Butterfly Transects at New Ferry Butterfly Park - 2024

Small tortoiseshell

September marks the end of the butterfly transect recording season by UKBMS (UK Butterfly Monitoring Scheme). Generally, a transect is a site of butterfly habitat, and a method to monitor the changes of butterfly abundance and variety over the years. The data from each transect is incorporated into the national database, evidencing how well each butterfly species is faring in terms of number and distribution. This in turn informs conservation strategies.

Comma

This year at NFBP (New Ferry Butterfly Park) transect, we recorded 20 butterfly species and 553 individuals. Delightfully, Brimstone (53), Small White (123), Speckled Wood (100), Large White (45) and Orange Tip (23) were doing well and scored higher than last year. We were very pleased to see some species absent in the Park in the past turned up this year: Small Tortoiseshell (5), Painted Lady (1) and the rarity Ringlet (2). Dingy Skipper (2) was still hanging on in small numbers. Sadly, Holly Blue (11), Common Blue (18), Comma (19) and Gatekeeper (19) scored lower than last year, and no Small Coppers at all throughout the season.

Dingy skipper

As transect recorders we carry out weekly walks for 26 weeks between April and September. Following a pre-determined route and walking at a steady and slow pace, we scan the area and record the butterflies we see.

Brimstone

Butterflies use sunlight to warm up their flying muscles. Therefore, transect walks need to be done during daytime between 10.45am and 3.45pm and under suitable weather conditions to maximising the sighting of butterflies. Recording is avoided if it is raining, too cloudy, too cold, and too windy. When the weather become more unpredictable (like this year), a recorder needs to check the weather forecast and grab the first suitable opportunity to do the job. 

Common blue

Needless to say, identification skills are crucial to accurately record each butterfly species. This can be challenging and frustrating, particularly when butterflies are in flight. Having a butterfly guidebook can help to recognise different species, and understand their habitats, flight times, and behaviours. Field trips with an expert is an excellent way to learn. Fortunately, during our “formative” years in butterflies, we had the support from Kathryn Fegan and Dave Costello (Butterfly Conservation Society) at Hoylake Willows transect in 2023, and Pat Thurston at NFBP in 2024. We are ever grateful for their help. Next year, we will carry on the transect walks together - two pairs of eyes are better than one!

Small white

Learning butterflies (or any other wildlife species) gets people closer to nature and can be very rewarding.  At NFBP, butterfly ID sheets are available for visitors, and wardens are there to help whenever they can. We look forward to meeting more butterfly enthusiasts in the new season!

Ringlet

Blog article: Yan and Charles

Photos: Roy Lowry

Tree Planting In Memory of Eric Greenwood

On Monday October 14th, a Bird Cherry tree (Prunus padus ‘Watereri’) was planted at Burton Manor in memory of Eric Greenwood, who died in 2022.

Peter Cunnington of Burton Manor lowering the tree into the ground

Barbara, Eric's wife and fellow botanist, planting the tree

This event was organized by the Liverpool Botanical Society which he had been a member of since 1966.

Members of Liverpool Botanical Society and Wirral Wildlife

A botanist by training, Eric joined the staff of the City of Liverpool Museum in 1966 where he worked until his retirement.

Eric was also involved in local natural history, record centres and conservation organisations (53 years involvement with Lancashire Wildlife Trust for example). Many other scientific and museum organisations also benefited from his expertise. His book ‘Flora of North Lancashire’ was published in 2012 and was the culmination of over 40 years field work.

Barbara attaching a stake for the tree

Eric was a regular attender at Wirral Wildlife events and our ‘go to’ botanist to identify a particularly tricky sedge, grass or orchid.

Wirral was Eric’s adopted home even if his botanical heart was in Lancashire. He loved walking the local field and estuary paths finding new plants as he went, so this tree placed in an area he knew well is a fitting tribute.

Eric with Barbara in their garden in 2022 when he was presented with the

President’s Medal of the Royal Society of Biology

The Bird Cherry tree planted in Eric's memory

Amazing Apple Afternoon at the Butterfly Park

Sunday 13th October was a warm October day - perfect weather for the second New Ferry Butterfly Park Apple Afternoon to celebrate locally grown apples.

Even more people came this year - thank you to everyone who visited and our volunteers who make it possible to hold such an event.

The first Apple Day was organised on 21st October 1990 by Common Ground to celebrate apples and orchards. Many traditional orchards were being dug up and the country became reliant on imported apples despite about 3,000 apple varieties having been grown in the UK. The aim was to bring the wide variety of local apples to the attention of the public.

At our event, John Bateman collected apples and manned the apple press so that visitors could taste freshly pressed juice. Many people took some juice away with them.

