On Sunday 19th August 2018 the North West Fungus Group held foray at Clock Face Country Park, St. Helens, despite the unpromising ground conditions and the threat of Storm Debby. Fortunately, Debby failed to turn up.
Rob Duffy: Notes from the Drought
Little did anyone expect, on May 2nd, that with the mid afternoon temperature at a bracing 12 degrees and a healthy dollop of some 7.5 mms of rain, we would be soon regarding the latter with some nostalgia and the former as an uncomfortable memory Temperatures rose steeply that week up to the torrid Bank...
Freshfield Dune Heath: Rhacognathus punctatus
Another interesting discovery at Freshfield by Dr Phil Smith. This Shieldbug (Rhacognathus punctatus the Heather Shieldbug) is otherwise unknown from locations in South Lancashire (VC59). As a whole there are only 200 records for the UK (NBN Atlas 09.08.2018). The only other records for our area are from Coastal Surveys carried out by the natural history staff...
Rob Duffy: Sidewalk Botanist, Mid-July notes.
First signs of autumn are already with us in the form of ripe blackberries, rowan berries and hawthorn “haws”. Soon other trees and bushes will follow.