Sea Eagle Spotted

 

Surely the high point of the year must be the sighting by RSPB Warden Colin Wells and his party of a white-tailed sea eagle over the Dee below the Decca ponds on 6th April. What a day that must have been! Champagne all round?  Also in April on the Dee were recorded a black kite and a ring ouzel.

 

 

Barn Owls Bounce Back

 

After a very poor breeding year in 2006, Wirral's barn owls have fared much better in 2007. The Wirral Barn Owl Trust (WBOT) has recorded not only the highest number of chicks hatched in one year since 1997 when the Trust began, but also for the first time two broods of seven chicks.

 

Last year the numbers of breeding pairs across the U.K. fell dramatically. There were two main causes. First, it was the wettest Spring since 1983. Second, voles, the main prey of the barn owl, were in short supply. In Wirral the number of recorded pairs of owls fell from 30 in 2005 to just nine, while the number of chicks fell from 92 to only 22. This year, however, the 22 breeding pairs recorded so far have produced 103 chicks - and of these 94 have been ringed by WBOT.

 

Some of the recorded nests are in natural tree cavities or in buildings, but most have been in nest boxes made and installed by the WBOT. The Trust has spent the last eight years putting up nest boxes in an effort to overcome the shortage of nest sites. So many old barns have been converted or demolished, and there is such a scarcity of  mature trees with suitable holes in many areas of Wirral that these nest boxes have been a vital contributor to the success enjoyed by the WBOT.

 

The other key area of concern for the owls' long-term future is the loss of suitable habitat for hunting. Areas of long, tussocky grass, rough pasture and strips of uncut grass along hedges or watercourses are essential for a healthy population of the voles and other small mammals on which the barn owls depend.

 

But modern farming methods, particularly the repeated cutting of fields for silage, as well as loss of rough pasture and increase in grazing by horses, means that such areas are hard to find. Close liaison with farmers and  landowners has become a priority for WBOT. At our March meeting in 2008, Steve Harris, Chairman of Wirral Barn Owl Trust, will give an illustrated talk about the latest developments in the conservation of Wirral`s barn owls.

 

More information about barn owls and the work of WBOT is available on the Trust’s website at www.wirralbarnowltrust.org Sightings of barn owls anywhere on Wirral can be sent in by clicking on ‘Sightings’ and entering the details. The trust can also be contacted by email on WEPBarnOwlTrust@aol.com

 

 

New Areas to Explore

 

There has been no fanfare of trumpets, but those who use Junction 1 of the M53 will have caught sight of the large "notice" advertising the work of the Forestry Commission. The FC have taken over management of four old tips around Junction 1, and are busy with a major programme of thinning, planting, path installation and invasive plant control. This is funded under the Government's Newlands initiative - the latest push to make derelict land more attractive. Ecological advice is being provided by Hilary Ash and John McGaw (Wirral Wildlife) and by Tony Ormond (Merseyside Ringing Group of British Trust for Ornithology). Most of the areas are open to the public now and are well worth a visit. They are:

 

Bidston Local Nature Reserve can be reached by crossing the footbridge north from Bidston Station or from Bidston Golf Club access road (which is also a cycleway) at SJ284910. (no car parking space). This has been a Local Nature Reserve for about a decade, but as Wirral Ranger service has been cut back repeatedly the reserve had become very neglected. There is now a loop path between the two shallow ponds and reedmarshes (very good for winter bird-watching and summer warblers breeding), up to the tree-planted top and down through the grassland.

 

Areas of the grassland are being regenerated by scraping away the thick turf and allowing natural recolonisation. Large areas of Japanese knotweed are being cleared from the shrubbery to allow new tree planting.

 

Cross Lane Tip is reached from the south end of Cross Lane, Wallasey (SJ287917), where there is limited car parking, or by the cycleway/footpath which comes under the motorway from the south. This former tip was found to be poorly capped, so much of the silt from Birkenhead Park Lakes was spread there last winter to form new planting areas. This has led to some interesting plants this summer, especially large amounts of prickly lettuce, a spiky relative of our garden lettuce. Considerable areas are being left as rough vegetation for feeding areas for barn owls and kestrels.

