Wildlife thriving on the fairways
THE blaze of daisies and buttercups carpeting the fairways has been trimmed and the “thwack!” of a wood or five iron is the links soundtrack again, when a few days ago it was the calls of Lapwings and chattering Whitethroats.
While Southport Municipal Golf Links* has been closed due to the crisis, I took the opportunity to start surveying the site for Green Sefton, with a mind to future conservation projects.
With all due respect to all the golfers out there, it’s a lot safer doing this when you’re not playing, and it meant I could leave the hard hat at home.
The areas of scrub and rough continue to host good numbers of whitethroats, chattering their summer song away on top of suitable bushes, or launching themselves into the air on crazy display flights.
But the quieter conditions meant a fledged family of mistle thrushes were feeding on the fairways and at least three reed warblers held territory around several pools on the course.
Wildlife emboldened by our temporary absence.
Marsh marigolds, flag iris and ragwort shone yellow against the green of the fairways, but the drought of the last two months (mentioning this is a sure guarantee of rain) meant drainage ditches were very dry and there was no sign of any water vole activity.
This is worrying as the site was once one of the main strongholds of the species in the region – and May is usually the peak time for water vole activity each year.
Time to work out a conservation plan with course managers I think.
Raven and common buzzard soared above, and a steady stream of little egrets commuted overhead along the coast.
While I checked Southport’s Muni, colleague Chris Tynan had a look at Bootle Golf Course and reported territorial skylarks, a good selection of commoner wild flowers and even alder leaf beetle.
Sefton Council’s golf courses are currently open again now, but if you’re booked to play a few holes, why not help us out and log what you’re seeing during the game?
Simply download the free inaturalist app, which allows you to record sightings quickly and easily on your smartphone.
You can find it at www.inaturalist. org/
Then when you have the thing on your phone look for Southport Municipal or Bootle Golf Course under “projects” and join them – then you’re good to go.
Golf courses when sympathetically managed can be a haven for wildlife, especially within the context of the wider Sefton coast with all it’s spectacular flora and fauna.
Please remember if you must visit the coast to respect byelaws which have been in place to protect the sites long before Covid-19 reared its ugly head.
Fires and barbecues are not allowed, nor is camping.
Please take all your litter home – this includes dog fouling, do not use bins.
Keep all dogs under close control and do not disturb the wildlife at this critical time of the year as many species are struggling to raise families in harsh drought conditions.
There, mentioned drought twice – if that doesn’t make it rain, nothing will.
*Golfers can find booking details and social distancing requirements for Southport Muni and Bootle Golf Course at: https://mysefton.co.uk/ category/latest-news/
John works for Green Sefton, the Sefton Council service that brings together the coast & countryside, parks & green spaces, flooding & coastal erosion, risk management and grounds maintenance teams for a joined-up approach to the vital management, development and oversight of Sefton’s beautiful coastline, parks and green spaces. This column looks at the flora, fauna and history of the coastline, and the work carried out to protect it.