Record Breaking Crowds Attended New Ferry Butterfly Park Open Day

Some of the visitors to the 2024 New Ferry Butterfly Park Open Day

Record breaking crowds attended New Ferry Butterfly Park Open Day on 5th May. The sun came out, the butterflies were flying, and crowds of local people came flooding in. 1,400 altogether, which was the highest attendance to date. Several species of butterfly were on the wing: Brimstones, Orange Tips, Speckled Woods, Holly Blues and Commas to name a few. The best turnout of butterflies on an opening day ever.

Left to right: Nigel Lanceley, Deputy Lord Lieutenant for Merseyside; Freya Levy, artist who drew the gate plaques; Stephen Ross, chair of Wirral Wildlife; Charles Neame, Vice chair of Cheshire Wildlife Trust; Paul Loughnane, Honorary secretary of New Ferry Butterfly Park Committee 

The new feature unveiled this year was a series of six bespoke tiles on the brick pillars of the silver jubilee entrance gates. Nigel Lanceley, the Deputy Lieutenant of Merseyside unveiled the tiles and spoke about the dedications behind each tile. Tiles were dedicated to individuals or groups who have significantly helped the Park. The tiles artworks were created by Freya Levy and as well as being turned into tiles, the art works are also available as greeting cards.

Nigel Lanceley DL, was most impressed, as was Dr Charles Neame, the Vice-Chair of Cheshire Wildlife Trust. Both commented that it was a most engaging community event which reached out to all people of all ages and circumstances, bringing them into contact with wildlife and environmental issues in an appropriate and accessible way. Charles said that it is what Cheshire Wildlife Trust is all about. The new tiles, which add such a final touch to the Silver Jubilee Gates and history of the park, are splendid and so appropriate. For details about the gates design, the tile dedications and the broad arrange of sponsors who enabled this project to happen, see the Silver Jubilee Gate leaflet especially created for the day.

The Silver Jubilee Gate leaflet

An explanation of the dedications for each tile on the gate

There was an array of displays from slow worms via spiders to owls and even a skunk, together with Girl Guides, jewellery, a wonderful plant sale, investigating plant pollinators, smoothies by bicycle, RECORD, children’s activities, homemade cakes and a BBQ. Being the early May Day Bank Holiday weekend, there was Maypole dancing. Guests all left with the smiling faces of having had a good day out.

Mike Maher, who grows most of the plants for the plant sale

Wirral Amphibian and Reptile group featured newts from the Butterfly Park pond

For the rest of the spring and summer, come and enjoy the Park’s wildlife at a more tranquil pace. The Park is now open every Sunday 12 noon - 4pm until the second Sunday in September. The Wirral Wildlife plant sale continues weekly whilst stocks last; new stocks are being propagated.

Paul Loughnane
New Ferry Butterfly Park Reserve Manager

An Assembly of Tiles: Part 6 - The Peacock Butterfly

Wirral Countryside Volunteers with the peacock butterfly tile and cards

The Peacock Butterfly tile is dedicated to Wirral Countryside Volunteers (WCV) who have been regularly involved in the park since April 1995 and relocated their base to the Park in 2002. WCV provide a sizable group of talented and enthusiastic volunteers who coppice, lay hedges, scythe grasslands, host corporate workdays and take on many structural jobs around the park. The volunteers provide some fantastic support for the Park’s Opening Days.

New Ferry Butterfly Park workdays are on the second Sunday of the month from September to March starting from 9.30am onwards - do join them. Good company, tea and homemade cakes are provided. Follow them on Facebook or check the WCV website for more details. On each event there are a good variety of jobs to suit different aptitudes. The WCV host some mid-week events which are more impromptu, tackling any problems that arise and helping keep up the momentum of various Park projects.

Pictured above are the Wirral Countryside Volunteers with the tile and cards by the lower pond. This is from the April workday when they installed bamboo chimes for the Elastatone, completed a new leaflet dispenser, spread clay over some uncovered edges of the lower pond, mowed bays for stalls for the forthcoming opening day, turned the compost and cleaned the road of vegetation debris that had accumulated over the last two years. Dr Hilary Ash, the Park’s Conservation Officer said, “WCV are the mainstay of volunteers who carry out the practical habitat management at the park. Their varied skills are vital to the wildlife value of the park and its smooth running, we were delighted to acknowledge this by dedicating a tile and card to them.”

The new leaflet holder by the park entrance

Bamboo chimes for the restored Elastatone

The Peacock butterfly is a familiar butterfly and unmistakeable with its spectacular eyes on their wings, like those on the bird peacock’s tail. The caterpillars are nettle feeders. The caterpillars form a communal web at the top of a nettle plant. They are easily spotted being black, spiny and usually seen in large numbers. In a good year they can cause extensive damage to nettle patches, helping to keep the plant in check. Sunny nettle beds at the park are fed with potash from the BBQs and compost from our bins to keep the nettles vigorous for the Peacock butterfly populations.

Peacock caterpillar enjoying munching the nettles at the park

Paul Loughnane
New Ferry Butterfly Park Reserve Manager