The Naturalists' Notebook

We entered the park from Ballantrae Road, at the south-west entrance. Just inside were two multi-trunked trees that appeared to be dead. A few leaves remained on one, which showed they were some kind of Maple. One had a clump of Pink Purslane at its base.

We walked in a vaguely anti-clockwise / easterly direction across the open south-central area, tree- spotting as we went. This Sweet Chestnut was in bloom, showing the long male catkins at the top and the smaller female flowers in the centre, which will become the nuts.

We also noted Hornbeam, Turkey Oak and Common Lime. We were really looking for the Black Mulberry Morus nigra which we found in the open area south-east of the Manor House, east of the ha-ha, near some Scots Pines. It looks like the upper branches have died, and it has been pruned back. It was still leafing bravely though, and bearing unripe fruit. That’s 20 I-Spy points, taking us to exactly 1000, so we savoured the moment.

Behind the bike racks next to the Mansion House we looked at what we remembered to be a Snowbell Tree, Styrax japonica, but it didn’t look like the small trees that I have been seeing blooming prettily in parks and gardens recently. Not a Snowbell after all, our memories were faulty, it was the rarer (Mountain) Snowdrop or Silver Bell Halesia monticola. There is a Snowberry bush in front of it, just to add to the confusion.

Along the wall of the Gent’s toilets is a patch of the rare parasitic plant Ivy Broomrape Orobanche hederae.  It has none of the green pigment chlorophyll so it cannot make food for itself, and is entirely dependent on the roots of the Ivy.

The Common Walnut tree by the flower beds had the Walnut Leaf Gall Mite Aceria erinea infesting the leaves.

We had lunch in the Old English Garden, entertained by the very tame or cheeky (take your pick) wildlife which gathers at butty time. There was a Grey Squirrel on the edge of the pond, and several more of them under the benches. A Dunnock ventured out and there were two Robins and a Great Tit trying their luck. There was also a rather tame Jay skulking about on the Pergola. One of the Robins looked quite scruffy, and I saw it take a fly-by dip into the pond, without landing on a leaf, just skimming the water and wetting its breast. Was that why it looked so scruffy, because it was wet? Or was it infested with something and trying to relieve an itch?

I thought there was a Large-leaved Lime opposite the old stable block (now the Gallery area) but all we found was a cut-down trunk. The one at Flaybrick will be our last hope for those points. One of us spotted a shield bug on a Maple. The British Bugs shieldbug page has a lot of pictures, and I think it was the Red-legged Shieldbug Pentatoma rufipes. They are said to be widespread and common in wooded areas, orchards and gardens, and feed mainly on oak, alder, hazel and other deciduous trees including apple and cherry.

One of our target trees was this Japanese Red Cedar Cryptomeria japonica, which isn’t a Cedar at all, but a more primitive type of tree. It was worth 15 points.

Another target was the Douglas Fir Pseudotsuga menziesii (another 15 points). As far as I know this one in Calderstones is the only one on Merseyside, possibly at the southern edge of its range. It’s another tree with a misleading name, as it isn’t a Fir at all, but is also from a more primitive group. Its name honours two great Scottish plant hunters, David Douglas and Archibald Menzies. The easiest way to identify it is by the distinctive cones, which have a long tridentine (three-pointed) bract that protrudes over each scale.

In the Swamp Cypress near the Allerton Oak we spotted a couple of young Blackbirds, looking very brown and fluffy, who had perhaps just left their nest today. We were looking for a flowering Tulip Tree Liriodendron tulipfera. We’d seen the small one on the lawn in front of the Mansion House and a much bigger one inside the Old English Garden, but there was hardly a flower to be seen. Had we missed them? Perhaps. They may start flowering as early as May. However, the big Tulip Tree near the Swamp Cypress still had some flowers so we claimed our 25 points.

