The Andrena clarkella mining bees at Court Hey Park are indeed now active! At the moment there appear to only be a few burrows open and i only saw males so i suspect they have only recently started to emerge, perhaps stalled by the drop in temperature again.
The LCR Ecological Network Way back at the tail end of 2016 the Liverpool City Region and West…
There was measurable rain on 10 days in the first three weeks of the month – about average – after which the “Beast from the East” set in, with exceptionally cold dry easterly winds from Siberia. This unusual weather pattern was due to warm air and high pressure over Canada and Greenland, leading to a blockage of the North Atlantic Jet-stream which should bring us rain-bearing fronts in February. Researchers have linked this to a warming trend in the Arctic, itself a consequence of rapid climate change.
With 18 rain-days and the two named storms Eleanor and Georgina, January was wetter than average. This meant a welcome recovery in the dune water-table which returned to “normal” winter levels. I measured a rise of about 17cm at the Devil’s Hole blowout during the month, resulting in extensive flooding of the lower sections. This is good news for the Natterjack Toad which might have somewhere to breed in the spring.
Big tides and high winds early in the month created a storm surge which, although not as strong as those in the 2013/14 winter, produced some erosion at Formby Point and Hightown. I estimated a 5m loss of dunes at Hightown, impacting important populations of Isle of Man Cabbage and the rare Triple-hybrid Evening Primrose. In contrast, there were minimal effects at the Ainsdale end of Birkdale Green Beach, where the much wider shore absorbs the energy of the waves.