 

A network of surfaced paths now exists for visitors to explore. Some large standard maple trees, planted at behest of Merseyside Waste Disposal Authority for 'instant impact', are predictably struggling with the wind exposure, and will need to be replaced by more suitable species - planted, like the main plantings, at whip size (ca.1m tall). Whips planted next to standards usually overtake them in 5 years and are much better rooted to withstand wind and drought. But persuading the landscape people to plant them is an uphill job!

 

Bidston Moss - Yes, this is the large tip many of us remember in use up till 1994. Initial planting and seeding was done by Groundwork Wirral, until the money ran out. The Forestry Commission have now re-instated the main paths, including a cycleway all round the perimeter and a BMX course on the slopes. Some of the tree plantations have been thinned and coppiced to create a better structure, and the two large wildflower meadows are being cut annually. Some extra planting has been put in. More work is ongoing.

 

This site is not without its problems. Signs for instance are regularly vandalised. But working up there this summer we have encountered no problems in the mornings, and had interesting chats with the local dog-walkers. The more people use it the better! The site has already developed good bird populations, including grey partridge, skylark, lapwing, warblers such as whitethroat & chiff-chaff, and round the lake reed and sedge warbler. Large flocks of thrushes arrive in winter (songthrush, blackbird, fieldfare and redwing), feeding on the many berry-bearing trees which have been planted. Various water birds can be seen in winter, including grebes and snipe.

 

Access to Bidston Moss is either from the Materials Recycling Facility on Poulton Bridge Road (SJ298906) - take the path up the north side of the site (currently open 8am-5pm winter, 8am-8pm summer); or take the  western access (open 24/7) - from the Bidston Link Road retail estate, where cars can be parked, follow the cycle route from the south end of the car park round behind MFI (SJ287908. The same cycle route goes west under the Link Road to reach the LNR). Follow the cycle route north alongside the railway.

 

This piece of land is owned by Wirral Borough - but not maintained. It supports very good bird populations in the marshes and wet woodland - in winter look out for flocks of goldfinches in the alder, thrushes especially redwings, finches including bullfinch and small birds such as dunnocks and wrens. Kestrel, sparrowhawk and barn owl hunt here. In summer and at migration times it is busy with warblers and finches. At the north end of this stretch (known to us as the Green Corridor), the cycleway turns east over a bridge to reach the Bidston Moss tip - or you can go straight on north under the motorway to reach Cross Lane.

 

Do go and explore. It will be fascinating to see how these sites develop for wildlife and people over the next few years.

 

 

A View of the North Wirral Coast

- for Wildlife and People

 

We are very fortunate in Wirral where a good proportion of the coastline offers habitat for wildlife and at the same allows people the chance to appreciate that wildlife.

 

Birds are probably the most obvious attraction -  so much so that most of the foreshores of the Mersey and Dee estuaries and of Liverpool Bay are designated Special Protection Areas for Birds (SPAs).

 

Sea mammals are not uncommon, though, and are worth looking out for. Last July a small pod of bottle-nosed dolphins could be seen feeding off New Brighton. The low-tide haul of a few hundred grey seals on West Hoyle Bank is well known. Earlier this year a young seal, probably from the same colony, was seen at Leasowe, resting on the sands close to the embankment.

 

Less easy to spot is the varied marine life that has, over many years, settled in marine lakes along the shore, brought in by the tide. Naturalist Margaret Coles has recorded crabs, barnacles, various types of small shrimp and mollusc, starfish, gobies and many other animals as well as a range of seaweed species living in the lake at New Brighton.  This lake must be preserved, whatever developments take place in the vicinity.

 

Wirral's shores are famous for the large number of wading birds that use them in the winter, feeding on the intertidal mudflats rich in invertebrate animals. People are often surprised, however, to see extensive flocks appearing so soon after the height of summer, of birds which have returned early from their northern breeding grounds. While walking or cycling along the promenades and embankments, it is easy to spot sanderlings running along the tide-line, and the roosting dunlin, knot and lapwing on the sand or the breakwaters at Leasowe. Curlew may poke their long bills into mud to grab worms, while oystercatchers noisily dispute. Ringed plovers are often seen close on the embankments, picking at small invertebrates left by the last tide.

