The Naturalists' Notebook

I spent an enjoyable afternoon at the World Museum in Liverpool on 19th March 2011 in the company of Dr Ian Wallace and Steve Cross on a ‘Shell Training Course.’ The Liverpool Bay Marine Recording Partnership (LBMRP) has recently been set up to record some of the common species that can be found washed up on Liverpool Bay Beaches. A handy recording sheet has been produced with photographs of the variety of shells; crabs, shrimps & other crustacea; starfish,; urchins, jellyfish; eggs; fish and seaweeds that can be found. It focuses on species found on Liverpool Bay beaches so you are not bogged down with shells etc. that may only occur in say Cornwall. Dr Wallace jokingly referred to it as the Dead Sea Life Survey as those species washed up on our beaches will be decaying or dead.

We had a brief introduction to the internal shell anatomy of bivalves, followed by the anatomy of gastropods and how to identify right and left spiralled shells. We then tested our skills using the recording sheet to identify a variety of shells and seashore debris from the museum collections.  A field day is being held at Ainsdale Beach on 27th March 2011. Meet 11am at the western end of Shore Road where it joins the beach.

Recording Forms can be obtained from LBMRP via Steve.cross@liverpoolmuseums.org.uk or write to Steve Cross, Clore Natural History Centre, World Museum, William Brown Street, Liverpool L3 8EN. Also return any completed forms to Steve who will enter the information onto a database. If you encounter something really interesting that is not featured on the recording form please send them a photo they’d be interested to know. 

Pod Razor Shell Ensis siliqua

An Auger Shell Turritella communis

Common Wentletrap Epitonium clathrus

We were invited to a quick behind-the-scenes tour of the aquarium. They had a few Common Whelks Buccinum undatum in one tank. Whelks orientate by smell and when some food was dropped into the tank they all migrated towards it with their siphon tubes waving around as they tried to locate the source of the smell.

We were also shown the re-circulation systems for the tropical and cold-water tanks in the aquarium including protein skimmers, UV sterilizers and sand filters.  IAT International Aqua-tech in Anglesey (who my brother happens to work for) designed the system. Their projects have included some of the world’s greatest aquaria such as in the Burj-al-Arab in Dubai and Shanghai Ocean Aquarium. 

We took a peek into the top of the tropical tanks when a Long-horned Cowfish Lactoria cornuta decided to take a peek back at us. Certainly not a species we’re likely to see on our beaches! but I was lucky enough to see one in Madagascar a few years back that a group of fishermen had hauled up in their nets. They thankfully don’t eat them so they kindly placed it on the sand for me to take a quick snap before returning it to the sea. 

Thirteen MNA members met at Wigan Pier before heading along the Leeds – Liverpool canal. A Robin was perched on a metal fence paying us no attention whatsoever as we walked past it. We were dismayed to see a large amount of rubbish both in the water and along the canal banks. A male Bullfinch softly ‘pheuuing’caught my attention along with a few Great Tits and a Long-tailed Tit. On Pearson’s Flash were the usual gathering of Coot, Tufties 60+, Goldeneye I counted 9 males and 14 females but they were regularly diving so I may have missed a couple, a few Teal hiding out on the reed edge and a sign of Spring on the way with a pair of Great Crested Grebes indulging in their courtship display with symmetrical head waggling. A few Buff-tailed Bumble Bee Bombus terrestris queens were flying low to the ground. The young fertilised queens survive the Winter hibernating in a hole or under moss.

Scotsman’s Flash was quiet with one of the Coots practising his threat posture ready for seeing off rivals in the mating season, a few Canada Geese, large flock of Black-headed Gulls 120+ some of which were already in summer plumage with their chocolate heads, a few Herring and Lesser Black Backed Gulls and an obliging Common Gull that perched on a buoy allowing some of the newer members to check out its identification features. We wandered down through the reedbed at the south west end of Scotsman’s Flash and into the woodland. Good selection of Tits with Blue, Great, Coal and Willow. Goldfinch were twittering away and a male Siskin was hiding at the back of one of the feeders at the feeding station. We continued round to our usual picnic spot at Ochre Flash, clearly ‘the place to be’ for the local delinquents with a tent, various flysheets, beer cans, discarded pieces of pizza and other rubbish strewn about.  

A pair of Mute Swans –  the resident male is fitted with a blue darvic ring FAL, another pair of Great Crested Grebes and a few Teal were keeping to the reed edge. A flock of Fieldfare 22+ were silhouetted in a tree at the back of the flash and a Grey Heron flew in shortly before we continued.

We stopped to overlook the top pool at Bryn Marsh where a couple of pairs of Gadwall were mooching. A Kestrel was hovering over the marsh later landing on one of the electricity pylons and a few of us latched onto a distant Buzzard. A lady walking her Jack Russell was kindly doing a bird seed drop on top of the fence posts. We stopped and watched as the track became alive with small birds taking advantage of the food. A Willow Tit gave great views allowing us to see the pale wing patch along with a Prune (Dunnock to the uninitiated ;), Blackbird, Chaffinch, a Jay plus numerous Blue and Great Tits. At the bottom end of Bryn Flash we watched more Gadwall and Great Crested Grebes plus some Pochard, 3 males and 1 female. We found the newly emerged yellow flower spikes of Coltsfoot Tussilago farfara that has been used historically as a medicinal plant to treat lung ailments.

Fungi finds were disappointing, only Turkey Tail, Birch Polypore and some rather past-it Velvet Shank. I did find a nice collection of Pixie-cup Lichen Cladonia fimbriata on top of a fence post.