We saw no new birds this week. No new wildflowers either, although we correctly answered two questions on last week’s flowers, and thereby raised our score to 600. How does Hedge Woundwort get its name? Because the leaves were once used to dress wounds. The Rosebay Willowherb is also called Fireweed; do you know why? Because it grows on burnt ground. Trees are up to 1055 and I-Spy badges and certificates for passing 1000 will follow!  There are only 18 trees left to spot, worth 350 points at most. It’s possible we might yet get them all (except the English Elm, of course.)

While we were on the bus on the way back, we noticed that many Rowan trees have their berries just turning brown, and some are fully red. So that’s it, autumn already!

Public transport details: Bus 86 from Liverpool ONE at 10.15, arriving Mather Avenue / Ballantrae Road at 10.45. Returned on the 76 bus from Menlove Avenue / opp Druid’s Cross Gardens at 1.50, arriving Liverpool 2.25.

The trains to Wirral came back on this week, after several months of disruption while the track under the river was being replaced. We celebrated by going to West Kirby. Mercifully, it was a much cooler day, with light drizzle early on, but the sun came out about lunchtime. Our first port of call was Sandlea Park, which has a lot of Common Walnut trees, which have liked the hot weather and have produced a bumper crop of fruits.

We cut through the houses and down to South Parade, which overlooks the beach. The tide was coming in and the Lifeguards in their jeep were watching the last stragglers returning from Hilbre. A Swallow flew below us, low over the sand. A Great Black-backed Gull contemplated the large flock of gulls congregated on the tideline. We headed southwards past the Marine Lake and spotted a  Sandwich Tern, which was moving too fast for me to catch a picture. Various small yachts were out, taking advantage of the breeze, which hadn’t yet dissipated the grey mist on the Flintshire side.

A Common Tern patrolled up and down, occasionally hovering, and it caught at least one fish from Marine Lake.

At the southern end of South Parade we admired an intensely red clump of flowers in someone’s garden.

Then along Sandy Lane and Mcdona Drive. We always like seeing other people’s gardens, and we were highly amused by this cheeky drain cover!

Our destination was Cubbins Green near Caldy, where we lunched. Lots of wildflowers were coming out, including Common Mallow, Common Toadflax and our first Ragwort.

Then we ambled back along the Wirral Way, spotting lots more wild flowers for our list – Creeping Thistle, Rosebay Willowherb, Honeysuckle, Greater Trefoil, Ox-eye Daisy, Hedge Woundwort.

Creeping thistle

Hedge woundwort

Honeysuckle

The back of one house had an overgrown Hornbeam hedge, which is another tick on our tree list. Even though the sun was out, the only butterfly we saw was this Small White.

There were a couple of 7-spot ladybirds, but they seemed quite orangey rather than the usual scarlet. The book says they CAN occasionally be yellow, so maybe this is a local intermediate form. I have decided I want some Garlic Mustard in my garden, in the hope of getting Orange Tip butterflies. While I was gathering a couple of seed-heads we disturbed a mother Nursery Web Spider Pisaura mirabilis. Here’s her web with the spiderlings. I do hope she returned.

John was hoping to spot either Treecreepers or Bullfinches, birds still missing from our I-Spy list, but none were about today, even in Ashton Park.

The pond had the usual common birds – moulting Mallards, Coot, Canada Geese, juvenile Herring Gulls and a Moorhen. I took the opportunity to get a good look at the Coot’s semi-webbed feet.

No advance on the bird list today. We spotted Walnut and Hornbeam, so the tree list is up to 980 points. We will break 1000 points next week at Calderstones, where I have four definite ticks in mind worth 70 points, and we might make 90 if we find the Mulberry. We had eight wildflower ticks today, taking us to 570 points.

Public transport details: Train from Central at 10.05, arriving West Kirby at 10.35. Returned on the 14.01 train from West Kirby, arriving Liverpool 2.35.

