Churchtown north of Southport is a pretty little village with white-walled houses and some thatched cottages. It is almost as far north as we can go within the Merseytravel area and is a long bus ride from Liverpool.
We were lured there by reports of an Otter. On 9th May this year a Southport website called “On the Spot News” said “An otter that has set up home in Botanic Gardens has become the subject of a much heated debate in recent days. Park rangers at the Churchtown park say they have warned people not to try and catch the otter, which is a protected species. It comes after people on local social media pages debated if the offer needed to be caught after claims it was attacking other wildlife in the park’s watercourse. Despite this being a natural predator, some people have suggested the otter needs to be caught and removed from the park to protect the existing wildlife. However following a number of complaints and concerns made to park ranger, a warning to leave the otter alone has now had to be issued.”
That warning was made by Sefton Council on social media on the same day. “People spending time in Botanic Gardens, Southport, may have heard or even spotted for themselves, there’s a new visitor to the park! An Otter has been spending time at the wonderful park lately. We are so lucky to have this rare, fascinating, and protected animal visiting us, and we want to assure people that the Otter does NOT need any help, and absolutely does NOT need to be caught”
Although we didn’t expect to see the Otter itself (they are active at dawn and dusk, and definitely not when the park is full of visitors) we walked as far north-west as we could, following the little stream, and hoping to see spraint (droppings left as territory markers) or even paw prints in the muddy edges. There WAS one muddy bit, where there might have been a print, but even if it was, it is probably more likely to have been made by a dog.
In a secluded area around a pool in the middle of the park, a path was closed, with a sign that breeding Swans were not to be disturbed. We saw the adult pair later, snoozing at the south end, but there were no cygnets with them. Had their little ones been predated by the Otter? Is that why the local people were so upset? People are often quite protective of “their” cygnets.
We also spotted a Heron near that same quiet pool, and it was perched up a tree, not on the pond banks. Was it wary of attack?
Elsewhere in the park we noted the usual suburban birds. A ragged looking Robin with a beak full of grubs and caterpillars perched briefly on the fence near the entrance then flew off across the road towards Meols Hall. A Pied Wagtail was hunting on the lawns next to the bare beds awaiting summer planting.
There is a rare tree in the Fernery – a tall Wollemi Pine in a big pot.
I also noticed that the Horse Chestnuts seemed to have more conkers forming than usual. Most years only two or three form from each flower spike, but this year I am seeing clusters of 10 or 12. A good year, perhaps brought on by the warm spring.
On the lake we noted Mallards, Black-headed Gulls, Coots and Moorhens and a few Tufted Ducks. Several Mallard mothers had broods of half-grown chicks. We counted five in one cluster and three in another, so the Otter hadn’t taken all of them.
The moulting Mallards on the bank were very tame and came in very close, within an inch or two of our boots, looking for crumbs. It’s good to see them so trusting of people. They aren’t subject to sticks, stones and attempts to grab them, as some city centre park Mallards seem to be.
One Black-headed Gull had a blue ring on its leg, 241L. I reported it and the result that came back said it had been ringed as adult in Botanic Gardens in December 2023. Subsequently seen at Botanic in October and December 2024, at Marshside in May 2025 and is now back at Botanic Gardens. This one seems not to be an adventurer!
Public transport details: Bus 47 from Queen Square at 10.15, arriving Preston New Road / Marshside Road at 11.42. Returned on bus 49 from Botanic Road / Botanic Gardens at 2.36, arriving Southport Lord Street at 2.45, just in time to catch the 2.51 train back to Liverpool.
Next week we plan to go to Eastham, meeting Sir Thomas Street at 10 am.