Woodland Walk

Thank you to Paul for taking us on a guided tour of Tom’s Paddock, Foxes Wood and Thornton Wood last Saturday. The weather was lovely and 15 people, including two welcome visitors from CWT North group, enjoyed the afternoon. The photographs give you some idea of the plants we saw but we also spotted 4 species of butterfly and heard black cap and chiff chaff singing.

The hedge laid at the edge of Tom's Paddock...


Foxes Wood and the Clatter Brook...


An impressively twisty old oak tree in Foxes Wood...


Pink purslane...


Wood Sorrel...


A clump of Kingcups...


An unfurling fern...


The pond in Thornton Wood...

Butterfly Park springs into action

Sunday May 2nd 2010 sees the Grand Opening of New Ferry Butterfly Park for the Summer of 2010. Artist in Residence Carol Ramsay has curated an Art and Sculpture Trail with her own work and also featuring work by artists Karon McGunigall and Hayley Parfitt, as well as a joint installation by Emma Kemp and Chris Colville. The event will take place from 11am to 4pm.

Amongst other things, visitors will be able to see an interactive percussion instrument, multi-storey insect habitats and a range of hanging botanical illustrations to help inform their visit. Children will be invited to help cover the park’s new (t)wigwam with found objects from the park itself. The Day will include a series of art workshops and woodland craft demonstrations, tours of the park, nature walks, art and craft sales, tombola, face painting and a BBQ. Entry is free and all proceeds from donations and sales will be in aid of New Ferry Butterfly Park.

Carol Ramsay has a blog describing her work at the Butterfly Park as Artist In Residence:
www.a-n.co.uk/artists_talking/projects/single/614513

How to make a bat box

If you came to Nic Harding's talk about bats last night you will agree it was most interesting and entertaining - and will have enjoyed meeting Bert the Pipistrelle bat.

Some people were interested in making a bat box so here are some instructions you can print off (right click on the image and save it to your computer first).



Don't forget that the wood must not have any preservative or varnish on it as this will poison the bats that use it. Put it about 9 feet above the ground and wait for the bats to arrive.

Don't forget that the Wirral Ranger Service holds guided bat walks for the public. You can always let us know of your bat sightings by sending us an email.