BIRDING WITH YOUR GROUP LEADER 

 Hello everyone,                           

The group committee and I would like to wish you all a Happy New Year. Welcome to 2009 and Liverpool's Year of the Environment. It will be another busy year for the group with excellent speakers and their pictures, outdoor trips to new and exciting places and four Liverbird Cruises aboard the Mersey Ferries, including one on a Saturday. The group will be busy at the Palm House trying to raise the profile of enjoying birds in the parks of Liverpool and the opportunities that feeding birds in your garden can have in helping people to enjoy them. If you have any spare time and want to help them please come along and support the regulars.

                                                                        Enjoy the birds.                Chris

Hello all and welcome to the winter newsletter.

You might have noticed that things have changed, again!  First of all, you’ll see that the newsletter is longer than it used to be, now standing at six pages.  We hope this will give us more room to include features like a quiz page and updates on the 85 clubs as well as the usual items.  We’ve also changed the format slightly: our list of events is now supplied as a loose sheet.  Hopefully you will find this useful.

The other major change is that, with the addition of the extra pages per issue, we are cutting back on one issue a year.  The result will be just two issues, a winter newsletter and a summer newsletter.

We’re always grateful to hear what people think of ideas so if you have an opinion on the new layout  good or bad! – then let us know.

  Good birding,

  Stephen

At   Moss Gates Country Park the group watched as a group of Magpies and a Heron had a disagreement; later, the group came across a new colony of Sand Martins wheeling around an  unusual nest site for this species, a disused stone bridge over the river.

Pendle Hill is locally known as the home of the Pendle Witches.  In May it is also the stopping off site for Dotterel.  It is also one of the most strenuous walks we offer!  We were very lucky in the rain to find 6 fabulous Dotterel with a stunning summer plumaged Golden Plover at the summit.  Later, we watched some Dippers gathering food to feed their young.

At Tarbock, lots of Yellowhammer holding territory from the minute we got out of the cars, with Skylarks, Lapwings, Buzzards, Swallows, Swifts, and House Martins over the fields.  Later, near the bridge, we found singing Sedge Warbler and a single Tree Sparrow in an area that used to be very good for them.

A walk around Haskayne and Halsall felt more like January than July!  The weather improved in the afternoon and lots of butterflies were out on the wing.  One of the highlights was watching a Reed Bunting and a Yellowhammer having a dispute.

Along the Sankey Valley to Carr Mill Dam it was noticeable how well the Great Crested Grebe breeding had been.  When it came to a break for a spot of lunch, it was wonderful to have close views of a Common Sandpiper.

At Crosby , Lapwings, Golden Plover, Curlew, Redshank and Turnstones were seen very close to the path as the tide was heading out.  On the track we found Stonechat, Greenfinch, Goldfinch, and Meadow Pipit all feeding on coastal plants.

On the final Mersey Ferry cruise  of the year, we were lucky enough to see 5 Spoonbills: 2 adults and 3 juveniles.  Were these the Scottish breeding pair with their young migrating south?

In order to encourage the public of Merseyside to get involved in wildlife recording, Merseyside BioBank will be providing a variety of free identification training sessions next year. The full calendar of events will be available from January 2009 on the MBB website www.merseysidebiobank.org.uk, which also has lots of other useful information about biological recording in Merseyside.

MBB is also aware that members of wildlife groups such as your own are often already involved in biological recording and are often quite experienced too! Therefore we are going to provide a bursary that you will be able to use towards more advanced courses in biological recording, for example, with the FSC or local universities. The bursary will be in the region of £100 per person and will be limited to a number of people over the next two years. The bursary will be advertised through the all the local wildlife groups in the New Year. So watch this space!

   85 CLUB NEWS 2009

For those of you who haven’t already heard, our “85 club” is a wonderful opportunity giving you the chance to win one of two cash prizes each month and with the added bonus that you know you’re helping the RSPB at the same time!  The 85 club is open to any member of the group and for a mere £12 a year you can pick a number from our board of 85 – that’s just £1 a month!  We’ll keep you updated with who’s winning what.

Remember, the more numbers you have, the more chance you have of winning a prize!  For details of joining our 85 club, see Laura or Brenda at the next indoor meeting.  

SATURDAY 10^th JANUARY 2009

Red Rocks:  A visit to a popular local venue.  Meet 10.45am at bottom of Dee Lane, West Kirby (0955 or 1010 train from Liverpool Central to West Kirby, then a 5 minute walk).  Easy walk along sands and nature reserve to Red Rocks for sedentary bird watching.  (Wader flocks and dune birds).  Toilet facilities.  Depending on weather, a visit may be made to the Wirral Way.  9.13m high tide at 10.03.

Leader:  Howard Mills (Tel: 226 3285 or Mobile: 07710 217663)

MONDAY 12^th JANUARY 2009

Calderstones Park:  A visit to a well known park.  Meet 11.00am at the corner of Calderstones Road/Menlove Avenue.  Buses 74, 75 and 61 stop in nearby Cromptons Lane.  finches, tits, Mallards and hopefully Jay and Woodpecker are amongst species likely to be seen.  Facilities should be available.  Meeting 3 hours maximum.