 

On windy days telescope users are to be seen watching for passing sea birds such as petrels and skuas, which as they migrate south may be driven in by onshore winds. Sometimes gannets and sea duck can be spotted far out at sea. What effect - if any - the increasing number of wind generators will have on birds flying across Liverpool Bay remains to be seen.

 

Over the last few years increasing numbers of wading birds have been gathering to feed and roost on Hoylake's mudflats, particularly off Kings Gap towards Red rocks - often commuting between this site and West Kirby beach. At times they may be driven from one place to the other by disturbance caused by people or dogs or by a swooping peregrine falcon. Although it is fascinating to see huge flocks of waders swirling around in the air as if they are one single body, we have to remember that the birds lose valuable energy if they have to fly around when they need to feed or rest.

 

Our Red Rocks reserve, now easily accessed on the refurbished  walkway, is evolving rapidly. The dunes are growing, though eroded and blown out in some places during gales. The extensive reed bed provides suitable habitat for sedge- and reed-warblers as well as for reed-buntings to settle, sing and breed year after year. Mackay's horsetail, a natural hybrid plant unique to this area, has become very conspicuous along the path at the southern end of the reserve, together with yellow iris, gipsywort, water forget-me-not, water mint and other freshwater marsh plants.

 

In late summer the salt marsh at West Kirby turns into a mauve-purple carpet of the flowers of sea asters, succeeded by the soft grey hue produced by the seeds, a rich food source for linnets and other birds.

 

At West Kirby it is always worth visiting the marine lake to look out for the colourful turnstones searching for food on the slipways, or to watch cormorants or great crested grebes diving for fish.  How incredibly fortunate we are!

 

For more information visit the North Wirral Coastal Park page on the Wirral Metropolitan Borough Council website.

 

 

Better than Springwatch

 

Wirral Wildlife has again run three successful events arranged jointly with Wirral Ranger Service.

 

In May we assembled before daybreak to experience the dawn chorus as it broke across the heathlands and woodlands of Cleaver Heath (a Cheshire Wildlife Trust reserve managed by Wirral Wildlife) and the Dales in Heswall (managed by the WBC). Both areas are sites of Special Scientific Interest (SSSIs). We identified 17 species of bird in song - including some recently arrived migrants such as chiffchaff and willow warbler - and we were still home in time for breakfast and the Sunday papers!

 

In July we walked these areas again for our joint heathlands walk, looking more closely at the flora and fauna of lowland heath, and hearing about how they were being managed to prevent them from becoming woodland.

 

The August walk was a circular one, setting off from Cleaver Heath and taking in farmland, woodland and heathland, as well as the area of meadow known as Heswall Fields, managed by the National Trust. We had a very enjoyable picnic lunch sitting on the shores of the Dee estuary. This route is surely one of the best walks in Wirral, with spectacular views across the Dee to the Welsh hills and the Point of Ayr.

 

All the walks were open to the public, and they are ideal for accompanied children. Another series will be organised for 2008, so keep your eye on the events calendar and join us for some of Wirral's best landscapes and wildlife.

 

 

Tree Walk

 

On 19th May 2007, a glorious, sunny, breezy day, John Gill led a walk round Lower Heswall to identify a wide variety of native and non-native trees all in full foliage. It was most useful to look critically at each species, size, habit, leaf, bud, flower and fruit - especially as many of them are common and hence often taken for granted.

 

John enabled us to appreciate the differences between - to name but a few - Sycamore and European Maple, between Silver and Downy Birch, between Horse and Sweet Chestnut.

He also explained in detail the differences between Pine and Fir. We saw Gean (Wild Cherry), Laburnum, Douglas Fir, Rowan, several species of Willow and Holly, as well as  Beech, Ash, Elm and Hazel.

 

The afternoon was completed with much appreciated tea and cake in John's summer house.

 

 

WATCH Successes

 

The May WATCH meeting took place at Thurstaston. It was a lovely sunny afternoon and the pond was teeming with wildlife. Everyone was keen to use the nets to discover the great variety of life-forms beneath the surface of the water.

