A warm early June day, no work so a day trip to Formby was the right answer.  Arriving at Formby I take a slightly wrong turn and find myself at the Lifeboat Road Nature Reserve.  Greeted by an annoyed Blackbird I took a little walk around and realise it was the wrong area.  It was as beautiful but not as extensive and varied.  I was not here so much for the birds but mainly to be amongst the dunes, the landscapes of the extensive Sefton Dune system.  At the National Trust Reserve I decide to do the Red Squirrel walk but no luck only Magpies, Carrion Crows, Woodpigeons, Chaffinches and Stock Doves.  I headed south and a brief detour towards the asparagus field.  From the coastal scrub and sand dunes came the sound of Whitethroats, Meadow Pipits, Linnets and Skylarks.  The Whitethroats would pop up on a perch warble then disappear, the Meadow Pipits would parachute, the Linnets would dash around and the Skylarks would rise high and disappear out of view only to be heard.  A nice surprise was a Lesser Whitethroat.  I decided to head to the northern side of the reserve and as I looked out to sea I could see all the usual species of Gulls, Cormorants, Common Terns and Oystercatchers.  After a closer inspection of the Gulls I realised some of them were diving into the sea in the way only Gannets could do.  There were at least 40 of them and my first sighting this year.  After looking even closer I noticed something appear and disappear into the sea, a seal of sorts but all alone. 

I decided to explore the region and headed first south then west to Altcar Moss to have a little look at this fabled birding destination within the region.  I did not have a lot of time as I would be having a look at Plex Moss as well.  I did not see much due to the time factor but it was still good to have seen some of the famous mosslands of the north-west.  Many mosslands have been destroyed.  I hope the remaining few are protected as they often contain specialised plants and insects. 

Here is Altcar Moss;-

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And here Plex Moss;-

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