The Naturalists' Notebook

Gorse Hill Nature Reserve has an orchard, growing traditional old varieties of apple (and a few pears), and celebrates them in the autumn with an Apple Festival. The Sunday Group would have gone on 11th, but the MNA coach to Tatton Park took priority, so I went independently on the Saturday, meeting several other MNA members there: John C, Dorothy C, Brian W. There was apple tasting and sales, a juicing demonstration, juice tasting and sales, cider sales and guided tours of their orchards.

They grow over thirty varieties, including ones with lovely old names like Bramley Seedling, Irish Peach, Katy, Ellison’s Orange, Forty Shilling, Lady Sudeley, Lord Lambourne, Sunset, Worcester Permain, Ribston Pippin, Rosemary Russet, Egremont Russet, Galloway Pippin, King of the Pippins, Wheeler’s Russet, Carlisle Codlin, Manx Codlin, Grenadier, Keswick Codlin, Yorkshire Aromatic, Golden Spire, Lady of Wemyss, Lord Derby, Monarch, Mére de Ménage, Isaac Newton and Howgate Wonder.

The variety Isaac Newton is said to be from a tree discovered in Newton’s childhood garden, and to be the one that fell on his head, sparking his theories of gravity.

In the orchard hedges are Crab Apple bushes, which provide pollination services in the spring, but in the autumn are covered with tiny yellow apples, less than an inch across.

On the way back I noticed that from the top of the hill outside the Communications Centre, there is a lovely view of Ormskirk church, which famously has both a tower and spire.

On the corner of Rose Place, a yellow Buddleia was still in bloom, probably Buddleia x weyeriana “Sungold”. It was being visited by a Buff-tailed Bumble Bee and a Common Carder Bee.

Another garden had a Garden Spider Araneus diadematus sitting in its web.

Tree of the Day was a Red Oak Quercus rubra with its very large leaves, in the garden of a house called Brosely on Long Lane. I chatted to the owner about it, who had planted it many years before, and he said it had been rather disappointing, not providing the bright autumn colour he had hoped for.

Public transport details: Ormskirk train to Aughton Park. Turn right up Long Lane, cross over Liverpool Road (the A59) at Christ Church Aughton and take the path up through the fields to the Communications Centre. Take the footpath left though the horse fields which brings you out, by four or five stone steps, onto Holly Road, next to the Gorse Hill entrance.

Another lovely day, sunny and bright. The terminus of the 464 bus is next to an open field with a river view, which is part of Shorefields Nature Park. It overlooks the mud flats where the Great Eastern was broken up. The tide was out and there were lots of birds on all that lovely mud. Black-headed gulls, Lesser Black-backs and Herring Gulls of course, and a small group of Mallards or Teal. Several Curlews were stalking about, and we heard their calls almost constantly. Two Shelduck were skimming the wet algal layer on the top of the mud. Later in the day two Herons appeared. In the field were Crows and  Magpies, and a Great Spotted Woodpecker flew from one tree to another. Further along there were 50-60 Redshank with a Great Black-backed Gull keeping watch.

We spotted an interesting tree right away. To the north of the open field there’s a road called Shore Bank with a row of Lombardy Poplars, and at the river end there’s an unusual and handsome dark-leaved tree that we didn’t recognise. The leaves were like Ash, but smaller, and the top surface of the leaflets was dark and glossy. The twigs were also Ash-like, but the buds were dark purple, not black as in the common Ash. There were no seeds to give us a clue. I broke off a twig to bring home and I think it’s the infrequent Narrow-leaved Ash Fraxinus angustifolia, which Mitchell (the tree expert) says is usually only found in parks in southern England.

Bright red berries were everywhere. Rowan and Hawthorn, of course, and the hedgerows had Black Briony, Honeysuckle and Rose Hips. The Elder bushes were weighed down with large bunches of their black berries.

At the southern end there are steps down to the shore, then another flight up into Port Sunlight River Park. The Ragwort is still in fine flower, and we also noted Red Campion, Hogweed with hoverflies, and Hedgerow Cranesbill with its dainty paired flowers. There were masses of Michaelmas Daisies.

An unidentified blue dragonfly was active over the pool, and birds included Mute Swan, Moorhen, Coot, Teal, various gulls, Black-tailed Godwits, a Little Grebe and two Snipe.

