Author Archives: Sabena Blackbird

 Seventeen MNA members joined our first coach trip of the year to the Lancashire Wildlife Trust Nature Reserve at Brockholes just off the M6. Given the recent prolonged heavy rains exceptional foresight was shown by Adam Khan architects design of … Continue reading →

Earlier in the week a group of 1st year Marine Biology Students at Liverpool University had a practical in the lab looking at the morphology of marine organisms. The crew from the Uni’s Research Boat RV Marisa caught a number of … Continue reading →

The two Dave’s, Jim Hughes, Chris Butterworth and I joined members of the North-west Fungus Group for the Ken Jordan Memorial Fungal Foray at Ainsdale led by Tony Carter. In the undergrowth beside the Natural England Warden’s office we found … Continue reading →

 The final MNA coach trip of 2013 took us through the Derbyshire spa town of Buxton before climbing in a series of sharp bends onto the flat moorland of Goyt’s Moss along the A537 passing the ‘Cat and Fiddle’ the … Continue reading →

Seventeen MNA members joined the penultimate coach trip of the year to Fairburn Ings RSPB Reserve near Castleford in West Yorkshire. After a slight detour we arrived in time for lunch and sat on the picnic tables overlooking the feeders. … Continue reading →

African Bush Elephant Loxodonta africana I’ve recently returned from a two week jaunt around Ghana in West Africa. There were many cultural highlights such as Bolgatanga – Lobi Villages and the distinctive local architecture and painted houses in the Wa region, Kumasi … Continue reading →

Taking advantage of the continuing heatwave Richard Surman, the two Daves and I headed over to Anglesey to visit the stunning location of Llanddwyn Island (Ynys Llanddwyn) at the far end of the beach at Newborough Warren. We drove down … Continue reading →

Small-spotted Catshark (a.k.a. Lesser Spotted Dogfish) Scyliorhinus canicula Atlantic Mackerel Scomber scombrus Fantastic day Shark-tagging with the Liverpool Bay Marine Life Trust – unfortunately we didn’t catch any of the Shark species we were hoping to tag (Tope, Common or … Continue reading →

As in previous years today’s MNA coach trip to Lathkill Dale was again blessed with hot and sunny weather. Lathkill Dale is one of the country’s finest limestone valleys and is one of five such valleys in the WhitePeak area … Continue reading →

Escaping from work for the day Richard Surman kindly drove Dave Bryant and I to the Llyn Peninsula in Gwynedd, North Wales. Our first stop was the small fishing village of Trefor. The tide was out leaving the fishing boats … Continue reading →