Wirral Countryside Volunteers

Wirral Countryside Volunteers take part in practical conservation work on sites across the Wirral, including Thornton Wood and New Ferry Butterfly Park, two of Wirral Wildlife's reserves.

They recently won the Unilever Dragonfly Award for their activites and were presented with a trophy. The photograph shows Paul Loughnane, WCV Secretary, being handed the award in Thornton Wood...


Anyone interested in joining the group can find a list of forthcoming events on their website.

A batty afternoon for the Watch group

At our May meeting, we walked along the Wirral Way, looking out for places where bats might roost...


At the end of our walk we played the 'bat and moth' game, in which the blindfolded 'bat' uses sound to find its 'moth' - an attempt to mimic echolocation...


In the Lecture Theatre everyone made a bat of their own...


and learnt more about the biology of bats...

Oak Coppice in Thornton Wood

This is a photo of Heavy Oak Coppice at Thornton Wood. It shows the oak standards with their raised crowns, the white of recently cut hazel stools and the bluebells.

The trees in Thornton Wood are managed by Wirral Countryside Volunteers. This spring's coppicing was the fourth cut in the cycle, with each successive cut producing thicker regrowth. The increase in light levels reaching the cleared coppice floor allows this display of bluebells and other spring flowers. The wood removed can be used in other conservation tasks - this year's coppice products included 300 hedging stakes, 80 bean poles and 20 pea sticks. The coppicing this year took a total of 45 volunteer days to complete so our thanks go to everyone involved.

Spring at New Ferry Butterfly Park

Paul Loughnane, one of our reserve managers, would like to remind you that New Ferry Butterfly Park will soon be open for visiting.

The Butterfly Park has been developed on a former goods yard, coal yard and water softening plant and lies adjacent to Bebington Station Car Park. We are open on sunny Sundays in the summer from 3rd May. Entrance is free, as well as the parking, and there are voluntary wardens to assist in your visit. There are colouring-in sheets, quizzes, a nature trail and, with help from the voluntary wardens, you can see the creatures living in the ponds.

A host of nodding cowslips beckons the beginning of spring and the opening of New Ferry Butterfly Park. Strongly calcareous soils are rare in the largely acidic sandstone bedrock that underlies Wirral.

This part of the park was sown with cowslip seed in 1995 on a calcareous area, which was formed by the outflows of a former water softening plant, used in the days of railway steam engines. The soils are white and when they are wet it is like working in toothpaste. Mowing, and more importantly raking up the cut materials, has created a suitable habitat for the cowslips. They are flourishing, and are now self-seeding to create this impressive spring display. The cowslips provide nectar sources early in the growing season for bumble bees, hive bees and those butterflies which have over wintered as adults. The grasslands on the Butterfly Park are looking the most flower-rich they have been in the 15 years that the area has been managed for wildlife.

Newts in your pond

If you managed to go to the talk on Friday you will have been thrilled to see so many newts at close quarters.

If you missed this engaging talk have a look at James Grundy's website where you can also order a copy of his book.
http://www.newtsinyourpond.com/

Neston area - Residents' Association

A new association of residents and businesses is being set up to monitor local developments. If you live in Parkgate, Neston, Little Neston or Ness you are invited to a meeting at Neston Methodist Church on 22nd April at 6.30.

Watch group - Beach Discoveries

At our April meeting last weekend we found out more about the geology of the beach and cliffs at Thurstaston. Matt explained how a glacier 1km thick had covered this area and when it melted the material it had picked up on its journey south was left behind.



Some of these pebbles had come from Scotland and some from the Lake District.



As the wind blew down the beach we hunted for different coloured granite pebbles.



Daniel's granite pebbles...


... and other discoveries by Luke and Christian.