Liverpool 'country' walk

I was going to go for a walk on the Wirral with the family yesterday but decided against it as it was blowing a gale out there.... fair weather birder! We eventually decided to take a walk around South Liverpool; from our area at Greenbank we walked through Calderstones park and followed the footpath to the East that crosses Allerton Golf Course and into Allerton Towers, then across Woolton Road into the Eric Hardy Nature Reserve, then into Clarks Gardens (including a quick pint in the pub in the park), through Springwood Crem and then followed the footpath alongside the cemetery towards Camp Hill, from Camp Hill we followed the path through the Woolton Woods and finished in Woolton Village; a great walk which I have never done in one go before, for the majority of the walk you could easily have been mistaken for thinking you were in the heart of the countryside!

As for the wildlife I managed to catch up with some half decent birds including a Red Legged Partridge, 2 Bullfinches, Goldcrests, Raven, and a Sparrowhawk at Eric Hardy Nature Reserve. Nuthatch and male Blackcap at Clarks Gardens, Buzzard at Springwood Crem, Red Campion in flower in the Golf Course, and in Calderstones Park I found what appears to be a small race Canada Goose; probably parvipes or Lesser Canada Goose; the bird was at least a third smaller than the others and with a slightly darker breast.... although not to spoil the birds credentials it did show clear signs of its primary feathers having been pinioned in the past and thus relegating it to the 'fence jumping' category, yet still an interesting find and I have no idea where it must have come from. Also in the park a strange hybrid Goose which is also new to the area, 9 Tufted Duck, Grey Heron, 20+ Coal Tits, 10+ Goldcrests, Nuthatch and Great Spotted Woodpecker, and last but not least a calling Green Woodpecker in the line of Beech Trees on the Harthill side of the park adjacent to the walled gardens.

Lets Catch Up

Sorry for the lack of posts recently as I have had real problems with the blog, hopefully everything is sorted now so off we go again!
A couple of weeks ago I visited Caldestones Park with the boy, no sign of the Ivy Broomrape this year (see last years posts) due to overly excessive gardening! The usual suspects in the park including Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, Treecreeper, Grey Squirrels, Buzzard, and nesting Stock Doves. Down on the lake 2 pairs of Canada Geese have bred (quite unusual in this area), 3 Tufted Ducks, Grey Heron, Cormorant, and 5 Red-Eared Terrapins. In the bog garden at least 1 Great Crested Newt could be seen coming up for air, as well as many Smooth Newts, its good to see the 'cresty' as I haven't been out with the torch for a couple of years checking for them.
Last week in Sefton Park I found 2 Black-Tailed Skimmers, one as last year on the main lake and one in the newly created wetland stretch leading up to Greenbank Lane. This is the second year running I have had this species in the park. This species has been rapidly moving north and can now frequently be found on the Sefton Coast at sites such as Sands Lake, so could it now be breeding in Sefton Park? The breeding Little Grebes are still in residence and the Mute Swans now have young in tow. Jackdaws breeding near to the Cafe, Grey Wagtails again breeding in the dell, and a Buzzard over.
In Greenbank Park as Tony's comment highlighted, the Mute Swans have failed to raise young with 5 eggs failing; probably as Tony points out due to a lack of vegetation for the swans to build the nest with resulting in the eggs becoming chilled, last years nest was actually created by the council gardeners, notably John Warren and placed on the southern raft! I was rather surprised that the Swans took to it to be honest! BTCV have now created fenced off areas and planted reeds, a good start but more is needed! Other birds in Greenbank Park have included 2 male Tufted Ducks, regular Grey Heron, 5 Red-Eared Terrapins, Grey Wagtails, Chiff Chaff, Blackcap, again another (or the same) Ring-Necked Parakeet briefly around a week ago, the regular Farm Goose, 3 pairs of Coot have bred, a Nuthatch family have been feeding around the park lately with a second group along Greenbank Lane.

On a number of occasions I have heard a Little Owl from home calling from the direction of Greenbank Lane allotments, I have heard this now for three consecutive Springs; but have yet to track one down in the flesh! The Sparrowhawks are again breeding on private land in the Greenbank area, but as usual are very secretive during this time of year. During warm evenings (just before dusk) large numbers of Swifts have been gathering over Greenbank Park; with at least 200 birds at some times, along with local Swallows and House Martins.
2 pairs of Blackcap, 1 pair of Chiff Chaff, Nuthach, Song Thrush, and Treecreeper all on territory in Greenbank Drive woods.
I have noticed many Foxes around recently with Toxteth Cemetery being a good site for them. A walk around my local area early morning last week produced 3 separate Foxes and 5 active dens! Along with an active den in Wavertree Mystery Park and 3 pairs of Blackcap, 1 pair of Chiff Chaff, a family of Pied Wagtails, and one pair of Stock Dove in the park too.
Perregrine over Sefton Park on Saturday.
Thanks to Colin Conroy for submitting my Honey Garlic record for Greenbank Park, according to David Earl it is the only record for South Lancs and it is still in flower if anyone wants to see it.

Ivy Broomrape

The area behind the cafe in Calderstones Park has always been a well known site for the nationally scarce Ivy Broomrape (very few sites in the North), this is a really unusual parasitic plant and it has been rumoured that it was introduced by the late Eric Hardy. It has spread over the years and seems to be increasing.

Not much else showing in the park; Nuthatch, Great Spotted Woodpecker, 2 family parties of Canada Geese (a rare breeder in S.Liverpool), and a Red-Eared Terrapin.

No sign of the Kingfisher from previous visit.

Kingfisher in Calderstones Park!

Visited Calderstones with the family this morning and early afternoon, despite spending half my time running around after my son Dylan (2.5 years), I managed to find some decent birds including one big surprise................. a Kingfisher flew past me on the old boat landing stage and behind the northern island on the main lake. With the family I tried briefly to search for it but could not relocate it. Funny time for Kingfishers to be moving around? The habitat on the island would be suitable for breeding, will visit the site again soon.

Also in the park I had a Common Buzzard complete with mobbing Crows, Mute Swans (with 2 young), 100s of Coal Tits, Blackcap, Chiff-Chaff, Great Spotted Woodpecker (with young), Tawny Owls nesting in a Red Oak, 2 Red-Eared Terrapins, Shieldbug, Three-Cornered Garlic and as the snaps show a Grey Heron behaving very oddly and swimming in deep water to catch fish (very successfully)!