A blog and photo journal about the natural history of north-west England and beyond
Dipper on the River Mersey downstream from Cheadle Bridge, Manchester As recently as 30 years ago the Mersey was considered to be the most polluted river in Europe. In 1983 the then Secretary of State for the Environment Michael Heseltine stated “…the river Read More …
So far it appears to have been a very good mating season for the thousands of Toads that live around Chorlton Water Park and the adjacent Mersey valley. The sheer spectacle of so many toads is one of the best wildlife experiences to Read More …
For once the sun came out and we were fortunate enough to be able to get out for a couple of hours on Sunday. After the long cold, dark days of winter the local wildlife is quickly responding to the arrival of Spring. First stop Read More …
Courtship begins. A pair of Goosanders on the River Mersey opposite Chorlton Water Park. Until 4 years ago Goosanders were winter visitors departing north in late February/early March. More recently they’ve started to breed further upstream and can now be seen all year Read More …
We decided to head up north to Leighton Moss not really expecting to see a great deal. Being an optimist I’d hoped we might be able to get a decent view and possibly a photo of the Marsh Tits. However trying to get a Read More …
Whilst officially Spring doesn’t begin until mid March over the past couple of weeks its finally started to slowly arrive. In fact after spending a day walking around in the sunshine close to Morecambe Bay we’ve decided that this year Spring arrived on the 19th Read More …
Finally after weeks of rain it stopped for a whole day and I was able to get out once again with the camera and binoculars. Although they’re far from rare it’s always good to come across a communal nest of Wood Mice. There was around Read More …
Again took the opportunity of another break in the weather and headed up to WWT Martin Mere. I’d almost forgotten how busy it gets on a Sunday afternoon. Although its encouraging to see the sheer number of people with an interest in the environment trying Read More …
Ring-necked Parakeet at Fog Lane Park, Didsbury. Currently there’s thought to be up to 20 of these Parakeets around the south Manchester area with Fog Lane Park, Alexandra Park and Southern Cemetery being amongst the more regular haunts. In contrast to the situation in Read More …