On the hottest day of the year we took refuge in the cool, shady tranquilly of Alexandra Park in Crosby. (The picture above is a 2009 autumn picture “borrowed” from Flickr.)  The park was opened in December 1902, just scraping into the year of Queen Alexandra’s coronation. It was designed as a place simply for promenading in big hats, with no bowling greens or football fields. Unfortunately, this means that very many of the original trees could now be 115 years old, dominating the canopy, and coming to the end of their lives. Nothing appears to have been done about succession for many decades, but kudos are now due to Sefton Council who have embarked on a project to gradually replace the old trees with very interesting younger ones. Following their receipt of almost £75,000 from a pot of “Section 106 money” (money that developers of larger sites pay to the council to reduce the impact of the development), they have been planting some well-grown young trees of unusual varieties. The list includes Hybrid Red Maple Acer x freemanii ‘Autumn Blaze’; Paperbark Maple Acer griseum; Cut-leaved or Fern-leaved Alder Alnus glutinosa ‘Imperialis’; Swedish Cut-leaved Birch Betula pendula ‘Dalecarlica’; Katsura Cercidiphyllum japonicum; Judas tree Cercis siliquastrum; Japanese Larch Larix kaempferi; Pin Oak Quercus palustris; Henry’s Lime Tilia henryana; Golden Smooth-leaved Elm Ulmus carpinifolia ‘Wredei Aurea’; Snowy Mespil Amelanchier arborea ‘Robin Hill’; Manchurian Cherry Prunus maackii ‘Amber Beauty’; Bird Cherry Prunus padus ‘Watereri’; two varieties of Flowering cherry Prunus ‘Accolade’ and Prunus “Amanogawa”  and a row of Laburnum Laburnum x watereri ‘Vossii’.

The row of new young Laburnums, which flowered within a month of planting.

One of three Henry’s Limes, none of which appear to have come into leaf, and may have failed.

We also noted Peacock and Speckled Wood butterflies, and several common birds, Blackbird, Chaffinch and Wren, which were very relaxed around people. Shrubs included Privet, which is just coming into bloom and scent, some late Bird Cherries flowering in the shade and this lovely white-flowered one, which I think is the Snowbell Tree Styrax japonicus.

After lunch we headed off to Coronation Park, which was wide open and very hot. They were having a Community Day, with face painting, a magic show, a bouncy castle, pony rides, and a display by Lancashire Hawks and Owls.  They are all rescued birds, and money is raised for their keep by charging people £2 to have a hawk or owl on their arm. There were many young customers queuing for the privilege.

Tawny Owl

Little Owl

The park had only one tree that caught my eye, in a corner by the duck pond. Could this be a Medlar (the young fruit has quite a wide-open end) or will these fruits simply mature into Apples? I will keep my eye on it later in the year to see how they develop.

We crossed the road to the graveyard of St Luke’s church, which had been very wildlife-friendly a few years ago, but the impetus seems to have gone. Even the bug hotel is almost completely overgrown by Ivy, Nettle and Goosegrass, although I suppose the bugs don’t mind!

One of the gravestones was worthy of note – a lady who died in 2004 aged 83, who had been a code breaker at Bletchley Park. The old Butterfly garden had a large patch of Red Valerian intertwined with Hedge Bindweed.

No new birds for the I-Spy list today. The only tree new to our list was an old Silver Birch in Alexandra Park (10 points), a tree which we have inexplicably failed to count so far. It takes our score to 940. Flowers – the Red Valerian was worth 25 points, the Hedge Bindweed 5, and we doubled some points from Kirkby by answering the associated questions. (What are the fruits of the Bramble called? Blackberries. What are the fruits of the Dog Rose called? Hips.) Total now 475.

Public transport details: Bus 53 from Queen Square at 10.15, arriving Mersey Road / College Road at 11.02.  Returned on bus 47 from St Luke’s Church, Liverpool Road at 2.26, arriving City Centre at about 3pm.

Stanley Park wasn’t quite at its best, with the massed Daffodils of the Field of Hope all gone, and  the formal beds yet to come into their peak flowering.  It was quite a grey day too, overcast and warm, but with a blustery wind and occasional sharp showers.

