The Naturalists' Notebook

It’s starting to get wintry now. There was hail and frost in the week, and there are drifts of autumn leaves underfoot. But today was mild, overcast and dry. We took the 130 bus to the junction of the Northern Perimeter Road and Chapel Lane, crossed over by the pedestrian crossing, went up Chapel Lane then turned left over the fields. It may be the last time we can take this walk, because the planned Thornton Relief Road will be going right through it. The fields are already sprouting red posts to mark the line of the road.

Running west from Switch Island, it will cross Brickwall Lane, pass north of Thornton Garden of Rest, and come out at a new roundabout near Back Lane, with a spur to join Moor Lane. It will be called the A5758 Broom’s Cross Road, named after a mediaeval cross base located near the junction of Holgate Lane and Back Lane. The old cross is Grade II listed and won’t be affected by the new road. There is more about the road on the Sefton Council website.

In the hedges we spotted Goldfinch, Chaffinch, Robin, Magpies. Two buzzards were soaring on thermals over some trees and a pair of Skylarks took to the air, but they don’t sing their famous song in the winter. A Kestrel was hovering and a female Bullfinch was seen disappearing into a copse. We waited to see if the male came along, but sadly he didn’t.  A stubble field contained a large flock of Curlews. We counted, and there were 43 of them. John has never seen so many together before. Along the waysides were lots of White Dead-Nettle, flowering abundantly and looking very fresh. I thought that was odd, and wondered if they were confused by the late summer into thinking it was spring already, but apparently they are known to flower as late as December.

We crossed Brickwall Lane and walked up to Sefton Church, past the road of new houses, now called Mill Weir Gardens. It was just a muddy building site last time we passed. As Sefton Church clock chimed 12 we were lunching at the back of the Churchyard, amongst the falling autumn leaves.  And very pretty leaves they were too – multiple shades of yellow and orange, probably some kind of Maple.

After a comfort stop in the Punchbowl we went along Lunt Road and turned right into Sefton Meadows. One very low-lying field had attracted some Carrion Crows and a flock of over 100 gulls, either Herring or Common, they were too far away to tell. Why were they in that field but not in the others?  It wasn’t to eat the farmer’s seed because the field was flushed with new green growth of some crop. Was it perhaps that that particular field was low, damp and wormy?  While we puzzled over that, a skein of 100 or more Pink-footed Geese passed overhead.

As we returned along the hedges, there were Long-tailed Tits passing through and a young male Kestrel at the top of a tree. Along Lunt Road is a wonderful Beech hedge, at its best when the leaves turn bronze.

At the corner of Sefton Churchyard we noticed three very white trees, probably the extra-white Himalayan Birches, and they are in a great eye-catching spot.

Some of our best birds were seen as we made our way down Brickwall Lane back to the bus. Over the wall in fields to our left, as well as a Collared Dove, we noted a minor wildlife drama; a Buzzard was on the ground with a kill, and was being harrassed by two Carrion Crows, which eventually drove it off. And finally, nine Grey Partridges feeding quite close to the wall and more Curlews, pictured (distantly) below.

Public Transport details: 130 bus from Queen Square at 10.19, arriving Chapel Lane on Northern Perimeter Road at 10.55. Returned from Northern Perimeter Road / Higher End Park on the 55 bus at 2.40.

This was our longest run on the 300 bus, and we didn’t get to Halsall until well after 11. It was a damp and misty day, but calm and mild. As we walked down Summerwood Lane from Halsall Church towards the canal, about two dozen Pink-footed Geese passed overhead, flying south east. There were House Sparrows in a hedge, Pied Wagtails on the roofs and Jackdaws calling from the trees. At the Halsall Navvy sculpture we turned north for another two or three miles of the canal. There weren’t many birds on the water, just a couple of Moorhens, a few Black-headed Gulls, the odd Mallard and only one Coot all day. Where do they all go?