While we lunched near the Ranger’s office there was a Buzzard circling overhead and a hovering Kestrel. There’s a white-barked Himalayan Birch there, and in the shrubbery some gone-over roses bore unusual black hips. Then we climbed the hill, getting better views of the Buzzard. There is a sign up saying they are strimming different sections of the top each year “to maintain the meadow for wild flowers and as a nesting area for Lapwings and Skylarks”. There was at least one Skylark in residence, which we heard before we saw. Another surprising bird was a female Wheatear on the path, perhaps a bird from further north, already on migration. From the summit there are great views of Liverpool.

At the very top there’s a lovely sinuous bench and an amusing wooden birdwatcher. The bench  is by the sculptor Mike Owens, and perhaps the birdwatcher is, too. The base of the bench has drawings of local birds.

It became so warm that we had to take off some layers. Not bad for October! A Large White butterfly was still on the wing, and there was a Speckled Wood in the lower hedgerows. A Teasel head was covered with the fluff from Rosebay Willow Herb seeds.  The commoner trees were also heavy with seeds. Great bunches of Ash keys are still on the trees, and this Sycamore bore seeds with the wings at quite a wide angle, more than the “regulation” 90 degrees and almost as wide as those of Norway Maple, but it was definitely a Sycamore.

Many of the trees we saw from the bus today were taking on their autumn colours, but turning unevenly on the same tree. One branch might still have green leaves, while another has turned a glorious colour. I don’t remember seeing that to such a degree in previous years. Here’s a Maple from near the houses on Shorefields.

Twice on the bus journey home I was startled to catch glimpses of trees with wholly yellow foliage, but I couldn’t stop to check what they were. They were probably Golden Ash Fraxinus excelsior ‘Jaspidea’. One tree nursery’s blurb describes it as “An eye-catching tree, with glorious, long lasting, butter yellow autumn colours in mid to late October.” Here’s a picture of one in Nantes Arboretum, courtesy of the French GardenBreizh website.

By the way, remember that grafted and broken Willow-leaved Pear in Princes Park a few weeks ago? There’s a pair of far better-looking ones in St John’s Gardens in Liverpool, one on the Central Library side and one opposite the Marriott Hotel.

Public transport details: Bus 464 towards New Ferry from Sir Thomas Street at 10.15, arriving at the terminus at Shorefields / Pollitt Square at 10.55. Returned from same stop on the 464 at 2.32. arriving Liverpool City Centre at 3.05

It’s getting autumnal now, but it was a beautiful day with hardly a cloud in the sky. It’s turning out to be a wonderful season for fruit and seeds, and the Hawthorn is putting on huge displays of red berries.

The trail in this section is a dark shady tunnel almost all the way along. Wayside flowers included Ragwort, one of the Knapweeds, Herb Robert, Woody and Black Nightshades, Michaelmas Daisies, seed-heads of Wood Avens, Bindweed and a crucifer with four-petalled yellow flowers and bulgy seeds with longish beaks, which I think might have been Black Mustard. Another one that foxed us was something in the Bistort family. The flowers were branched and very pale pink, almost white, and the stems were green. Despite this I think it was most likely to be the common Redleg, Persicaria maculosa, which is supposed to have red flowers and stems, but it was probably less coloured in deep shade.

Sycamore Tar Spot Fungus is said to be a sign of clean air, occurring in the country but not usually in towns. However, we spotted it all along the trail, even right next to the underpass below the Motorway and Bowring Park Road.

We lunched at a picnic table in a rare sunny spot with a splendid view over playing fields to Childwall All Saints church.

A small detour took us around the small park called Alderman John Village Garden, where I picked a Lime leaf and a seed head hanging from its yellowing bract.

Back on the trail I was hoping to collect leaves and seeds of Field Maple, Sycamore and Norway Maple, to compare them, but could I find a Norway Maple? Nope. This picture has just the Sycamore leaf and seed-pair and the much smaller Field Maple leaf lying on it, with its seeds sticking almost straight out.

Our last wildlife note was a Grey Squirrel in Belle Vale Park.  On this tenth section of the Trans-Pennine Trail we walked a further 3 miles of it, taking us to 23½ miles from Southport.

Public transport details: Bus 10A from Queen Square at 10.00, arriving East Prescot Road opposite Sainsbury’s at 10.25. Returned on 14A bus at Childwall Valley Road outside Belle Vale shopping centre at 2.10, arriving Liverpool 2.35.

