A Blooming Success On Road Verges in Eastham

Ladies smock and dandelions in the verge at Lowfields Avenue, Eastham

These photographs show first results of the changed mowing regime for some road verges that is being done in Wirral. These verges are rich in Ladies smock (also called cuckoo flower) and dandelions. The Ladies smock is a key food plant for the orange tip and green-veined white butterflies. Dandelion are an important nectar source for bees and butterflies coming out of hibernation, when they need to eat straight away. They also make a brilliant yellow display to delight the eye.

Ladies smock and dandelions in the verge at Lowfields Avenue, Eastham

Listen to Dr Hilary Ash talking about wildflowers and road verges in a Radio Merseyside interview next Wednesday, 28th April, at 3.30pm.

You can listen via BBC Sounds:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p09dlqt8

Ladies smock and dandelions in the verge at Eastham Rake

Photos from Eastham Rake/Plymyard Avenue corner, and Lowfields Avenue, both in Eastham.

The Hidden Power of Moss

Sphagnum moss. Photo: External Affairs, Wikimedia Commons.

Those who came to our talk on Friday about the management of upland moors would be interested in a programme aired on Sunday 13th January on Radio 4.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m000202x

Sphagnum moss is a vital ecosystem component of peat moorlands. As it grows it sequesters carbon and after about 10 to 15 years of growth the lower parts start to form peat. However peat moors are degrading due to a combination of peat removal for horticulture, tree planting, pollution, fires and draining to enable sheep grazing. 90% of peatlands are damaged and therefore not sequestering carbon. In the UK peatland makes up 10% of total land area compared to a world average of 3% so it is important to try and reverse their decline.

Neil and Barbara Wright of Beadmoss on the Nottingham-Leicester border, are now commercially growing sphagnum moss that can be replanted in peatland. It took them 15 years of research to perfect their micropropagation techniques and turn it into large scale production. They grow 18 species of sphagnum and last spring they produced 800,000 plug plants. In the Peak district these are planted at a density of 1250 plants per hectare and one man can plant 1000 plugs in a day. Replanting took place on Kinderscout in 2016 with the hope that this technique will help to reach carbon mitigation targets and that water retention by the sphagnum will help with fire prevention.

This is an interesting approach to an ecosystem problem.

Thanks to Elaine Mills to alerting us to this.

Hoylake: Green Belt and Greens - Radio 4

Richard Smith, Helen Mark and Hilary Ash

Dr Hilary Ash, Hon. Conservation Officer for Wirral Wildlife, was asked to take part in the Radio 4 programme Open Country. The subject was ‘Hoylake: Green Belt and Greens’.

The details are below and the programme is available on the BBC website http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/b07qbl5p

Open Country: Hoylake: Green Belt and Greens

BBC Radio 4 - Thu 01 Sept at 15:02

A new golf resort has been proposed for Hoylake in Wirral. Helen Mark explores how this will affect the local green belt and the birdlife and wildlife that live there.

The programme features Cllr Gerry Ellis, Andrew Needham from the CPRE, John Hutchinson from the Hoylake Golf Resort Committee, botanist Dr Hilary Ash, Richard Smith, David Stacey, and Craig Gilholm from the Royal Liverpool Golf Club.

Some of the 2000 black-tailed godwits Richard Smith was counting (with a few Canada Geese), on the Gilroy scrape at Hoylake. The godwits stop off here on migration south after breeding, so were still in summer  plumage at the time (11 August).

Dawn Chorus

Wood Warbler. One of the species featured on Tweet of the Day.
Photo: Steve Garvie, Wikipedia

Did you go on the Dawn Chorus Walk at 4.30 am on May 5th, or were you, like me, tucked up in bed?

You can now experience it in the comfort of your own home, at any time, by listening to the Radio 4 programme 'The Living World: Dawn Chorus Day' on the BBC iPlayer.

Who knows you might be inspired to get up early next year and hear it 'live'.

Also worth catching on iPlayer if you don't listen at 6 am, is Radio 4's 'Tweet of the Day'. You can hear 90 seconds of song and information about one bird each day. When you hear that Sir David Attenborough is the narrator you won't be able to resist putting this in your 'favourites'.