First Impressions

First Impressions:
a new member's guide to a work party with The Friend's Group.

Some years ago, on a regular walk at Pickerings Pastures, my husband and I were testing our birding skills, looking at the plovers on the sandbanks, when we were aided in this by two people also equipped with binoculars. Pickerings had been a local haven for us for some years and we had seen the flower meadows flourish and take off, watched the kingfisher and applauded the great white egret which came and went. These two people said that they were members of The Friends of Pickerings Pasture and suggested that we come along to their monthly meetings.

Leap forward a couple of years and a stressful departure from Education and here I am, also a Friend of Pickerings Pasture and Hale Duck Decoy. I have been to the Decoy twice and never dreamt that I could have such an adventure so close to Liverpool. The Decoy can’t be accessed without a guide due to it being in the middle of a tidal salt marsh. Wellies or stout boots are a must. It was particularly squelchy the first time that I went, crossing close to the edges of the field. The second time we walked the field’s margins eyed by a flock of Canada geese. Turning back to the road I spotted two large birds coming our way just as someone in our work party shouted “Peregrine”. The rattled heron took off across the road and the falcon sped off across the fields. Minutes later the sun came out and my pleasurable anticipation of a morning slapping paint on hides, in such an environment, rose considerably.

Ariel view of Hale Duck Decoy. © D.R. Mills

As you approach the Decoy you can’t see that it is a pentagon, however you can see the oil refinery on the other side of the Mersey. We are in a highly industrialised landscape but once on the Decoy it is a quiet and cut off oasis. (Only from the air can you see it for what it is.) But before we get onto the Decoy we must cross the moat. To do this we swing the metal bridge across ten feet of water to the opposite bank before crossing it three at a time, speaking softly the while so that we don’t flush the wildlife. Watching and listening for the kingfisher we step onto the island.

Path to the cottage.

Inside the cottage.

Hanging onto our large paint pots and brushes we head up the path to the gamekeeper ‘s cottage. Built in 1981-82 it is a solid brick one-roomed house with a grate for a fire and a collection of memorabilia on the shelves around the walls. Today it isn’t cold, it is still a balmy September and we don’t need a fire. It is a cold lunch, not the sausages that we had last time, prepared for us bbq style, by Lynda who looks after our lunches as well as the Sunday Popup Cafe. After delegation of paint and brushes we go our separate ways to paint the bird hides. I am off to Pond Hide, central to the Decoy, overlooking the pond as the name suggests. Before we do anything, we go quietly into the hide and open the slats with the usual birder imaginings of rare ducks and birds of prey sitting in nearby trees. Cormorants and herons stare into the middle distance on the opposite bank as statuesque as any species of bird and unaware of our presence.

Julie painting the pond hide with Eric.

Today it is very still, and this adds to an eerie late summer scene of trees alive and dead and some leaves already turning at the edges. But we have a job to do and so we load our brushes with paint which can only be described as lichen green. It dries darker soaking into the wood. We chat for a bit and then fall silent keeping our balance on the slope down to the pond. Lest we forget that nature is not altogether winning even here, the lumbering planes come into land at Speke growling over our heads as they go.

The Friends are a very welcoming group of people. As we pause Eric shows me how an elm leaf can be distinguished from other kinds of leaf. This is their patch and there is a wealth of knowledge held between them and a great interest in what can be found here. This covers birds, mammals, fungi, vegetation and invertebrates. It’s just fun returning to the gamekeeper’s cottage with Rob and Jenny chatting about the brackish plants growing in the now fresh water. Speckled wood butterflies flutter past and are identified before disappearing into the undergrowth. Some have been lucky and seen the kingfisher. I heard it, but no spot for me. A grey wagtail flies over and is identified. Spiders are sitting in mid-air waiting for their prey.

Three hides are painted, a bat box is put up and we reconvene for our reward, tandoori chicken wraps with a veggie option. And a cuppa, tea or coffee. Munching my wrap, I have to admit that this place is becoming a favourite and is getting right under my skin.

First Impressions: a new member's guide to a work party with The Friend's Group.

First Impressions:
a new member's guide to a work party with The Friend's Group.