Disembarking after Puffin Island Boat Trip
Sandwich Terns
Nesting Guillemots On Puffin Island
Penmon Point Lighthouse With Puffin Island
Lion’s Mane Jellyfish Cyanea capillata on Beaumaris beach
Tall spikes of Common Spotted Orchid Dactylorhiza fuchsii at Penmon Point
Dead Pygmy Shrew Sorex minutus at Penmon Point
A most successful day and thoroughly enjoyed by all. Numerous shags, far outnumbering the cormorants, three eider, four red-breasted mergansers, the inevitable hordes of guillemots on the north-facing ledges intermingled with kittiwakes on their seaweed nests, close views of at least 10 puffins and altogether about 17 black guillemots on the water, razorbills dashing to and fro, gannets further offshore, a rock pipit flying across the bows of the boat – all to the accompaniment of numerous sandwich terns.
It was a longish walk for us today, about 4 miles along the canal. We took the 10.10 train to Ormskirk then waited about half an hour in Ormskirk bus station for the 2B bus at 11.15 to Burscough Bridge village. We joined the Leeds-Liverpool canal and made our way eastwards to the junction of the Rufford Branch. It was a dry and breezy day, threatening rain but warm in the sun. Lots of bright new butterflies today, two Red Admirals, a Comma, lots of Large Whites, two Small Tortoiseshells, a Green-veined White. We had our lunch at No.2 lock and watched a single-man narrow-boat, the Ephesus Crusader, negotiate its way through No.1 lock and into the second. It’s a very long job for a lone boatman about half an hour per lock and he had six to pass to get to Rufford Marina. I saw only one Moorhen all day, and no Mallards or Coots, but we saw two Mute Swans near Rufford, a male Reed Bunting carrying food and two Mistle Thrushes with a smaller, browner one (a young Mistle Thrush or a Song Thrush?). There were House Sparrows near Top Lock Cottages, Swallows zipping over rippling barley fields, Yellowhammers singing, a Pied Wagtail near No.6 lock and two big Rabbits. Fringed Water-lily and Arrowhead in the canal. We arrived at Rufford Marina about 2.30, rather hot and tired (but about an hour ahead of the Ephesus Crusader!) and had time for a loo stop in the Hesketh Arms before catching the 2B bus at 2.55 to Ormskirk and the 3.20 train back to Liverpol Central.
A rewarding visit to the extensive disused limestone quarries a short distance above Minera. The wooded lower slopes had numerous common twayblade, a good cluster of broad-leaved helleborine and a meadow full of meadow browns, ringlets and common spotted orchids. The lower overgrown quarry was rich in c.s. orchids, pyramidal orchids and at least 2 dozen fragrant orchids – a nice surprise, as was a sprinkling of mossy saxifrage along a water course. Small pools held a golden-ringed dragonfly and a broad-bodied chaser. Graylings were on the bare rocks whereas the areas of grass, birdsfoot trefoil and wild thyme had impressive numbers of small heaths. This was against a background of loud peregrines.
We had an interesting mixed bag of places to see today. We took the 437 West Kirkby bus from Sir Thomas Street at 10.20, arriving at Upton Road/Grasmere Avenue at 10.45. It was warm and overcast, with a gusty wind and a forecast of heavy rain. Bidston Court Gardens has terraced lawns, a striking copper beech hedge and a wonderful view towards North Wales from the top terrace. Then we climbed the steep wooded Thermopylae Pass up to Bidston Windmill and came down a different way to Tam O’Shanter Urban farm where we had our lunch. Our plan for the afternoon was a concert in Vale Park, so after lunch we cut through Flaybrick Cemetery and down Tollemache Road to Birkenhead North Station, where we saw our only notable wildlife of the day a Pied Wagtail on waste ground and a Kestrel hovering on the far side of the rails. We arrived at New Brighton at 1.45 and we were unfolding our deckchairs at 2.15. There were a few threatening spots of rain just as we arrived , but it cleared up and we settled down to hear the Norman Roy Band give us their Glen Miller Sound in honour of American Independence Day.