 

In June the weather was ideal for our 'Things with Wings' meeting. Warm, with not too much wind - it was just the weather insects like! We spotted butterflies (small skippers, speckled woods and common blues) damselflies (azure and blue-tailed) and a red-tailed bumble-bee. The sweep net was used to brush the grass and catch small creatures. Lots of spiders and small flies were around for us to admire. The afternoon ended with a craft session making bug fridge magnets.

 

The July meeting was held at Eastham Country Park where we broke apart owl pellets to work out which creatures the owls had been feeding on. By carefully picking out skulls and seeing how easily the teeth could be pulled out we identified voles, woodmice and shrews as the main prey of the Barn Owls.

 

The WATCH group now has its own section on our messageboard. Here you can find links to relevant information on other websites together with drawings and notes from members. Do have a look - whatever your age!

 

 

Wildlife Training Workshops

by Paul Greenslade, Senior Ranger, Royden Park

 

This year I decided to attend a number of Wildlife workshops run by the Cheshire Wildlife Trust. Although a keen naturalist & confident with identifying a range of our native flora and fauna, I felt I wanted to expand and brush up my knowledge.

 

The first I attended was Wildflower ID - Summer meadows covering basic field ID skills and techniques with a practical field session. Our leader was an excellent botanist, Liz Blackman. The venue was the new CWT headquarters at Bickley Hall Farm. Unfortunately I had chosen the wrong year, for the weather had turned the meadow close to Bickley Hall into a lake - so the schedule changed: we collected samples as best we could and carried out the ID using various keys back at the Hall. Despite the weather setback, I managed to get to grips with a number of species - thought the fumitories still prove to be difficult.

 

My second workshop was also initially at Bickley Hall Farm - an Introduction to Cheshire Bats. Dr Elizabeth Barratt gave us a thorough introduction to the bats throughout the world before concentrating on the native bats of Cheshire. After the indoor session we ventured outside armed with bat detectors into the grounds of Cholmondeley Castle. Here in fine weather we detected our largest bat, the Noctule; then both the Common Pipistrelle and Soprano Pipistrelle - known respectively as 45 and 55 (referring to the kHz peak echolocation frequency); lastly we found the Daubenton's bat (sometimes called the water bat) feeding over the Deer Park Mere. It was all very rewarding.

 

For my third workshop the venue was Delamere Community Centre; the topic Dragonflies and Damselflies. The plan was to introduce us to the ecology, biology and habitat requirements in the morning, and to make a field visit in the afternoon. Once again the weather failed to co-operate, so our leader, Stu Burnet, had to cope with an all-day session inside. He rose admirably to the occasion, expertly explaining for example how the Red Veined Darter, a migrant from Europe, is now well established in certain locations in Great Britain. The Ruddy Darter is also becoming common and moving North. Isn't it incredible that these superb insects live as adult Damselflies for about six weeks or as adult Dragonflies for a mere two!

 

My last workshop (for the present) concentrated on Bumblebee ID. This time the venue was Astbury Mere Visitor Centre near Congleton. Here our leaders, Carl Clee and Tony Parker, provided us with wonderful ID sheets, in a simple diagrammatic form, showing the six common species. The White-tailed, Buff-tailed, Red-tailed, Early, Garden and Common Carder Bumblebees were illustrated with the colour banding clearly indicated. The outdoor session around the meadow of the Country Park was wet, and the bees sensibly remained snugly out of sight.

 

These workshops gave an extra dimension to observing and studying. Though the weather was awful at times, I was very glad I attended.

 

 

Song of the Polar Bear

by Bridget O'Boyle

 

Bridget is the eleven-year-old daughter of one of our former recorders, now living in Cambridge.

 

 

The ice is melting

And it's all your fault.

We polar bears are suffering

And coming to a halt.

 

Our habitat is disappearing

Quicker every day.

We are nearing extinction

And need our say.

 

Our fate is in your hands,

It's up to you.

You can either clear us off

Or keep us good as new.

 

If you let us perish

There will be no more

Adorable little bear cubs

Playing on the snowy floor.

 

Get out of your cars

Turn the lights off, come on,

Stop melting all our ice

Or we'll be going, going, gone.