After the 19-mile milepost we spotted some gas guns in a farmer’s field, which bang every half an hour or so to scare the birds. They must work because there was only one Carrion Crow in the newly sown field, and a distant bang from some woods sent up a large flock of Wood Pigeons.

We lunched by Weaver’s Bridge, one of the few places on the canal locally with plenty of seating. There are no less than FOUR wooden benches there,  which makes a change from having to sit on the parapets of bridges!  The 20 mile milepost is alongside the fence around Scarisbrick Marina. We were tempted to visit the Marina Café, not only for a comfort stop, but also to scoff some of their lovely cake.

At Scarisbrick Bridge the canal turns from north to east and runs along the edge of three woods. The golden yellows of some of the trees were magnificent. It isn’t fenced off, but there are many prominently-placed signs saying the woods are private. I think they belong to the old Scarisbrick Hall estate.   The Hall is by Pugin and is Grade I listed, but sadly not open to the public. It now houses an independent school.

This section of the canal towpath has two rare objects, a half-mile marker and one for the quarter. The half mile marker is next to the narrows at Such Hey Wood while the quarter marker is opposite the sign for Scarisbrick moorings. Soon after that we noted a large cut tree trunk with an outcrop of a yellow wiggly fungus which I guess was Yellow Brain Fungus Tremella mesenterica (but I’m prepared to be corrected). (Added later: my guess was wrong, as I half suspected. It’s Hairy Curtain Crust. Thanks Sabena.)

Near Heaton’s Bridge we noted a Dunnock under fence, some Redwings passing overhead and by the bridge itself, a flight of seven Mute Swans. In the grounds of Heaton’s Bridge Inn is a WWII watchtower / blockhouse, which we had time to look at before the 375 bus to Ormskirk at 2.45.

The next canal walk, taking us to Burscough Bridge, will be the last of the series, because we can’t get much further on (free!) public transport.

Public Transport details: 300 bus from Sir Thomas Street at 10.20 arriving Halsall Church at 11.19. This is the first bus on Sundays, and it’s an hourly service. From Heaton’s Bridge we took the hourly 375 at 2.45 from outside the garage into Ormskirk, and then the 3.20 train from Ormskirk to Liverpool.

It was Remembrance Sunday, so we chose the service at Hamilton Square. We have found Liverpool to be too crowded, we arrive too late at Southport for a good spec and the Bootle service isn’t our favourite, so Birkenhead is the best for us. In contrast to many previous Remembrance days, this one was clear and sunny, although we still got cold, just standing around.

After a quick browse in the Wilfrid Owen Story and Gallery in Argyle Street
we had lunch in a sunny spot in Hamilton Square gardens, then took the train to New Brighton.

We were looking for Purple Sandpipers. Ten of them had been reported at New Brighton Marine Lake on Thursday (but not on Friday or Saturday). We scanned the rocks and breakwater all around the Fort Perch Rock area, but there were none to be found, just plenty of walkers with loose dogs, who could have scared them off days ago. Along the incoming tideline we spotted Sanderlings, Oystercatchers, Redshank, various gulls and some Cormorants. Half a dozen Jackdaws looked down on it all from the chimneys of the Fort.

Opposite the Tower Grounds is the “Black Pearl”, a large pirate ship made of driftwood, which the kids (and some bigger kids!) were all climbing on. It has a Jolly Roger and a Treasure Chest (filled with beach combings and pine cones) and miscreants can “walk the plank”. To the disgust of some passers-by, Wirral Council has posted an “at your own risk” notice on the railings. At least they haven’t banned the children from playing on it!  We had just missed the light, so this isn’t the best picture. I’m afraid.

Public transport details: Train from Liverpool Central to Hamilton Square at 10.15, then the train from Hamilton Square to New Brighton at 12.55 arriving 1.13. Returned on the 433 bus from New Brighton, King’s Parade at 2.44 arriving Liverpool 3.13.

