peregrine was seen nearby. Other birds seen were: Meadow Pipit, Stonechat, Jackdaw, Goldfinch, Swallows and Black-headed Gulls. A Lark was heard but not seen.

Overall a very successful and enjoyable day out.




Tuesday 9th May 2017 - Fletcher Moss

Barry had helpfully obtained a booklet with historical and current information about the Fletcher Moss Gardens, providing points of interest to look at. We were also joined by Alan Hill - a key and enthusiastic member of the 'Friends of Fletcher Moss Park and Parsonage Gardens', and he provided more information about the gardens and their development.

Fletcher Moss Gardens
Fletcher Moss - Parsonage Gardens
While the gardens were managed to provide a wonderful display of varied flora and trees, a few species were spotted that may have found their own way there. One such was Fringe Cups, a member of the saxifrage family. A few years ago, this seemed notable when spotted growing in the wild, but it now seems to be spreading quickly - we had seen in quite a few locations recently.
Fringe Cups (Tellima grandiflora)
Fringe Cups (Tellima grandiflora)

Fletcher Moss Gardens
Fletcher Moss - Parsonage Gardens
Something else that seemed to have found its own way here, and is now becoming more common is the Rose-ringed (or Ring-necked) Parakeet. It also brings controversy, particularly as it has been suggested that it may affect the populations of other birds which nest in holes in trees - by taking over such properties. However it is not yet clear how much they affect other species.
Rose-ringed (or Ring-necked) Parakeet (Psittacula krameri)
Rose-ringed (or Ring-necked) Parakeet (Psittacula krameri)
In some large lime trees near the entrance to Parsonage Gardens, large clumps of mistletoe can be seen. This is an unusual sight in the Greater Manchester area - we are aware of only about half a dozen sites in the area with mistletoe. Let us know if you find more.
Mistletoe (Viscum album)
Mistletoe (Viscum album)
We spent much time in the 'formal' garden areas, although we were too late to see the fritillaries on full flower. We then took a short walk into the wilder areas of Stenner Woods and Millgate Fields. A Grasshopper Warbler had been reported but we did not manage to see or hear it. A Heron was mobbed by crows. Other plants noted include: Ladies Smock, Green Alkanet, Spring Beauty, Marsh Horsetail, Marsh Marigold, Great Bittercress, Lesser Stitchwort, Wood Stitchwort, Pick-a-back Plant (Tolmiea menziesii - another member of the Saxifrage family), Three-cornered Leek, Pendulous Sedge, White Dead-nettle and Ramsons.

A very pleasant evening, with much of interest, both in the gardens and the wilder woodland.

Tuesday 18th April 2017 - Stretford

Bullfinches nesting in conifer in garden.
John Fulton

Numerous Goldfinches at (nyger seeds) feeder.
Orange-tip butterfly in garden.
Great Tits pecking at fence slats - unclear what they are after.
Blue Tits taking material to nest box for a couple of hours, but not seen again.
Cathy and Mike Pettipher

Tuesday 18th April 2017 - Timperley and Sale

Ring-necked Parakeets have returned to the feeders (with sunflower seeds) in a Timperley garden.
Dorothy Hudson

Long-tailed Tits in Timperley and Sale gardens.
Dorothy Hudson, Pat Hill