The first yellowing leaves were falling from the Lime trees in Crosby this morning, so autumn is in the air. As we climbed up St George’s Way to Bidston Hill the low shrubs and grass glistened with the flat, dewy webs of a sheetweb spider from the genus Linyphia, and Linyphia triangularis is the commonest. The spider itself is supposed to lurk beneath the web, but we didn’t spot any.

Heather and Gorse were still out, and we spotted some flowers of Yellow Balsam.  We lunched at the top, admiring the views to Liverpool City Centre one way, and to Point of Air lighthouse and the Great Orme in the other direction.

Bidston Lighthouse is behind the Observatory, and I had never been aware of its existence before. Bidston is further from the shore than any other lighthouse in Britain. The current building dates to 1873, and it replaced a previous one from 1771. Together with Leasowe Lighthouse below it on the shore, it was a navigational aid to help mariners through the treacherous sandbanks into Liverpool. By lining up the lights of Leasowe and Bidston, ships could follow the safe channel.

On the way back to the windmill we spotted a large cluster of Fly Agaric Amanita muscaria under the Birch and Gorse. There were a dozen or more of them, with small ones still coming up. The largest was 7 or 8 inches across.

Further under the same undergrowth were some pale brown ones. Were they just poorly-pigmented ones of the same species, or were they the rarer Royal Fly Agaric Amanita regalis?

Inside a barn at Tam o’ Shanter urban farm a pair of Swallow parents were busily feeding three chicks, which were out of the nest and perching on a rafter. One of the staff said it was that pair’s fourth brood of the summer and that the farm has had its best-ever year for Swallows.

Then we went into Flaybrick Cemetery. The leaves on one of the big old Lime trees were curling up and the fruits were hanging in clusters from yellowing bracts.

One late bloom of the orange flower Fox and Cubs had a Hoverfly on it, perhaps from the genus Eupeodes.

Other trees noted were a False Acacia or Locust Tree, Robinia pseudoacacia, and this Hornbeam with small leaves and no seed clusters that I could see, which may be of the variety “Fastigiata”.

Public transport details: Bus 437 towards West Kirby from Sir Thomas Street at 10.05, arriving Upton Road / Boundary Road at 10.28. Returned from Upton Road / Boundary Road on the 437 bus at 3.39, arriving Liverpool 3.55.

We had a later start today because of a Heritage Open Day appointment at noon at Princes Road Synagogue. In Upper Parliament Street there was a large orange and black ladybird on a shrub-sized Italian Alder. It was as big or bigger than the common British Seven-spot Ladybird, so doubtless one of those invasive and variable Harlequins.

The Synagogue tour and talk was most interesting.

Afterwards we set off along Princes Avenue towards Princes Park for our belated lunch. Princes Park, like Botanic Park, is Grade II* listed. It was designed by Joseph Paxton and opened in 1842, one of the first parks in England to have public access.

We spent the next hour or so looking for trees. According to the Tree Register‘s database,  there are supposed to be two Indian Bean Trees in the park, one the County Champion for height and the other the County Champion for girth, located on the north west edge. We took that to be somewhere along the Croxteth Road edge, but they were nowhere to be seen. There was a splendid Hornbeam, though, with four or five trunks and a lovely spreading shape.

There were no birds of interest on the lake and lawns, just Mallard, Canada Geese, Magpie and Black-headed Gulls. We found another tree we were hunting for, just north of the lake. It was a Willow-leafed Pear, Pyrus salicifolia, the County Champion for girth, at 154cm (about 5 feet) and a height of 20 ft. Sadly, some of the branches have broken off at the shoulder-height graft, making it lopsided. The little pear fruits are said to be inedible, hard and astringent.

On the subject of trees, I was at Chester Zoo last week and went to look at the trees on the Oakfield lawn. The two big Cedars that I remembered being there weren’t Cedars of Lebanon at all, but Himalayan Cedars or Deodars, Cedrus deodara, which are thought to be over 100 years old. They have the same upright cones as Cedrus libani, but the form of the tree doesn’t have the flat “plates”, and the foliage is subtly different. I wonder if the trees we recently identified as “Cedars of Lebanon” (in Botanic Gardens and St Chad’s Kirkby) were really Himalayan Cedars?

Public transport details: 86 bus from Liverpool ONE bus station at 11.15, arriving Upper Parliament Street / Sandon Street at 11.35. Returned on 82 bus from Park Road / Gredington Street on 82 bus at 3.05, arriving Liverpool ONE bus station at 3.15.