One splash of colour was provided by some Poppies on a wild bit of grass verge.

I spotted one of the trees from our I-Spy list, known as False Acacia, Locust Tree or Black Locust, Robinia pseudoacacia. Its leaves are pinnate like Ash or Rowan, but it bears flowers like a Laburnum, on pendulous racemes, but they are white not yellow, and much shorter.

There were Swallows over the open fields and Canada Geese, Mallards and Coot on the lake.  The fishermen had their tents pitched all along the edge, and on the far side we saw some very big fish lurking in the shallows, easily a foot (30 cm) long. Foraging along the edge was a Grey Wagtail.

In the wider reaches of the lake was a bird with a bright orange-yellow head. We think it was a male Red-crested Pochard, possibly the same bird that John saw on Walton Hall Park lake in February.

I was fascinated by a row of Lime trees, which had the remains of their flowers sticking out at odd angles, and I think they might have been Small-leaved Limes. All the illustrations in the books show this.  Later we saw what must have been the Common Lime, which had its flowers all pointing down. Regrettably, neither tree is on the I-Spy list and we must wait for the much less common Large-leaved Lime to claim any points.

Flowers sticking up – Small-leaved Lime?

Flowers hanging down – so Common Lime

Near the circle of old Plane trees we heard a loud wheeping bird call, which we were convinced was made by a Nuthatch, but when we spotted the bird making the noise it was a Chaffinch!  One Swift flew high overhead. Near the island in the lake a pair of Great Crested Grebes were loitering, but they had no stripy chicks with them. The nest was there behind them, with bits of brightly-coloured litter attached, but their clutch must have failed.

The Coots had done better, and here are two youngsters on their nest.

There were several trees with long dangling strings of seeds, blowing in the wind. They were the Caucasian Wingnut Pterocarya fraxinifolia.

We lunched by the Isla Gladstone Conservatory, and were treated to cake by Bill, who was 90 that day and is still going strong. In March this year the World Economic Forum publicised the Japanese custom of “Tree Bathing” and the health benefits of being around trees and forests. Bill appears to be a beneficiary of the effect.

Then we walked along towards the Cemetery, spotting half a dozen Goldfinches on the flowerbeds and a Mistle Thrush on the wall. In Anfield Cemetery we noted the old VC graves, the ruined catacombs, and we looked unsuccessfully for the gravestone of William Herbert Wallace and his wife Julia. He was convicted of her murder in 1931, but the verdict was (uniquely and controversially) overturned on appeal, and now it is generally accepted that he didn’t do it.

There were Grey Squirrels all over the cemetery. My eye was caught by this shapely little tree with white blossom just going over. I have no idea what it was. The flowers and leaves looked like Common Hawthorn, but there were no thorns, it was flowering too late, the faded flowers looked quite unlike Hawthorn and the tree shape was wrong. I speculate that it was some sort of Hybrid Cockspur Thorn, but that’s just a guess.

New birds for the group today were Swift (15 points), Grey Wagtail (20) and Great Crested Grebe (15), which makes 50 and takes our total to 1285.
Flowers: Just the Common Poppy (10) taking us to 420.
Trees: Today we added the False Acacia / Locust Tree / Black Locust (25). Last week on the way to the Cathedral Flower Festival the group passed the Foxglove Tree in Henry Street (25) but were too late for its flowering. Our total is now 930.

Foxglove tree (with the large light-coloured leaves and gone-over flower spikes)

Public transport details: Bus 17 from Queen Square at 10.12, arriving Arkles Lane / Anfield Road at 10.30. Those of us going back to Liverpool got the 19 bus from Walton Lane / Priory Road at 2.24, arriving City Centre at 2.38.

We went to Kirkby to follow up reports of nesting Peregrines on the church, but we had a good look at the trees in St Chad’s Gardens first. They have a fine young Deodar, a Laburnum arch that has just finished, a Red Horse Chestnut and one that I first mistook for a Japanese Maple, but it was an Oriental Plane, said to be rare north of the Midlands. The only other one I know of in Merseyside is on the central reservation of East Prescot Road near Springfield Park.