Leader: Howard Mills (Tel: 226 3285 or Mobile: 07710 217663)

MONDAY 19^th JANUARY    INDOOR MEETING

Southwest Africa – Namibia, Rwanda and Kenya: Paul Hobson was due to give his first talk to us in 2007 but his car broke down!  Our fingers are crossed that he can make it here to start our 2009 indoor meetings programme.  His talk on birds and mammals of south-western Africa should be great entertainment

SATURDAY 14^th FEBRUARY 2009

Sefton Meadows:  A new venue for the group.  Meet 10.30am at Old Roan station (Ormskirk line) for a short bus ride to start a 5 mile walk over farmland and part of the River Alt.  Farmland birds and a variety of raptors will hopefully be seen.  Parts of walk can be muddy after rain. 

NOTE:  This is a linear walk, and will end in Maghull.  Aintree station is the nearest station with a car park.  No facilities.

Leader:  John Clegg (Tel: 523 7353 or Mobile: 07776 3935787)

MONDAY 16^th FEBRUARY INDOOR MEETING

Merseyside BioBank: Helen Greaves is the community liaison coordinator for the Merseyside BioBank.  She will explain about the valuble work of the BioBank, collecting the biological and environmental informations from Merseyside and making it available to anyone who wants to know more about their local environment.

SATURDAY 28^th FEBRUARY 2009

Childwall Woods:  Meet 9.30am at the corner of Aldbourne Avenue/Woolton Road.  The idea of this walk is to get you more familiar with woodland birds, such as finches, tits and hopefully woodpecker, as well as their habitat.  No facilities.  Meeting 2 hours max.

Leader:  Chris Tynan (Tel: 480 7938 or Mobile: 07831 352870)

MONDAY 16^th MARCH  INDOOR MEETING

Package Holiday Birding: Local photographer Chris Galvin will be telling us how to get the most out of our holidays – ideal for those of us who have a non-birding partner and family who would rather spend their time on the beach than out birding!

SATURDAY 21^st MARCH 2009

Croxteth Country Park:  Meet 10.45am in the car park of the Stand Farm PH/Firtree Drive (South) in the newish Croxteth Park housing estate.  OS ref: SJ412951.  A walk around the country park of a mixed habitat, which in turn should produce a good variety of birds.  Facilities in the PH.

Leader: Dave Hardy (Tel: Mobile 07811 323354)  

SUNDAY 29^th MARCH 2009

Llanfairfechan:  Our annual visit to a popular North Wales venue.  Meet 11.00am at sea front promenade (90 minute drive from Liverpool).  Birds likely to be seen include divers, grebes, waders and wildfowl.  Toilet facilities available.  The outing may include a visit to the RSPB’s Conwy reserve, so please remember to bring along your national RSPB membership card.

Leader:  Chris Tynan (Tel: 480 7938 or Mobile 07831 352870)  

SATURDAY 18^th APRIL 2009

Cronton:  Another new venue for us.  Meet 11.00am at the War Memorial in Cronton Village.  A walk of 6 miles over farmland and through woodland, hopefully producing a good variety of birds.  Car parking is available on narrow country lanes.  Bus No. 6, contact the Traveline 0871 200 2233 for times etc.  No facilities.

Leader:  John Clegg (Tel: 523 7353 or Mobile 07776 393578)  

MONDAY 20^st APRIL   INDOOR MEETING

AGM:  The group’s annual general meeting.  Speaker TBA.  

SUNDAY 31^st MAY 2009

  Pennington Flash Country Park:  The first of two visits this year.  Meet 10.30am at the country park car park (pay & display).  Access is signposted from the East Lancashire Road/A580 with the A572 to Leigh).  Allow up to 45 minutes.  An easy walk of about 3 miles.  Toilet facilities.  Birds to be seen include wildfowl, Long-tailed Tit, summer migrants and hopefully Raptors.

Leader:  Chris Tynan (Tel: 480 7938 or Mobile 07831 352870)  

SATURDAY 20^th JUNE 2009

Carr Mill Circular:  Meet 10.45 am at Garswood Station (1004 Wigan train from Lime Street) for a pleasant and easy 5 mile walk incorporating farmland, woodland, Carr Mill Dam and country lanes (please note there are 2 stiles on route).  A mixed habitat should produce a good variety of species.  Some paths may be muddy.  No facilities.  Walk will end at Garswood station, half hourly return service.

NOTE: Parking in the short station approach is strictly for rail users only.  Garswood is the Merseytravel boundary limit, so the appropriate Saveaway/Trio tickets are valid.

Leader:  Howard Mills (Tel: 226 3285 or Mobile 07710 217663)  

SATURDAY 11^th JULY 2009

Old Coach Road (Kirkby):  Another new venue for us.  Meet 11.00am at Kirkby Admin, bus from Kirkby railway station, contact the Traveline 0871 200 2233 for times etc.  A walk of about 4 miles on quiet lanes and some fields.  Farmland birds including Yellow Wagtail and Corn Bunting plus migrants should be seen.  No facilities.

Leader:  John Clegg (Tel: 523 7353 or Mobile 07776 393578)

**** Our first Seabird Cruise of the year

The Mersey Ferry Heritage & Wildlife Birders Cruise will be held on

Ticket prices £10.00 adults and £5.00 children (age 3-15yrs).  Cruise duration is approximately 3 hours.  This is the best way to enjoy the Mersey and the Sefton Coast and see the birds as well!!

Answers from Summer newsletter!

Across                                           Down

2    Quail                                 1  Swallow

6     Wheatear                         3  Avocet                   

10   Liverpool                        4  Merlin

11   Chough                           5  Redstart

12   Brambling                      7  Reeve

13   Crossbill                         8  Goldcrest      

                                                9  Dunnock