Speke and Garston Coastal Reserve 9th October 2011

On the day of the Liverpool Marathon we avoided the disruption of public transport in the city centre and took the 80A bus to Speke Road / Banks Road and walked down to the coastal reserve.

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It was a warm but overcast day, with gusty breezes off the river. There were Skylarks and a Kestrel overhead, and on the shore a Curlew, a Crow, some Teal, Mallards, Black-headed Gulls and an Oystercatcher.  When the sun came out we saw a butterfly, which was probably a Red Admiral.

We ate our lunches amongst the deserted hi-tech offices around Dakota Drive and Hurricane Court, then made our way along the landscaped verges of Estuary Business Park. Goldfinches and Jackdaws were about in fairly large numbers and the ponds were full of water lillies and Arrowhead. The ornamental trees were full of fruit and late flowers – crab apples, Alexandra roses, acorns. It would be heaven for squirrels, but they don’t seem to have found this bountiful new food source yet.

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Then into the new Dobbies garden centre for a pleasant half hour of browsing amongst the shrubs, bedding plants and (expensive) bird tables.  A display of vividly coloured heathers caught my eye, and I was relieved (if somewhat bemused) to see that they were artificially dyed and would eventually revert to a more natural state. What’s the point?

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