Dr Phil Smith
Arguably the most severe spring drought of modern times continued throughout April. Rachael Parks measured only 22 mm of rainfall in her Formby garden, this being about 40% of the expected amount. The Met Office tells us that the UK had the sunniest April on record and the third warmest since 1884; it was also exceptionally dry, due to persistent high atmospheric pressure. Unsurprisingly, the sand-dune water-table, measured at the Devil’s Hole, Ravenmeols, fell by 12 cm during the month.
There were inevitable effects on our wildlife and their sand-dune habitats. Although generally well adapted to dry soils, dune vegetation, especially on road verges, was looking worse for wear by the end of the month. A reaction of some plants was to flower earlier than usual. Ian Wolfenden contacted me on 18th with the news that the Green-winged Orchid he found at Hightown dunes in early May last year was already showing. I went to see the rather poor specimen the following day. I couldn’t find the two individuals that were on Hightown’s Thornbeck Avenue verges in 2024. Happily, by 25th April, the Green-winged Orchid discovered last year next to the Blundellsands Sailing Club was blooming magnificently, its flower-spikes having increased from three to five.
Broad-leaved trees unfurled a new crop of leaves during April, the endlessly varied shades of green being one of the features of the older dunes. My favourite is the Black Poplar, a rare tree nationally that was widely planted alongside duneland tracks and on the edges of pine plantations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. During 2008/09, the late Patricia Lockwood and I mapped 650 of them at Formby Point. In late March and early April, they produce long, deep-red catkins, soon to be followed by distinctive pale apple-green foliage. We also found 175 hybrid Black Poplars during our survey. Often, their young leaves can be identified by a bronzy tint that disappears as the leaves age.
My almost daily duneland walks were invariably uplifted by bird-song, resident species like Blackbird, Song Thrush, Mistle Thrush, Dunnock, Great Tit, Robin, Wren and Skylark being accompanied by summer visitors, of which Willow Warbler, Chiffchaff, Blackcap and Whitethroat are the most frequent. At Sands Lake, Ainsdale, they were joined by the repetitive grating phrases of at least three Reed Warblers. I sometimes wonder how many of these relatively common species can now be recognised by the general public.
The endless sunshine seems to have benefited the wonderful insect fauna of the Sefton Coast; spring butterflies like the Orange Tip and first brood Speckled Woods were numerous, while dashing male Brimstones appeared in several places. With over 3500 different insects to go at, there’s always a good chance of finding something new. Alexandra Park in Crosby produced my first ever Dark-edged Bee Fly, a widespread species that has only recently colonised the Sefton Coast. My photo of a distinctive-looking ichneumon wasp at Alt Bridge had to go to an expert in Ukraine to be identified as Apechthis compunctor. I was told “He is keeping busy despite the air strikes…” This wasp has been recorded quite widely in England and Wales but there seem to be only two previous sightings for Sefton.
The flowery path to the edge of Downholland Brook at Alt Bridge is a brilliant place for insects, including, in recent years, the attractive Large Red Damselfly. I usually have to wait until the second week of May for my first of the season. This year, I found it on 24th April, over two weeks early. They were also more numerous than usual. Another early dragonfly was a superb female Broad-bodied Chaser that I encountered on 29th. My earliest previously was on 2nd May 2007, while the average date between 1998 and 2012 for first sightings in Lancashire and North Merseyside was 19th May.
As usual, that Sefton Coast speciality the tiny Spring Heath Robberfly was a regular sight on sunny fences and sandy paths, my first being at Wicks Path, Formby Point on 6th. Another group responding well to the weather was the hoverflies. Many of them mimic the appearance of bees or wasps to fool potential predators. A particularly good example is the uncommon Buff-tailed Bumblefly which closely resembles the familiar Common Carder Bumblebee. I was lucky enough to photograph a fine specimen of the Bumblefly at Ravenmeols woods, where the south-facing edge is a particular hot-spot for hoverflies. Another hoverfly that did well in April is the Common Snout Fly, with its characteristic long ‘snout’ concealing elongated mouthparts. While this species is widespread and common nationally, it is rare along the coast. The best place to see it locally is a wooded footpath on the eastern outskirts of Formby. Here, I counted 12 on 21st April. Another bit of good news is that, after two poor years, our Northern Dune Tiger Beetles seem to have recovered their numbers, Pete Kinsella reporting a remarkable count of 57 at the Devil’s Hole on 22nd.
