The Met. Office described November as: “A month of two halves.” The first fortnight was dominated by ‘anticyclonic gloom’; grey skies, mild and calm conditions caused by high pressure trapping a low-level layer of cloud. From mid-month, temperatures fell and unsettled weather prevailed, including a named storm and spells of rain. There was even an...
Dr Phil Smith -Wildlife Notes September 2024
Although we didn’t get the deluges that affected the Midlands and Southern England, 20 ‘rain-days’ and 112mm of precipitation meant that September in Formby was distinctly wetter than normal. We also had below average sunshine and it was slightly cooler than expected, though there were a couple of warm spells early on and towards the...
Dr Phil Smith – November Wildlife Notes
With measureable rainfall on 22 days and a total precipitation of 152 mm, November 2023 was a wet one. In fact, Rachael Park’s Formby garden rain-gauge recorded 71% more rain than average for the month. Two named storms largely passed to the south and north of us, though ‘Storm Debi’ on 13th produced severe gale-force...
BTO – New records chart remarkable lives
In July 1997, a Black Guillemot chick was ringed in Orkney. This bird successfully fledged from its nest and lived for nearly 25 years without being seen again. In May 2022, the bird was recaptured, still in Orkney, making it the oldest-known Black Guillemot in Britain and Ireland! This is one of the new records (see...