There was some sort of Lime, not sprouty at the base and showing a low graft. The leaves were glossy and papery and there were no seeds. I hoped that it was a Large-leaved Lime (worth 15 points) but it doesn’t match the book at all. It was more like a Small-Leaved Lime in features, except for the size of the leaves. These Limes are doing my head in!  We had more luck with the matching pair of youngish trees on either side of the gate. They were conical trees, no seeds, but with big alternate leaves with their stalks reddish and hairy. I think they are Turkish Hazels, which the Collins Tree Guide says are now a locally frequent street tree.

As promised, a pair of Peregrines were nesting in the church belfry. Neither of them were impressed when the church bells rang, and they flew away screeching, but one soon came back.

We met a local lad, who joined us in foraging for pellets. We broke open the only one we found, revealing the leg rings of a racing pigeon!

The young bird watcher also knew where all the birds’ nests were. He pointed out the tree hole which a Great Spotted Woodpecker had investigated, but was soon put off by a pair of Blue Tits who also fancied it. There is a Kestrel nest in a drainpipe hopper and he said he’d heard the chicks calling, but all we saw was a tail, and then the brooding adult flew off. The first of three Corpses of the Day was a Hedgehog, decomposing gently by the side of the path.

After lunch we went into the park behind the church, called Millbrook Millennium Green. A Song Thrush was singing loudly from a thicket and both Bramble and Dog Rose were coming into flower. The Guelder Rose Viburnum opulus was blooming well, but something was eating its leaves down to lace. On the undersides of the leaves were the culprits, larvae of the Viburnum Leaf Beetle (or Guelder Rose Leaf Beetle) Pyrrhalta viburni.

The bird-watching lad turned up again, and in his bag he had a brood of baby Blue Tits, which he’d found cheeping on the ground. Had they fallen from the nest? They had probably just fledged that morning. We urged him to take them back to the same place, where their parents could find and feed them.

There is a little wetland there, part of the Simonswood Brook. A Sedge Warbler was singing in the reeds but we couldn’t see it. Flowers included Meadow Cranesbill, White Clover, Hemlock Water Dropwort, Yellow Flag Iris and Blue Iris.

We returned for a last look at the birds on the church. There was a young Starling lying dead on the path – Corpse Number Two. Both Peregrines were sitting by the belfry louvers, listening to the sounds of the young ones inside.

Our third corpse was a Wood Pigeon in a bus shelter in Kirkby bus station, a clean and perfect bird, but with a broken neck. We could see the imprint of its wings on the glass. Had it been chased by a Peregrine that morning, and went the wrong way in its panic? Near the bus station, more “birds of prey”, but this time they were dubious public sculpture. An artist called Geoff Wood has been allowed to set up three oversized armchairs, each with a huge pair of wings attached. The installation is called “Kirkby Thrones” and is labelled “Imagine these winged thrones giving flight to your ideas.” The white one was called “Osprey”, the dark brown one “American Eagle”, and the red-gold one “Golden Eagle”.

Our I-Spy points for flowers are going well. We doubled the 50 points for Freshfield’s Common Nettle to 100 because we got the question right. Q: True or False? The young leaves are good to eat. (Answer at the end).  We also got 65 points from five more flowers today, taking us to 410. There are questions on Meadow Cranesbill, Dog Rose and Bramble that I still have to ask, so we might increase to 400. We got 50 points for the Peregrine (a Top Spot) and I think John will also count the noisy Sedge Warbler, although we didn’t see it. Probably 1235 points by now. There was no advance on the tree points, still at 880. (A: True)

Public transport details: Bus 20 from Queen Square at 10.10, arriving Kirkby Row / James Holt Avenue (outside St Chad’s gardens) at 10.52. Returned on the 20 bus from Kirkby bus station at 2.25, arriving Liverpool City Centre at 3.10.