Leaky Pond at the Butterfly Park

Low water level in the leaking pond

New Ferry Butterfly Park's popular dipping pond developed a leak last summer, as became obvious once we had some autumn rain. After various failed attempts to find the leak, we have had to take a deep breath and decide to re-line it with a much better (but expensive) pond liner. So the remaining water, plants, sludge with pond life and, of course, newts had to come out into various containers and the nearby ditch!

Plants removed and water pumping has commenced

Many thanks to EA Technology for loan of a generator, to Richard S for loan of a pump, various people but especially Brian for providing water storage, and the the volunteers who got very wet and muddy on 4th April! By the end of the day we had the pond emptied, several hundred newts temporarily homed in an old bath and the ditch, the pond walls cleared of stones, broken glass, metal, plastic (no valuables, just two 5p pieces), and two layers of underlay installed and taped down. We now have the problem of safely moving the liner itself, 350kg, about 50m across the grass and down into the pond to where we can open it up.

Nearly there. Time for lunch...

The last few buckets.

P.S. The liner cost us over £3000, so if you are coming to the Butterfly Park on the Opening Day on 30th April, or any Sunday afterwards, and can spare a little extra money, there will be a collecting pot by the pond.

The underlay for the pond, ready for the liner to be put in place.

Sell Out Hedge Laying Event!

Down the hedge laying line. Photo: Dave Edwards

On Saturday 4th February, the Wirral Countryside Volunteers (WCV) held their 17th Cheshire style free hedge laying course. It was a great success; it was a complete sell out with twenty-two trainees, fourteen trainers and four essential support volunteers. These essential support volunteers helped with directing parking, making and distributing the tea and homemade cakes, as well as taking the emergency contact details of attendees and keeping the site tidy by gathering over 400 tree guard spirals and their supporting bamboo canes from when the hedge was planted. The bamboo canes will be recycled into bug houses during wildlife projects with local schools.

WCV used the Eventbrite platform for booking. The event was oversubscribed and there was also a waiting list. A week prior to the training event an email prompt was sent to the booked participants to check if they were coming and if they could not make it to cancel their tickets to make space for others. This resulted in a few dropouts and created space for all those on our waiting list to join. It was well worth sending the confirmation email. The 16th training event had eight no-shows on the day! This time only one no show. The event was limited by the length of hedge available for the group to lay on that day.  

There was a broad range of ages including a granddaughter who came with her grandmother, Liverpool John Moores University Conservation Society students, couples, fathers with sons and daughters, as well as people with pony paddocks. The participants came from Wirral and beyond from Flintshire, Denbighshire and as far afield as Sedbergh, Cumbria. Asking what had sparked their interest in hedge laying, one trainee said he’d seen it on Countryfile over Christmas. 

A young hedge layer with passers-by on the public footpath. Photo: Dave Edwards

The hedge was at Wood Park Farm, Neston, a commercial dairy farm run by the University of Liverpool for research and veterinary training purposes. It was a young hedge with 5cm diameter stems and nearly two and a half metres in height making a perfect beginners hedge.  There was not much brash to remove just a little siding up. Prior to the event the hedge was broken into 13 lengths, with the first two pleachers laid off, so, at the beginning of the training day there was an obvious starting point for each length, which enabled everyone to get started into the hedge laying quickly. The hedge was adjacent to a public footpath and the passers-by were complementary about the hedge laying. Arnold Plumley, a local judge from the Cheshire Ploughing and Hedge Cutting Society, came along to give the trainees and trainers pointers to improve their hedge laying techniques. Arnold was impressed with the number of cutters and the quality of the hedge laying.

Hedge laying under Arnold's watchful eye. Photo: Paul Loughnane

Participants were sent an online feedback survey to complete to know what went well for them and what could be improved. All of the comments were positive. One declared, ”I thoroughly enjoyed the day, from arrival to finish you were made to feel welcome. All the trainers were friendly and approachable. I was fortunate to have Aidan as my trainer who was immensely helpful and knowledgeable. The training was hands on which I believe is the best way to learn. The lunch break where tea and cake were provided gave the opportunity to speak to both trainers and trainees. There was a good cross section of trainees: male, female, young, old etc. It was my first attempt at hedge laying and I was pleased with the outcome. It was a great day out, don’t know how to improve it.“ 

Wirral Countryside Volunteer Aiden teaching a hedge laying trainee. Photo: Dave Edwards

A second enthused, “Very impressed with the provision of tea, cake and appropriate tools. Excellent directions to get to the venue. The student/teacher ratio (2:1) was far better than expected and therefore the ability to put in to practice was not encumbered.” 