Mincing up the apples ready for juicing

John Bateman supervising the juice making

We had 28 varieties of apples picked from orchards at Brimstage, Upton Hall School and Ness Gardens. plus varieties from some of our volunteer’s gardens. What wonderful names these old varieties have - some dating back to the 17th century. Some like Lord Derby and Millicent Barnes are named after people. Catshead is named because of its shape. Red Love for the colour of its skin and flesh. A full list of the varieties we had for display and tasting is given below.

Local apple varieties on display at the Butterfly Park

Our apple peeling machine is always popular - who can create the longest piece of unbroken peel? This year the longest was 205cm. Common Ground used to run a national competition and one year someone from our Apple Day won the under 16 competition with a piece 269 cm long. No one has beaten this yet. Maybe at our 2025 Apple Afternoon?

Can you peel a whole apple without breaking the peel?

Wirral Wildlife has been holding Apple Days for many years and one little boy has always come to join in.

John, a fan of Wirral Wildlife's Apple Days,
taken at Eastham Country Park in 2016.

Over the years John has grown taller, although I have only grown older!

John at this year's Apple Afternoon!

Linda Higginbottom

New Ferry Butterfly Park Volunteer Coordinator

Apples on display:

Annie Elizabeth

Arthur Barnes

Blenheim Orange

Bramley

Catshead

Chiver’s Delight

Cox’s Orange Pippin

Crawley Beauty

Eccleston Pippin

Egremont Russett

Ellinson’s Orange

Fiesta

Golden Noble

Greensleeves

James Grieve

Jupiter

Lord Derby

Lord Lambourne

Malus Royalty

Millicent Barnes

Red Falstaff

Ribston Pippin

Peasgood’s Nonsuch

Red Love

Spartan

St Edmund’s Pippin

Tydesley Late

Withington Welter

Grayling Butterfly Conservation in the North Wirral Coastal Park

Grayling butterfly. Photo: Patrick Clement

During August, the North Wirral Coastal Park Rangers and Friends Group volunteers met up with Dave Costello, the Wirral Officer for Butterfly Conservation, to discuss habitat management for the Grayling butterfly in the Leasowe Gunsite dunes.

Dave informed us that until 2 years ago, Grayling were present on two sites in Wirral/Cheshire, namely the Gunsite dunes and Red Rocks in Hoylake. They have not been recorded at Red Rocks for 2 years and are therefore considered to be extinct at this site. This means that the Gunsite dunes is now the only site where this area's rarest breeding butterfly can be found.

Habitat management for other rare invertebrates in the Gunsite dunes such as the Spring mining bee (Colletes cunicularius) has been a key concern for Rangers and volunteers over many years with tasks such as invasive scrub control, mainly elm and poplar, and sand trapping to encourage dune formation being regular activities. One major problem within this dune system is that there is very little naturally wind blown sand from the beach available to replenish the dunes due to the presence of concrete sea defences. This has led to the formation of blow outs, over stabilisation of dunes by excessive vegetation growth and a significant reduction in bare open sandy areas.

New dune formed from imported sand

In the last few years the situation has much improved since the Rangers organised the regular import of many hundreds of tons of wind blown beach sand from further along the coast at Derby Pool where it needed to be cleared as it was blocking vehicle and pedestrian access. Since this activity, which is still ongoing, we now have significantly more open, mobile sandy areas which have formed across the frontal dune areas as the new sand gets blown inland by strong onshore winds with new small hummock dunes continually forming as some of the sand gets trapped by lyme and marram grasses.

Volunteers creating bare sand areas on over vegetated south facing dune

This dune management approach using imported sand has provided to be an essential habitat requirement for the Grayling butterfly, namely the provision of plenty of open bare sand for basking in the sun, together with more sheltered sunny spots with sparse vegetation such as species of fine grasses necessary as larval food plants.

Imported sand spreading into dunes

Dave advised that the adult Grayling's preferred nectar source is Sea Holly which has a fairly sparse distribution within the Gunsite dunes. We are currently in contact with Chester Zoo to see whether they can propagate plants for us from collected seed, to plant in the dunes. We worked with the nursery team at the Zoo several years ago on a similar type of project to extend the rare Isle of Man Cabbage distribution within the Gunsite dunes. The Zoo has already carried out a similar exercise growing Sea Holly at Red Rocks two years ago to replenish the plant's population in the dunes there.

Sea holly

The Rangers and Friends Group volunteers with input from Dave Costello and the local Butterfly Conservation team will continue to carry out a range of habitat management tasks that will hopefully  be of benefit for the survival of not only the Grayling butterfly but also other dune invertebrates. These will include invasive scrub control, creating more open sandy sites especially within warm south-facing dune areas which have become over vegetated, and removing dense areas of coarse grasses from around existing sea holly plants to encourage better wind blown seed dispersal across the dunes.

John McGaw
(Friends of North Wirral Coastal Park)