It was another very hot day, perhaps not the best day for going out in the sun and sand, but there was a refreshing breeze off the sea, so it only got to 25°C (77°F). We arrived at Waterloo later than expected (see travel details below).

Crowds of birds on the small Boating Lake as usual. Black-headed Gulls, half a dozen Mute Swans, many juvenile Herring Gulls, one Lesser Black-backed Gull, Coots and Canada Geese. One Swallow flew over. In the far distance was a female duck with eight little ducklings. She wasn’t a Mallard, her plumage was too dark for that, and she had a light beak. The tiny black fluffy ducklings were all diving for their food like pros. (Mallards don’t dive). She was a Tufted Duck I think, and with that white edge at the base of her beak, perhaps she has a Scaup in her ancestry.

A patch of rough grass and Creeping Thistle at the seaward end of the road separating Crescent and Adelaide Gardens was alive with butterflies and day-flying moths. There were Gatekeepers, a Six-spot Burnet Moth, and something medium-sized, all dark brown or black, which just wouldn’t sit still for a second. Was it a Chimney Sweeper moth Odezia atrata? That is day-flying, all black, said to like bright sunshine and rarely settles in one place. If so, it’s a new one on me. The only butterfly I was able to catch was this Meadow Brown.

The Buddleia in Adelaide Gardens had the bigger butterflies, Comma, and this lovely Peacock.

Later, also on a Buddleia, a splendid Red Admiral.

After lunch, we wandered northwards into Beach Lawn Garden to look in the pond, hoping to see those rare tiny creatures, the Small Red-eyed Damselfly. They were reported here a few years ago, but only seem to have lasted one summer. But we did see a mating pair of dragonflies, probably Common Darters. The male (at the front) was red and was clasping the female near the back of her head. She was fawny-yellow. He was swooping her down so her tail repeatedly touched the water to lay her (and his) eggs.

Flitting around the reeds were some blue Hawker-type dragonflies which didn’t sit still, but the star creature of the day was this male Emperor Dragonfly.

Some little girls were pond-dipping with nets and buckets. I asked if I could take a picture into one of the buckets, which they allowed, and found three nearly-grown tadpoles with arms and legs forming, but which also still had protruding gills. That eliminates frogs and toads and makes them Newt tadpoles. I have no idea which species.

We walked along the beach briefly. It was hard going over the sandy dune hills, but we got there and said hello to one of the Iron Men. They had celebrated their 20th anniversary on the previous day.

In the dunes, we found specialist plants everywhere. Marram grass, Ragwort, great stands of Evening Primrose, Sea Holly and Sea Rocket.


On the was back we looked again for the Tuftie mother and her eight little ones, but they had disappeared. But now there was a Mallard mother with a flotilla of six ducklings.

Public transport details: We intended to get the train from Central at 10.17, but it flagged up as cancelled. Staff said “shortage of trains”. When the 10.32 was also cancelled we gave up and went for a bus. Perhaps some drivers had called in sick to go to the Orange Lodge Parades in the city centre. Bus 53 from Queen Square at 10.50, arriving Waterloo Station at 11.35. Bus back from Waterloo at about 2.30, but I can walk home from there.
Next week depends on the weather, so meet Queen Square at 10 am and we will decide then.
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.