Thanks go to John Cameron, the Farm Manager and his team in the transporting of tools and stakes to the hedge and dealing with the brash.

In the Cheshire Ploughing and Hedge Cutting Match September 2022, a third of the cutters came from the WCV. One trainee from the WCV 15th training day in November 2019, Philip Pullen from the Isle of Man, joined three of the WCV in the National Match at Wallingford, Oxfordshire in October 2022 as a competitor in the Cheshire Class.  So, these training days are delivering results for hedge laying both locally and nationally, with several eager new  hedge layers keen for the 2023/24 season to start.

Spring/Summer 2023 Quiz

See if you can crack the cryptic clues in our tree and shrub themed quiz

The Spring/ Summer 2023 Prize Quiz consists of 50 cryptic clues to the names of trees and shrubs. All the plants may be found in the UK, although not all are native.

Price per entry: £1

All money raised by selling quiz sheets will go to Wirral Wildlife.

A £10 gift voucher will be awarded to the person with the best overall score.

The closing date is 31st July 2023.

Download the quiz and instructions here

Autumn/Winter 2022 Prize Quiz: Winner and Answers

Curlew (the answer to question 12). Photo: MPF, Wikimedia Commons

The judging of the Autumn/Winter 2022 Red-listed Birds quiz is complete. The winner is John Bland of Sinfin, Derby. Congratulations John, your gift voucher is on its way!

Here are the answers to the cryptic clues.

1. This is where the quiz starts, so have a go! (4). Shag

2. Environment-friendly foxtrot, move along slowly (10). Greenfinch

3. Once round the track with outside left (or right) following (7). Lapwing

4. This one upset Milner (6). Merlin

5. One of a pair received on Boxing Day (6, 4). Turtle Dove

6. Sam, almost thirty, shaken up (5, 3). Marsh Tit

7. Duck hiding in the reeds has me wishing I could get a bit closer (4) Smew

8. Celestial body dallies without hesitation, not south (8). Starling

9. Type of clock, crazy, found in cloud land (6). Cuckoo

10. Is there a yodel gene for this one? (9). Goldeneye

11. In Switzerland, surrounded by what? (8). Whinchat

12. Copper, with both hands, caught you, I heard (6). Curlew

13. Italian river and Somerset town (7). Pochard

14. Accommodation, and market-trendy too (5, 6). House Martin

15. Not a bird, but a blithe spirit, according to one Romantic poet (7). Skylark

16. Herr Heinar disturbed this one (3, 7). Hen Harrier

17. Game of fifty shades, with section of a mountain chain (4, 9). Grey Partridge

18. Pine, alder or crab apple perhaps, and a seed of this last with sex appeal (4, 5). Tree Pipit

19. Deprived of all oxygen, newspaper exclusive about gold (5). Scaup

20. Flags out to celebrate a sore toe? (4, 7). Corn Bunting

21. Pure plans ripped carelessly (6, 9). Purple Sandpiper

22. In going birdwatching to find this bird, my hands were very cold, as I only had unlined gloves with me (6). Dunlin

23. Fish (that adorns the lady’s finger?) with person easily fooled following (7,4). Herring Gull

24. I hear equipment coming before the first thing I do every morning (9). Kittiwake

25. Sable followed our Lord with unfinished ... (5-6, 6). Black-tailed Godwit

26. ... business.  M & M working with North British Queen (6, 6). Common Scoter

27. Sounds like a shaggy dog story: and ‘e would briefly bow his head (4-6, 4). Long-tailed Duck

28. Exist with parts of candles, starts seeing way at night (7, 4). Bewick’s Swan

29. Does this one specialise in trapping insects with acne? (7, 10). Spotted Flycatcher

30. Shout “That hurts!”, starting with a good tantrum and injured looks! (6, 7). Yellow Wagtail

31. Look for this one in bushes, but don’t fall in nettles. (6). Linnet

32. Not so much hesitation seen; romantically pursue daughter, give ‘er a tiny kiss (6, 7, 10). Lesser Spotted Woodpecker