After a windy night, which blew my rubbish bins around, it was a day of mixed sunshine, heavy showers and rainbows. The sun was shining as we walked down to the canal just below Chester Station and headed for the Telford warehouse. At Cow Lane Bridge there were Mallards and Black-headed Gulls crowding around for bread, and just beyond it there was an unusual ornamental Rowan tree with yellow berries.

Near Northgate Moorings we saw the last flowers of Himalayan Balsam, some Ivy in flower, attended by just a few small wasps, and this small clump of yellow flowers, which I can’t identify. The clump shape reminded me of Wood Sorrel, but the flowers were like Cowslips. Anyone any ideas? It’s probably not a native wildflower but a garden escape.  (Added later: Canary Creeper Tropaeolum peregrinum has been suggested, but neither the leaf shape, the flower shape or the growth habit seem to be the same.)(Added even later – thanks to Charles Russell who has nailed it. It’s Yellow Corydalis Pseudofumaria lutea (formerly Corydalis lutea), a shade-loving native of the Alps, found occasionally in the UK as a garden escape. It’s said to flower to the end of October, so the one I saw was only a bit late.)

At Northgate top lock, the narrow boat Black Eyed Susan was coming through and we loitered for a while to watch.

We lunched at the Telford warehouse. The regular pair of Mute Swans there didn’t come close enough for us to check their legs for rings. Then up onto the walls at the Water Tower, where we saw Mahonia in flower, a Grey Squirrel, and a view over the River Dee to the brilliant sunshine topping the Welsh hills. Over the Roodee racecourse we spotted a Raven and we also noticed that the Little Roodee café by the coach park has a “green” grass roof.

Opposite the University of Chester building there were some Teal on the river, and a Cormorant who had just caught a fish. We spotted a Mink here a few years ago, scuttling amongst the willow scrub on the muddy bank of the Dee, but there was no sign today.  A dead tree had caught on the weir, and sitting in it was a Greater Black-backed Gull, a juvenile (Common?) Gull and two Cormorants.

Along the Groves were four Mute Swans, two adults and two big grey-brown cygnets. One adult wasn’t ringed but the other adult had a blue Darvic ring 7CXJ on its left leg, while the two cygnets had green rings, left leg, CDY4 and CDY5. I reported them to the Cheshire Swan Study Group  who have told me that the ringed adult was the male, now 10 or 11 years old and ringed at Buttery Farm, Kynnersley, Telford in April 2004. He has been sighted on the Dee at Chester many times since 2009. His cygnets are both male, and were ringed on the Dee on 30th September this year.

We weren’t back at the station in time for the 2pm train so while we waited we looked into the old stable yard behind the Queens Hotel. The gateway says “Carriages and Post Horses for Hire”.

Inside there are a few remaining old offices and stables from what was once the biggest stable complex in the North West of England. As well as the commercial horse-hiring associated with the hotel, the stables once housed the Cheshire Hunt.

Public transport details: Train from Liverpool Central to Chester at 10.15, arriving 11.00. Returned on the 2.30 train from Chester to Liverpool.

It was a wet morning, and the south of England was gearing up for a big storm, but the weather forecast for the Haskayne area was for sunshine, and so it turned out to be. This historic stretch of the Leeds – Liverpool canal has the Halsall cutting, the first bridge to be built, and the place where the first sod was cut.

We started at the Scarisbrick Arms at Downholland Cross and our attention was soon drawn to a gathering of cars beside a barn along the main road. It turned out to be a pumpkin sale.

The farmer must have been so busy selling pumpkins, that he didn’t notice his sheep had got into his kale crop.

Downholland Swing Bridge is now out of use, permanently open and overgrown.

Opposite is the historic Downholland Hall, which is Grade II listed. The lords of the manor are said to be documented back to the time of Edward the Confessor, although the present Hall dates only to 1729.

