We had a visit today to the Southport area first of all to the RSPB site at Marshside on the north side to see the avocets. We are in the middle of a drought with the least rainfall ever recorded for the first six months of the year. The nesting area was dry and there were only a couple of avocets and two surviving chicks. Although a couple of ducks had young there were few of those. Still a wonderful sight.
We then moved to the south side of Southport to the Ainsdale sands nature reserve. This is a vast area of sand dunes with 450 species of plants. The dactylorhizas and epipactis were in abundance and there were a couple of orchis. The pyrola which grows here as well was nearly over but there was large amounts of it.
Avocets
Duck with young
Rosa canina two colour forms
Dactylorhiza incarnate
Dactylorhiza fuchsia
Centaurium littorale
Eryngium maritimum