33. Wear preloved ring (6, 6). Ringed Plover

34. Accommodate Bath, perhaps, with right uproar (5, 7). House Sparrow

35. Wi-Fi in the street?  Not one iota! (5). Swift

36. Ways to raise money: for starters, hold a winter festival in next Christmas holidays (8). Hawfinch

37. Sounds like a description of the sea in stormy weather (4). Ruff

38. Cowardly implement (12). Yellowhammer

39. What stops you seeing the wood? Soft direction indicator (4, 7). Tree Sparrow

40. Fat French retail customer, a singer (11, 7). Grasshopper Warbler

41. Worried, he calls Peter (6, 6). Leach’s Petrel

42. Brew blood war?  Don’t start; just stir it up (4, 7). Wood Warbler

43. Could this be the contents of the hamper for a picnic in the meadow? (9). Fieldfare

44. “I said to him ‘Dickie bird, why do you sit, singing “.....  .....”?’ ” - (The Mikado) (6, 3). Willow Tit

45. Telephone, and maybe hear whose will get this one (4, 5). Ring Ouzel

46. After fog, the French take an unfinished article and go with haste (6, 6). Mistle Thrush

47. Take time out from a social medium, leaving it unfinished (5) Twite

48. Would, we hear, collect old carving knives originally (8). Woodcock

49. Thatcherite tax?  Not this colour! (7) Redpoll

50. Razorbills, guillemots, etc, come back from the northern ocean (6, 4). Arctic Skua

Routes To Success at New Ferry Butterfly Park

Wirral Metropolitan College runs a `Routes To Success’ programme for young adults not in employment, education or training, to help them prepare for these. Group members visited New Ferry Butterfly Park for three mornings in November 2022 to January 2023.

Bramble before the group got to work

After the bramble clearance

Large bramble roots dug out

They did some hard work clearing bramble from part of the upper level, which had got overgrown when Covid disrupted our volunteer work. Some of them enjoyed digging out the large roots! They also cleared in front of the perching wall, coppiced two large buddleias and the rose by the Pupa artwork, and had a go at digging out the sycamore root by the Pupa. We’ve been trying to get rid of that sycamore for years!

Coppicing buddleia

Coppicing the rose by the Pupa artwork

The final session was with some snow still around, so was mostly spent clearing the brash from the previous monthly workday, when hedge-laying had been in progress. However two young men were able to have a go with a saw, under the careful supervision of Steve, to remove ivy-grown hawthorn from round the industrial history notice board, which we hope to replace shortly. And one young lady found out she really could push a wheelbarrow!

Clearing brash in the snow

Using a polesaw to remove hawthorn and ivy near the noticeboard

Success at removing the hawthorn

Developing wheelbarrow skills!

Thank you to the young adults involved, to Ian and his staff for bringing the group, and to Steve, Pete and Hilary who led the activities.

A Tribute to Margaret Gilmour

Margaret Gilmour, and her husband Jim,
were presented with the Eric Thurston Award in 2010. 

We regret to report that Mrs Margaret Gilmour died in December 2022, aged 90. Margaret was one of the original committee members of Wirral Wildlife, then known as Wirral Group of the Cheshire Conservation Trust. The original committee consisted of Chairman Major Frank White, Margaret Gilmour, Henry Larsen, Nora MacMillan (Mrs Mac), David Mills, Jane Ratcliffe, Richard Smith and Graham Taylor. The first meeting was at Bebington Oval on 7th April 1971.

Margaret served on the committee for over 10 years, then went on to become one of the stalwarts of our biological recording team, doing botanical surveys in great detail. Among other sites, she surveyed Royal Liverpool Golf Course and Caldy Hill, sites which our team has re-done this year, enabling us to look at change over several decades. Mathilde, herself one of our (retired) expert volunteers, wrote `I remember many surveys we did together, although she was the one who could be fully relied upon that the IDs were all correct!  She was so knowledgeable but modest with it and revealing a great love for nature.’ 

Margaret was awarded the Eric Thurston Award for volunteer work with Cheshire Wildlife Trust in 2010. Her husband Jim (secretary of Wirral Wildlife committee for 16 years) was given the award at the same time.

Margaret also was active in forming and supporting the Friends of Gilroy Nature Park in West Kirby, which helped run the then-new nature area.