We crossed over the stone bridge and everyone checked out the erupting catkins. Fluffy Goat Willow catkins were joined by Alder – allowing us to distinguish between the small rounded female and long male catkins and last year’s female woody cones. Further along at Pearson’s Flash we made a grim discovery; a Mute Swan cygnet was lying dead on the bank. It was un-ringed and had no obvious sign of injury. Quite touchingly a few other cygnets including blue darvic YF4 and an adult Swan were floating on the water close to the dead bird obviously concerned that it wasn’t moving. Nearby on the bank was a dead Black-headed Gull, again appearing uninjured and un-ringed. Dave Bryant later called the warden Mark Champion who was aware of the dead Swan which is to be sent for tests. Some MNA members are already aware of the Mute Swan deaths at Southport Marine Lake, apparently Swans from Pennington Flash and Three Sisters are also being taken into the RSPCA facility at Stapeley Grange for treatment of the mystery infection.

We continued into the wood where we checked out the orange rust coloured filamentous terrestrial alga Trentepohlia aurea that was covering a number of tree trunks. The typical green chlorophyll colour is masked by large amounts of carotenoid pigments.

Also examined the Dog Lichen, a species I have previously had confirmed as Peltigera hymenina – it is very common and some had the raised, curled, digitate lobe tips i.e. red-brown “fruiting” structures, or apothecia present.

We were all too quickly back to civilisation…

Calm weather with blue skies were forecast and so I took the train to Holyhead and made my way to Penrhos Coastal Park which is close to the causeway carrying the railway and A55. The tide was out, the remaining water was like glass, the light was excellent after so much gloom and it was quite warm. The immediate centre of attraction were the numerous Pale-bellied Brent Geese scattered along the tide line – 96 of them. Busy feeding amongst them were good numbers of Shelduck, Oystercatchers, Redshank and Curlew with the occasional Grey Plover. Downstream towards the headland of Gorsedd-y-penrhyn were the usual pair of Slavonian Grebes – cruising about and then busy diving – all at very close range. Nearby was male Red-breasted Merganser.

In the wooded area a Coal Tit and Dunnock were singing as were several Chaffinches, Greenfinches and Great Tits. Strolling along the paths I came across flowering Fumitory, Lesser Celandine, Winter Heliotrope and a great sheet of white Violets, something I haven’t seen previously. It was so warm that a Buff-tailed Bumble was very active, later to be accompanied by a Peacock butterfly.

I dissected the Owl Pellet that I found and showed to a few MNA members on our coach trip to Carsington Water. The pellet matched the description of a Barn Owl pellet in the RSPB leaflet “Owl Pellets – How To Study Their Contents” http://www.rspb.org.uk/Images/Owlpellets_tcm9-133500.pdf

The first MNA coach trip of 2011 brought a return to snowy wintery conditions as we headed through the Derbyshire countryside to the Severn Trent Water Reservoir – Carsington Water.

A feeding station close to the coach was packed with over thirty hungry Tree Sparrows and a few Bullfinch. The group wandered along to the wildlife centre, a glass window hide giving great views across the reservoir and surrounding fields and spit. As we tucked into sandwiches and flasks of hot drinks we watched the gathered wildfowl of Tufties, Wigeon, Teal, Coot, Mallard and Great crested Grebe. Approaching 300 Lapwing were resting on the spit frequently taking off and wheeling around. Other waders included a few Oyks and a Redshank; a few Pied Wagtails were flitting along the water’s edge. A large gathering of 120+ Fieldfare were feeding in one field joined by a Mistle Thrush and a few Woodpigeons. The feeders had yet more Tree Sparrows, Chaffinches and the odd Dunnock and Great Tit.

Dave B mentioned that he had seen the Yellow Brain Fungus Tremella mesenterica close to the centre so I changed lens, zipped up my waterproofs and returned to photograph it.

A well marked trail used by walkers and cyclists runs around the reservoir and information posts are located at various stages along the route.

I found a pellet beside a fence post along the trail. I pointed it out to some other group members and we all assume it to be from an owl. I brought the pellet back with me and will dissect it in due course.

Despite the wintery conditions there were a few signs of spring with a mass of male Hazel catkins Corylus avellana and the bright red female flowers.

A few interesting lichen with the bushy clumps of a strap lichen Evernia prunastri more commonly called Oak Moss and the elephant trunk-like podentia of Cladonia coniocrea.

Scanning the reservoir through the mist we had our first distant views of one of the Great Northern Divers that had been on the reservoir all winter. We hot hoofed along to Lane End bird hide and parked our bums. After a few minutes we re-located the bird, its heavy horizontally held beak, steep crown and flat forehead clearly visible, even in the mist! As the bird slipped under the water without even a splash we timed a number of its dives which ranged from between 1min 5sec and 1min 12sec. We soon spotted another Diver further out on the water.

Some rather cute black and white spotty sheep that some people commented more resembled goats were found to be Jacobs Sheep. A number of the group that had reached the bird hides at Sheepwash added Goldeneye and Pintail to the wildfowl list. A few of us checked out the fungi with Velvet Shank Flammulina velutipes,  Hairy Stereum Stereum hirsutum, Phlebia tremellosa, Bleeding Broadleaf Crust Stereum rugosum. Also:-

Many-zoned Polypore Trametes versicolor 

Oysterling Crepidotus sp.

After listening to a melodious Song Thrush singing its heart out from the top of a tree and watching masses of Great Tits, the odd Bullfinch and a Reed Bunting at one of the feeding stations it was all too quickly time to head back to the coach.