Ichneumon Wasp Rhyssa persuasoria
Golden-ringed Dragonfly Cordulegaster boltonii
Four-spotted Chaser Libellula quadrimaculata
Nursery Web Spider Pisaura mirabilis
Water Forget-me-not Myosotis scorpioides
Terry Williams was kind enough to take Dave Bryant and me back to Hay Bridge Reserve with some great sightings as always! Birds Of Prey included a displaying Osprey, a Honey Buzzard and the cutest Tawny Owl fledgling 🙂 A couple of female Ichneumon Wasps Rhyssa persuasoria with enormously long ovipositors were hanging around a woodpile probably looking for Wood Wasp larvae on which they paratisize. Longhorn micromoths Nemophora degeerella were dancing in the dappled sunlight of the woodland which also held Spotted Flycatcher, Garden Warbler, Blackcap, Marsh Tit and Bullfinch. A Bird Cherry that I identified by its blossom on the last visit had a number of larval tents of the Bird Cherry Ermine Moth Yponomeuta evonymella although few caterpillars were present. Female Nursery Web Spiders Pisaura mirabilis were guarding their silken tents in the bracken. Black Beck Tarn was Odonata heaven with Common Blue, Azure, Large Red and a couple of Emerald Damselflies, Four-spotted Chasers, a pair of Emperor Dragonflies and an egg-laying Golden-ringed Dragonfly.
Out on the mosses (which were as dry as a bone with the drought) were further Golden-ringed Damselflies and Beautiful Demoiselles were flitting along Rusland Pool which also held a sorry sight of a dead Red deer fawn laying half submerged in the mud. Aquatic Plants were represented by Water Plantain and Water Forget-me-not. Birdlife included Lesser Whitethroat, Pied Flycatcher and families of Robin and Willow Warbler with young. Plants on the mosses included a nice specimen of Heath-spotted Orchid, Lousewort that was past its prime and the aromatic shrub Bog Myrtle. A few Small Pearl-bordered Fritillaries were joined by Large Skippers and a single rather shabby looking Small Copper.
From Queen Square at 10.10, the number 20 bus to just past Fazakerly Station. A very hot and sunny day. Adlam Road, Signal Works Road, over the railway and into the wildlife area in the former railway marshalling yards. Lots of bramble in bloom. At the edge of the dried-up pond there were several examples of very tall Wild Teasel, which will be attactive to butterflies when it is in bloom. Not many butterflies today, just a few Meadow Browns and Speckled Woods and one Large White. Took the path around the edge of the racecourse, and we passed Becher’s Brook, which looked very odd “naked”, just a bank and a gully. Around the Canal Turn there were orchids in the long grass probably Southern Marsh. During lunch opposite Valentine’s, Radio City’s live coverage of the “Race for Life” was blaring over from the grandstand. As we came out onto the Melling Road twenty or more Rooks flew up. We doubled back along the canal and under the railway bridge to Sherwoods Lane. We were back on Longmoor Lane by 2.15 and split up to trains or buses home.
A very noisy place on the lagoon behind the steep shingle bank what with 1600 pairs of sandwich terns, 100 pairs of common terns and some 40 pairs of arctic terns – a constant relay of birds – all incoming with fish, mostly sand eels. A marvellous place for the photographer. Along the shoreline numerous moon jellyfish and a few large lion’s mane jellies.
Very warm, sunny day proved excellent for butterflies on a circuit of the Marine Drive – large numbers of silver-studded blues, impressive numbers of graylings on the hot rocks, 7-8 small pearl-borded fritillaries, several large skippers,ringlet, red admiral, ringlet, small tortoiseshell, wall brown and speckled wood. Interesting plants were slender St. John’s, fairy flax, pyramidal orchid, rock whitebeam and juniper. Another visit 2 days later had a family of choughs feeding in the steep turf above the seabird cliffs near the lighthouse, gannets diving close inshore and a pair of peregrines causing great commotion amongst the kittiwakes.
