Hi all, I was wondering if anybody on here knew of any particular wildlife hotspots near the Merseyside/Lancashire area? I'm not really talking about zoos/safari parks, but natural environments. I realise this might be a bit of a long shot, but I thought I would try anyway! Thanks in advance, Michael
For birding, the Wirral coast/Dee estuary is good from New Brighton, Meols, Hoylake, West Kirby, Parkgate and RSPB Burton Mere. http://www.deeestuary.co.uk Going the other way Formby is nice, for the red squirrels. I haven't spent much time there.
Oh that looks perfect! I'll give that a go soon. Has anyone had any success at catching foxes on camera? I love looking at photos of these animals and am dying to have a go at it myself.
As an exiled Scouser I follow a Facebook page for Garston; I've been pleasantly surprised at some of the wildlife seen at Oglet Shore; might be worth a visit. Also, I've not been there, but Martin's Mere might be worth a visit. Cheers Eddie
Martin's Mere is worth a visit - coming from Chester it seems a longish way to me via the M6 - but from Liverpool it is less far.
As I'm north of Liverpool, Martin Mere is actually closer for me, so that will probably be my first stop I think. I hadn't even thought of there, it's just somewhere I went to as a child and thought was boring! How times change. Thanks, Michael
It gets quite busy. I haven't been there for a while. Walking between the hides is fairly boring as is sitting in a hide if you don't have the temperament (I don't, unless it's raining and then I'm OK).
If you go through a recent theme you will find my best effort at getting foxes http://www.amateurphotographer.co.u...n-human-or-animal.139126/page-16#post-1551616 I thought they were rather good but nowhere near you geographically I am afraid
First find your fox! BTW the sheep in the middle has been stuck in the hedge, it is a bit of hawthorne not an arrow. BV9R0923.jpg by Pete, on Flickr
I've just had a look and the picture is great!! They might be considered pests but they're stunning animals. haha i love that you had to explain it wasn't an arrow That fox has such a deep colour to it! I think i'll take to having my camera with me everywhere i go just in case...
Never managed to photograph a fox. Unfortunately, I live in an area where they are enthusiastically hunted those that survive keep their heads well down.
I could have killed one by accident. I was replacing a fence post at my mother's house. The plot next door is derelict and covered with brambles/bracken. There was a lot of loose soil piled against the fence which I thought a bit odd as I kicked it away. I was using a "spike", 6' of iron rod with a point at one end, to lever the broken post out of its hole. I stuck the spike in the ground for a moment to rest and it went straight down, at least 2.5 feet instead of the expected 6". I was actually standing next to a fox earth, the source of the loose soil, and the spike must have gone all the way through the tunnel. Could have been really messy.
Ooh, could have been very messy indeed. In the 35 years I've lived in rural Northumberland I've seen a total of 4 foxes; when my daughter lived in Rotherhithe, I would see more than that in a week. Sadly, many locals up here think wildlife exists just for them to get a kick out of killing
Oh no! It makes me so angry that fox hunting still happens. I've only ever seen them in real life when I was living in Sheffield and had a particularly late night!
Another vote for Martin Mere if you want to photograph birds. I went a couple of years ago for a quick visit and was very impressed.
Thanks for the tip about Martin Mere! I paid a visit today and was very pleasantly surprised by how good a spot it was. Unfortunately I'm not happy with most of the pictures I got, I got realised half way through that I had AF-S set on instead of AF-C, so quite a number of them were a bit out of focus -_- so annoying! However, I did manage to get a fair few of the otters... DSC_0860 by Michael, on Flickr Thanks again!
Formby beach, lots of red squirrels, and then stop off at Crosby to see Another Place on the way home.
