Red Rocks Nature Reserve

There are several voluntary wardens checking all is well at Red Rocks Nature Reserve and this summer they started their 8th year of monthly visits. This is from their October report.

Sadly, there were no signs of breeding natterjack toads this year. However, the species is doing well at Ainsdale, north of Formby (from where spawn was transferred to the newly created scrapes at Red Rocks many years ago to boost its small population). At Red Rocks, it appears to be very difficult to provide these rather fussy little toads with suitable and safe breeding pools, despite Wirral Rangers continued efforts.

Looking beyond the reserve to the shore, we can see that waders have already returned to Wirral’s foreshores in good numbers, coming from their more northerly breeding areas. Some just stay briefly to ‘refuel’ before continuing their journey to southern Europe or even Africa, others will spend the winter around the British coasts.

The Dee Estuary Voluntary Wardens have resumed their job, protecting wader flocks from disturbance at high tide and providing information about the various species. They do this on behalf of Wirral Borough Council who has a duty to safeguard the North Wirral Foreshore for wildlife.

Not everybody is aware of the ecological importance of this Foreshore. It is a Site of Special Scientific Interest (as is the Red Rocks Reserve in its own right), a national designation also given, in our area, to the Dee and parts of the Mersey. All these areas were afforded further protection at European and International levels several years ago, when they were granted “Special Protection Area” and “Ramsar site” status. For the Mersey Narrows and North Wirral Foreshore, these designations were only given on a provisional basis. Because of their continuing importance for waders and other bird species, they should soon become fully “designated” sites under the European Bird Directive and the Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.

This step is good news and is being prepared by Natural England on behalf of the Government who is currently consulting on it. More information and site maps are available at:

www.naturalengland.org.uk/ourwork/consultations/merseynarrows.aspx

Tam O'Shanter Apple Day

Following our two successful Apple Days at Brimstage Hall and Eastham Country Park (there is a slide show on our website) we helped the Tree Wardens with their Apple Day at Tam O'Shanter Farm.

Wildlife fun at the library

During the school summer holidays we were asked to organise a wildlife themed morning at Pensby library. The 20 children learnt about two aquatic habitats and made dragonfly models, cardboard frogs and otter masks. Working in two groups they created two large collages of a pond and under the sea which now decorate the front of the customer desk at the library.

New Ferry Butterfly Park needs your vote

Carol Ramsay, our artist in residence at New Ferry Butterfly Park Park, has put in a grant proposal (with NatWest Community Force) for hosting a wide range of workshops at the butterfly park next summer. Also for converting one of the empty shops in New Ferry into a temporary visitor centre/ art exhibition space, to help raise the profile of the park and encourage further community involvement.

In the NatWest Community Force scheme, which projects will gain funds is decided by a public vote. Voting opened yesterday (26th Sept).

Please would you sign up and vote for this, to help win some of the funding to make these projects happen:

http://communityforce.natwest.com/project/1375

New Ferry Butterfly park websites:

www.newferrybutterflypark.co.uk

www.wirralwildlife.co.uk/butterfly_park.html

www.cheshirewildlifetrust.co.uk/res_new_ferry.htm

Carol's book, showing the development of the art trail and other projects at the butterfly park during the last 2 years of her MA (fine art: archiving & site intervention) is here: www.blurb.com/books/2408319

Please do forward this on to any other interested contacts.

Many thanks,

Laura Jakobson

Tribute to Peter Saunders

Peter Saunders, who died on 11 August after many years of heart disease, was a great character - and a great supporter of Wirral Willdife.

He served on our committee for many years, drawing on his career as a local newspaper reporter to author many press articles. He knew just how to get them printed! He also inspired, started, and for a long time edited, our Newsletter, writing much material himself from "interviews" with the rest of us. Peter was very good at getting at what we were trying to say, and putting it in comprehensible form. He was always positive, never one to sit back and do nothing. John Magee wrote to say "I remember the help he gave when he received any article he had requested, he edited and livened up any story in a very professional way. He will be sadly missed by many."

Peter was also active in our sister organisations, Wirral Green Belt Council and Wirral Footpaths and Open Spaces Society. His wife Sheila supported him in many of his activities and cared for him in his later years. We send her our sympathy.

Hilary Ash remembers "Peter had a wide range of interests. I found myself meeting him in all sorts of venues: writing reviews of concerts I played, touring a model railway exhibition (where he enthralled our two sons by telling them of the time he got a footplate ride on the last steam train out of Birkenhead), at Wildlife Trust walks and talks, and simply walking across Wirral on the footpaths. he taught us all the value of good writing and good publicity."

Butterfly Park artist goes into print

Please find a link below to Carol Ramsey's Masters thesis on New Ferry Butterfly Park entitled 'Endangered Habitat: Place People Environment'.

The Thesis is an work of art in itself and can be previewed at the link below:

www.blurb.com/bookstore/invited/1915727/da0c5083c231dde4428759777c06d45d372abdd1

The photography is superb and if you view it under full screen you can read the text.

It is a wonderful resource for the park and a memento of the last 18 months of hard work and achievement put in by Carol and the team of artist that she curated. Carol’s project has boosted visitor numbers to the park way beyond our expectations and at a time when we desperately needed that public support while under imminent threat of closure.

Not resting on her laurels, Carol has put forward a project to host more workshops at the park and in New Ferry town centre. See the link below:

http://communityforce.natwest.com/project/1375

To be successful in winning the award, there is a public vote starting 26th September.

The future of the park is still not certain but projects like this really keep the excitement and interest in the park going

Paul Loughnane

New Ferry Butterfly Park committee member

Seal spotting on the Mersey Ferry

Yesterday, while on a ferry to Liverpool, we spotted a seal. As we don't often do this trip we aren't sure how common this is but it brightened our journey.

Mersey Ferries are running some special wildlife cruises up the river and into Liverpool Bay. They take place on August 18th, September 3rd and September 15th. More details can be found on their website.