Summer Sundays at Port Sunlight River Park

Summer Sundays and School Holiday Events

Sundays 31st July, 7th August, 21st August and 28th August
1 - 4 p.m.

Family Friendly activities and refreshments.

Meet at the site office, Mersey View Picnic Area, CH62 4LN.

For a full list of events at the River Park, see their Facebook page:
www.facebook.com/psriverpark/events

Butterfly Park Pond Restoration

The photo above shows the pond at New Ferry Butterfly Park, with a very low water-level because of a leak. Yesterday Tim, Steve and Pete stripped the edge vegetation and moved it to the ditch, for re-planting later. They also took the opportunity to remove some unwelcome colonists - willow, reedmace and sweet flag. The picture below shows them hard at work.

A group of volunteers from Scottish Power arrived this morning to empty the pond, remove the old liner and install a new one! We are immensely grateful for their help on this large task. No doubt the newts, water boatmen, pond snails, dragonflies, caddis flies and all the other minibeasts of the pond will also be happy to have their home back to its normal size once the pond is re-filled.

More pictures coming soon!

Wading In For Wildlife

Michael Thorpe and Tim Ganniclife catching
invertebrates in the water. Photo: Ron Warne

We don't often feature photos of our recording team in action, but here is one of a survey in Clatter Brook, where it flows through our Thornton Wood nature reserve. Michael and Tim are catching and identifying invertebrates - which necessitates getting IN the stream. Fortunately not all our surveyors have to get that wet - though this summer, everyone has got damp regularly, even the botanists.

Dr Hilary Ash, Honorary Conservation Officer, Wirral Wildlife

Phil Spots An Emperor

Wirral Wildlife survey team have just started a detailed botanical survey of Cleaver Heath nature reserve, which is part of Heswall Dales SSSI. Sharp-eyed Phil Starkey spotted this striking caterpillar, which Matt Wallace confirmed as an Emperor Moth. He says it is a valuable record, as the last one for Wirral in the National Biodiversity Network database is from 1998. So keep an eye out if visiting Wirral's heathland sites this summer and see if you can spot any more.

Dr Hilary Ash, Honorary Conservation Officer, Wirral Wildlife

Ban Driven Grouse Shooting Petition

Red Grouse. Photo: Lostajv, Wikipedia

Wirral Wildlife member Marc Parry has asked if we could publicise Mark Avery's petition to ban driven grouse shooting.

Grouse shooting depends on intensive habitat management which increases flood risk and greenhouse gas emissions, relies on killing Foxes, Stoats, Mountain Hares etc in large numbers and often leads to the deliberate illegal killing of protected birds of prey including Hen Harriers.

Driven grouse shooting uses animals for live target practice, with thousands killed every day. Native predators are killed because they eat Red Grouse. Mountain Hares are killed because they carry ticks that can spread diseases to grouse. Heather is burned to increase Red Grouse numbers for shooting. Grouse shooting is economically, ecologically and socially unnecessary. This is 'canned hunting'.

Although moorland intensively managed for grouse hunting is not found on the Wirral, as Marc Parry says: "Imagine if the Thurstaston Common heathland was burned regularly by its owners, drained with ditches, all predators killed (including birds of prey) and their nests destroyed. And everyone's water quality was spoiled as a result, and half of you got flooded out of your homes regularly too. That's the situation round grouse moors. And all so a few of the lets-kill-animals-for-fun brigade can indulge their blood lust, and investors can make a fortune."

Mark Avery is an author, campaigner and former Head of Conservation for the RSPB and has written about the issue on his blog:

http://markavery.info/2016/06/27/rewild-trashed-hills/

You can sign the petition here:

https://petition.parliament.uk/petitions/125003

New Zealand Flatworm Survey

Can you help to record the distribution of non – native New Zealand flatworms?

They were first recorded in the UK in Belfast in 1963 and near Edinburgh in 1965. They feed on earthworms and it is feared they could reduce earthworm populations and affect soil structure. The Open Air Laboratories (OPAL) network, led by Imperial College, London is running the survey along with the James Hutton Institute and University of Aberdeen.

To participate you need to do a 10 minute survey, looking under wood, stones and plastic for the flatworms. Details are given on the survey sheets shown above, which you can download:

www.opalexplorenature.org/sites/default/files/7/image/NZF%20A5%20postcard%208May15%20FINAL.pdf

It is just as important to record where the flatworms are not found in order to build up a picture of their distribution.

More details at www.opalexplorenature.org/nzflatworm

Open Garden at Fieldcrest

Paul Wallington has kindly sent us some photographs that he took at Fieldcrest on June 19th, when the Gardens were open to raise funds for Cheshire Wildlife Trust.