Margaret suffered from Meniere's disease for a long time, which affected her hearing. We warned new recorders working with her to `always get on the right side of Margaret’ - her hearing being better in her right ear. Margaret retained her interest in wildlife and the activities of Wirral Wildlife even when she had to go into residential care. Only a few weeks before her death she rang Hilary Ash to arrange that a particular botanical book (Stace’s Flora) would go to someone who could use it. (It has been gratefully received by a Plant Science student from Edgehill University who is on placement with us.)

We send our sympathy to Margaret’s husband Jim and children Chris and Joyce.

Invertebrate Recording at New Ferry Butterfly Park

Thanks again to Roy Lowry who has sent us another great report, illustrated by his photographs. This time he explains his recording process using photographs to identify the invertebrates he finds at New Ferry Butterfly Park.

Anybody involved in the management of a nature reserve needs to know the species of insect that live there and how this list changes from season to season and from year to year. During 2022 I aimed to provide this information for New Ferry Butterfly Park through regular photo-recording surveys. These involve walking around the reserve photographing every insect I see. Date and time of each photograph are automatically recorded by the camera together with high-accuracy positions (if needed) from a Bluetooth-connected phone. Back home the insects are identified, and the observations recorded on either iRecord or iNaturalist.

Of course, the hardest part of this is identification of the observation subjects from the photographs, which need to show the critical identification features of the specimen at high magnification and in perfect focus. Frequently, this requires several photographic viewpoints. The two problems here are knowing the viewpoints required and persuading the subject insect to allow those viewpoints to be accessed. Even something as straightforward as a face shot can require a lot of patience. Sometimes, things come good such in Photo 1 below. Here, a female common flower fly (Syrphus ribesii) is displaying her ’hairy armpits’, well-separated eyes and all-yellow hind femur in a single shot facilitating confident identification to species level.

Photo 1: Female common flower fly (Syrphus ribesii)

However, quite often the result is like Photo 2 where a male Syrphus manages to hide his hind femur under his wing and the photo quality is insufficient to show whether the eyes are hairy. Consequently, identification is only possible to genus level.

Photo 2: Male Syrphus sp.

This surveying method has both advantages and disadvantages. The main disadvantages are selective sampling and the identification uncertainties. Sampling is selective because the only invertebrates recorded are those that I can photograph. Coverage is good for flying insects, especially those that visit flowers but most crawling insects such as beetles and bugs spend most of their time out of sight. The problem can be overcome by sweeping nets through the vegetation or by beating bushes with sticks whilst holding a large net underneath. The catch is transferred into plastic pots where they can be identified using a hand lens or photographed. I have tried photographing insects in pots, but the results have been poor quality as the subjects rarely sit still and the pots aren’t perfectly clear. I have thought of building a field studio – a box with a glass front holding insect perches – so that specimens can be released from the pots and better-quality photos obtained using a macro flash setup. I may try a few experiments during 2023.

The identification uncertainty can be reduced by catching specimens, killing them, mounting them, and examining them under a microscope. Facilities for examination, including an extensive collection of identified specimens for comparison, are provided by the Tanyptera project at Liverpool World Museum. For even greater identification certainty samples from specimens may be used for DNA barcoding, but this is expensive and would only be used in circumstances such as confirmation of a rare find. As a photographer rather than a zoologist I prefer not to harm my subjects.

The advantages of photo-recording are its speed, the resulting by-product, and the lack of damage caused to both subjects and their environment. Speed means that the Butterfly Park can be surveyed in about an hour, making weekly or more frequent surveys possible. Such frequency catches both seasonal changes in the fauna and transient species passing through the reserve. The survey by-product is an ever-increasing photo-library of the Butterfly Park and its invertebrates that has been organised into OneDrive folders which are available to those who can make use of them for research or illustration. Over 600 images of varying quality were added during 2022. Photo 3 was one of my favourites showing a dingy skipper butterfly (Erynnis tages) in a visually interesting setting.

Photo 3: Dingy skipper butterfly (Erynnis tages)

I plan to continue the surveys through 2023 and will try to take a fixed set of wide-angle views of the Butterfly Park at monthly intervals, as I do on Chester Zoo Nature Reserve, to show how it looks through the seasons.

All photographs were taken by me in New Ferry Butterfly Park during 2022 and are published under cc-by licence.

Roy Lowry