Despite the gusty breeze it turned out to be a lovely warm and bright day, and we saw several butterflies on the wing – a Small Tortoiseshell and two Red Admirals.

The council workmen have recently been cutting back the nettles and brambles on the hedgerow side of the canal, leaving a wide verge. The cutting machine may have traumatised the common water birds. We saw only one Moorhen and one Coot between Downholland and Haskayne moorings, but when we got to the Ship Inn for our lunch stop we spotted over 50 Mallards skulking on the far bank, so sleepy that they didn’t even bother to come over to mooch for bread from us.

Despite the lovely weather, it was a pretty poor day for birds overall. Apart from the Crows and Gulls in the fields we saw just one Chaffinch at the start of the Halsall cutting.

Along the cutting itself is a sign marking an historic spot, where the Hon Charles Mordaunt of Halsall Hall ceremoniously turned the first spadeful of earth in November 1770, two hundred and forty-three years ago.

Just before the cutting is the first bridge built on the canal, Harker’s Bridge, number 23. It’s nearly a perfect canal bridge, with deep rope marks on the edge and a white stripe marking the centre of the channel, but it has a modern road going over it, so it doesn’t get top marks from me.

My favourite is the next one, Halsall Hill Bridge, number 24. Not only is it a perfectly-formed old canal bridge, with rope marks and a centre stripe, but the stone blocks still bear the mason’s numbers and letters. In addition, the bridge carries only an old cobbled footpath over the canal, and it leads to the wonderfully-named Trundle Pie Lane. They don’t come much better that that!

We left the canal at the Saracen’s Head, where there is a signboard about the building of the canal and a sculpture of “The Halsall Navvy”, commemorating all the men who dug it out by hand.

We walked down Summerwood Lane to the parish church of St Cuthbert, a Grade I listed building with a 14th century chancel and mediaeval gargoyles. The clock on the tower bears the Latin words Praeterunt imputantur, which I think means, ominously, “They pass by and are reckoned”. In the churchyard are many old gravestones and some fine trees. On the old font outside the main door was a Harlequin ladybird and on the railings we spotted a Green Shieldbug.

Public transport details: 300 bus from Sir Thomas Street at 10.21, arriving Downholland at 11.10. Return on the 300 bus from St Cuthbert’s church, Halsall, at 2.13. (Hourly bus on a Sunday)

It’s still warm, with showers between the sunshine.

They are refurbishing King’s Gardens with the help of Lottery money, so the café was surrounded with hoardings and many of the Victorian shelters are being dismantled.

On  the lawns after a shower, a Common Gull was worm-charming by stamping its feet. This appears to work, as we saw it stop and grab several worms then go back to its dancing. There was nothing special on the lake, just Black-headed Gulls, 100+ Coots, a few Mute Swans, some Mallards and one Moorhen. One Coot was dead, floating in the lake. There was no sign of damage so had it lost a fight? Coots can be very belligerent as they get in the mating mood.

After lunch, as we rounded the corner near the Matalan store, one Mute Swan, obviously hungry, spotted us and came right up, hoping for bread. She had leg ring NXD blue right. We have seen her here before, in February this year, and reported her then to the North West Swan Study. Wes Halton told me she had been ringed at St Annes on the 2 Sept 2003. So she’s just over 10 years old and seems to have settled in Southport.

The tide was right in, so there were no shore birds to see. We walked to the end of the pier and looked at the old penny-in-the-slot machines. They will sell you 10 old pennies for a pound, but I bet they won’t buy old pennies back from you at the same rate!  Next time we go I must look out my bag of old pennies so we can all have a go at getting some of the trinkets!

The town end of the pier overlooks the miniature golf area, and there are sometimes good birds there. We saw a Whimbrel there once. Today, however, there were just some Oyster Catchers, more Common Gulls and a Wood Pigeon.

Public transport details: Train from Central Station to Southport at 10.23, ariving 11.10. Returned on the 14.28.