 

 

+ Margaret Moss +

 

Long-standing members will be saddened to learn of Margaret's death after a long illness. Margaret was a larger-than-life character, full of enthusiasm and cheerful-ness, always eager in the cause of animal protection  Margaret raised a great deal of money for the CWT over a number of years - notably by manning the cafe for a long time in Royden Park. It was her habit to spend her Friday evenings baking, in order to have cakes to sell at the Coach House at the week-end. She was a tower of strength, and will be remembered with affection by many.

 

Very appropriately Margaret chose a green burial at Royden Cemetery.

 

 

+ Graham Harrison O.B.E., D.S.C. +

 

We have just learned with great regret of the death of Graham Harrison, the last Town Clerk of Wallasey, and former dynamic Chairman of the Wirral Group of the Cheshire Wildlife Trust.

 

Graham celebrated his 90th birthday in 2003 with a party for his numerous friends at which he gave a brilliantly witty speech, entirely without notes.  However he suffered a stroke less than a year later, from which he never fully recovered.  

 

Barbara Greenwood, the longest-serving member of the present committee, writes, "Opting to take early retirement from his position as Town Clerk of Wallasey when the Corporation became part of Wirral Borough Council on local government re-organisation, Graham wanted something to occupy himself that involved his love of natural history and the countryside.  Although not a member of the Trust at the time, he recognised that this was an organisation with whose aims he could identify and he offered his services in any capacity.  

 

"At that time Major Frank White was Chairman of the fledgling Wirral Group but wanted to retire and it was suggested that Graham, with his vast committee experience would be an admirable successor.  And so it proved.  I was elected to the post of Recording Officer at the same time and was privileged to serve with him throughout his Chairmanship.  I was young and enthusiastic but inexperienced in committee work, and his guidance helped me not only in Trust work but also my other voluntary and professional roles.  No one could have asked for a better Mentor."

 

With his legal background and wealth of experience in the efficient administration of the borough, Graham could have been a formidable character, difficult to approach. In fact he was warm, genial, considerate, and went out of his way to make contact with as many as he could of the local members. At any meeting, indoors or out, Graham would make sure that everyone felt welcome and at ease.

 

Likewise, in committee, Barbara observes, "Graham was an excellent Chairman and was endlessly patient, always allowing us to 'have our say' and gently encouraging thoughts into words but at the same time brilliantly summarising what each of us was saying and bringing out salient points.  Under his Chairmanship, the committee and hence the Group, went from strength to strength."

 

On taking over the Chair of the Wirral Group in 1974. Graham was quick to make a determined effort to increase the membership, and quick too to accept positive suggestions, setting up the Social Subcommittee - which in time evolved into the Fund-raising Committee. In those days the Trust was very different - meetings tended to be practical surveys in the field; a shop was manned at Thurstaston Visitor centre; a caravan for display and sales purposes was towed  to various sites. In every activity Graham was a force of friendly support and encouragement. The man who had held the most senior role in the administration of the borough - and who dealt often on behalf of the CWT with developers and captains of industry - was happy take prominent part in running jumble-sales in the same town.

 

Barbara adds - "Graham’s contacts in local government gave the Group entry at the highest level to officers of both Wirral Borough Council and Merseyside County Council. Wirral had no staff ecologist, strategic planning was in its infancy, and protection of sites below the SSSI level was non-existent. I well remember at a very early date attending a meeting, arranged by Graham, of Wirral’s Chief Executive, Borough Planning Officer, Leisure Services Officer and Borough Engineer to discuss ways in which we could co-operate on environmental matters.  It was followed by a similar meeting with Ellesmere Port and Neston B.C. where Graham also had contacts.  These meetings, which continue in various forms today, led to many initiatives which we now consider everyday, such as the scanning of weekly planning lists.  The image of the Group was also changed from being a 'bunch of amateurs' to being a group of professional, impartial people whose advice and opinions deserved to be noted.”

 

Graham retired from the Chair in 1985, but continued to serve on the committee dealing with local community connections, under the successive chairmanships of Marjorie Wilson and Frank Cottrell, until 1997. For most of that time in office he was also our representative on the Council of the CWT.

 

Graham had an enormous amount to contribute to the Trust, and gave himself wholeheartedly.

 

The Service of Thanksgiving held at St Hilary's Church, Wallasey was a celebration to a life of splendid commitment, service and achievement.