Storm Darragh tore through Wales and Merseyside on Saturday, felling several trees in the Greenbank and Calderstones areas of south Liverpool (according to the news). All parks were closed. In Crosby and Southport the winds weren’t so bad, just leaving pavements full of twigs on Sunday morning. But in Southport a very cold and gusty north wind was still blowing.
Our first stop was the sheltered area at the back of the Waterfront Hotel, from where we could look out over the northern Marine Lake and its two islands. A pair Cormorants sat on the jetty at the tip of South Island and there was a possible Little Egret, just a flash of white in the bushes. A Greater Black-backed Gull was surveying the lake from the North Island. There were a few Mute Swans and a small numbers of flying gulls. We walked southwards past Funland, seeing very few birds, just a Magpie, a Wood Pigeon and a juvenile Herring Gull. Where were all the waterbirds that usually congregate here? Aha, they were all clustered by the pier in the southern arm of the Marine Lake. There were 40+ Swans, dozens of Mallards, lots of Coots and one Moorhen. Then we saw why they all hang around this spot. A couple with empty buckets of food were just returning from a feeding session. They are on the extreme left of the picture below. I guess they must do this every day, throwing out seed or grain, and THAT’S why there are always so many big birds clustered there.
At the same place were small groups of Greylag and Canada Geese, a Crow, lots of Feral Pigeons and two Pied Wagtails.
We continued southwards via the sunken King’s Gardens, where there are lots of hedges and shelter. The area is usually packed with families and kids, but it was deserted today. The little birds were popping about, handfuls of Starlings and one each of Robin and Blackbird. There was just one damaged tree, which looked like a Willow, which had a couple of branches snapped off.
The Big Wheel in Pleasureland had the top four gondolas missing. Had they blown off in the storm? There was no apparent damage, no area taped off, all was neat and symmetrical. I think they might have taken down deliberately to reduce the “sail effect” and protect the wheel.
After a pit stop in Morrison’s and lunch in a shelter, we returned around the other side of the lake, where the Ragwort was still blooming. It was too cold to linger, so we went for the early train. Amazingly, we saw two deer out of the train window on the way back. They were at the southern end of the West Lancashire Golf Course, just north of Hall Road station. They were small ones, possibly Roe Deer females (does). So despite the cold and wind, it was a good day for bird and wildlife spotting.
Public transport details: Train from Central at 10.02, arriving Southport at 10.45. Returned on the 1.03 train.
Next week,15th December, we plan to go to the Eric Hardy Nature reserve, meeting at Queen Square at 10.00 prompt for the (hourly) 76 bus at 10.02.
On 22nd Dec we plan to go to Eastham Woods, meeting at 10.00 in Sir Thomas Street.
Anyone is welcome to come out with the Sunday Group. It is not strictly part of the MNA, although it has several overlapping members. We go out by public transport to local parks, woods and nature reserves all over Merseyside, and occasionally further afield. We are mostly pensioners, so the day is free on our bus passes, and we enjoy fresh air, a laugh and a joke, a slow amble in pleasant surroundings and sometimes we even look at the wildlife!
If you want to join a Sunday Group walk, pack lunch, a flask, waterproofs, binoculars if you have them, a waterproof pad to sit on if we have to have lunch on the grass or a wet bench (A garden kneeler? A newspaper in a plastic bag?), and wear stout shoes or walking boots. We are usually back in Liverpool City Centre by 3pm at the latest.
If you are interested in the wildlife of the north-west of England and would like to join the walks and coach trips run by the Merseyside Naturalists’ Association, see the main MNA website www.mnapage.info for details of our programme and how to join us.