Hale Duck Decoy - Recent Events

HALE DUCK DECOY - RECENT UPDATES

Hale Duck Decoy: Updates 2020 Click on photos to enlarge

19th Feb 2020 Rob made a quick trip across to the Decoy on Tuesday to see if there was much damage caused by Storms Ciara and Dennis. Luckily, apart from a few small trees down there wasn't much else - the screens were safe which was the main worry. There wasn't any flooding either, although the drain needed clearing to avoid problems in the future.
There were 20 shovelers, 3 mallards, nearly 100 teals, 7 tufted ducks and 80 Canada geese on the pond: possibly sheltering from the winds.

10th Feb 2020 The high tide on Sunday 9th was to coincide with a storm surge from Storm Ciara and could have had serious consequences for Hale Duck Decoy. Fortunately the surge only reached 1m, not the predicted 1.5m, and all was well. The photographs show the state of the tide from about half an hour after high-tide. Both Town Lane and Carr Lane were closed to traffic at the height of the tide.

Towards Hale Village.

Across Hale Marsh to Church Wood.

Left of the Decoy towards the river.

The flooded road.

Carr Lane Pool towards "The Boars"

Towards Carr Lane

Hale Marsh & Hale Duck Decoy

Hale Marsh towards Decoy.

Ramsbrook and view to Within Way.

27 Jan '20
The Decoy’s ‘Monday Gang’ - Paul, Dave, Eric and Rob - has been working since early in September to hold back the tide of nature and keep it in basic functional order, with the drainage system as a prime consideration. There is a natural order to the year on the Decoy, which is driven by the ever increasing population of nesting herons and cormorants. They begin nesting sometime in February, depending on the severity of the winter, and once this begins, work on site stops to prevent any disturbance to them, until well into the summer months.

Our sessions are enhanced by the sense of being in a special place, which feels a long way from modern life despite the steady line of aircraft flying so low into Speke airport, which the birds have long since learned to tolerate. The atmosphere in the cold weather is very much enhanced by the warming open fire in our little ‘bothy’ called up by our specialist, Dave who is an old hand at country crafts, having lived on the Croxteth estate as a young boy.

Pre and post Christmas a good deal of effort has been put into clearing the ditches and channels of dead wood, leaves and bramble as the ‘pre and post’ photographs illustrate, while repair work has focussed on the bird hides and screens. Eric, who has vast experience of rural working, including competing in hedge laying competitions, has led on this with Paul, as they do at Pickerings Pasture. We have also planted a number of new trees, donated by a variety of people to whom we are most grateful.

The decoy is a singular place which requires a good deal of specialist knowledge to keep from falling into disrepair. For many years Rob Cockbain has taken the lead, and this continues today. He has been passing on his knowhow in relation to the arcane skills involved in managing the drainage system to Paul, who spends many a happy hour with his arms deep in the cool and sometimes murky waters of the drainage ditch, as can be seen from earlier entries on these pages.

So, with February almost upon us we have but a few more weeks to achieve our objectives and leave the place in peace, till high summer is here. Before then we hope to enjoy once again the pleasure of being on site during a high tide, when it becomes for a few hours our own little island, with just the birds for company. Rob Orme (and photographs)

Rob Orme attacking the brambles.

Before their trim...

... and After.

A lovely Winter's day at the Decoy.

Painting the Marsh Hide.

Hale Duck Decoy: Updates 2019 Click photos to enlarge

23rd October 2019

The Monday Group visited the Duck Decoy on Monday and Wednesday of this week.

More brambles were cleared from the edges of the ditches. Silt was removed from one of the pipes and from the ditches. Ten trees were planted including alder, hawthorn, oak and ash. A nest box was put up for stock doves or, hopefully, even a tawny owl could take up residence! Finger's crossed.

14th October.
The Monday Crew were in action again today: this time at Hale Duck Decoy, bramble cutting and clearing / dredging one of the ‘arms’. We are beginning to see some real progress and aim to keep up our sessions as long as the weather permits. There is no shortage of jobs to tackle. R Orme et al

1st Sept. View from the hide at high tide

Little egrets & grey heron roost.

Cormorants.

Grey heron

Canada geese on the flooded marsh.

Greylag goose from the Tom Johnson hide.

Peacock butterflies have roosted in the hide for years.

Lysimachia. The wild yellow loosestrife.

Purple loosestrife

A great white egret with 2 little egrets for comparison. © Di Hunt

21st September
There has been an annual census of the heronry roost at Hale Duck Decoy for many years. The totals this year were 270 cormorants, 21 little egrets, 3 great white egrets and -- grey herons.
Also seen were 2 kingfishers, 5 little grebes, 20 teals, 4 shovelers and a few mallards. Another interesting observation was a hobby chasing bats at dusk.
This year there have been several reports of cattle egrets going into the roost but sadly none were present on the census evening.

Throughout the year, nearly every week, Rob and Paul have continued with their work - bird censuses, digging ditches, cutting back brambles, mending screens and all the other maintenance jobs needed. Occasionally they are joined by other equally enthusiastic volunteers.

3rd July A group arriving to do an insect foray.

Decoy for a couple of hours. © M. Roberts

25th May 2019

Flowers on the Decoy

12th June Cormorant

Tufted ducks

Young cormorant bathing

Another high tide on 22nd of February was spent on the Decoy: there is something very special about the Decoy, when it is cut off by the tide. Although some work was done (the hide door was re-hung to stop it catching, the outlet pipe was cleared and more shrubs were planted) much of their time was spent watching the tide from different viewing points.

Teals feeding on the marsh as the tide approaches.

Dunlins feeding as the tide approaches.

Herons out on the marsh.

High tide from the Decoy towards the village.

Part of the flock of 4,000 dunlins.

The geese on the Decoy pond.

Herons sting out the tide.

A few pairs are already on their nests.

Canada geese & shelducks floating out the tide.

Shelducks floating on the tide.

HDD at high tide. Towards Town Lane. P Stanyer

HDD at high tide. The bridge over the moat. P Stanyer

HDD at high tide. Towards Mersey Gateway. P Stanyer

HDD at high tide. P Stanyer

HDD at high tide. Towards Hale Village with dunlins. PS

Paul and Rob have continued to make weekly checks on the Duck Decoy, particularly to check on the out-flow pipes across to the Ramsbrook. The work to dig out the ditches continues, mainly by Paul. He has also put up guttering and a drainpipe on the Pond Hide. A group of six went across on 14th February when more brambles were cut back, the foliage in front of the TJ hide was trimmed and some new alder buckthorns were planted.

The ducks manage to keep small areas of water ice free.

Water in one of the ditches.

Paul freeing the outlet pipe of leaves.

Cutting back brambles.

New steps to the Marsh Hide.

The Pond Hide now sports a new drainpipe.

The geese are beginning to pair up.

On 23rd January they spent the time over the high tide on the Decoy. The tide was not as strong as expected: often a 10m hide will surround the Duck Decoy. It did, however, fetch the waders, ducks and gulls much closer to the hides.

View from Tom Johnson Hide.

Wader roost from TJ Hide at high tide.

View from Marsh Hide (pre tide)

View from Marsh Hide (post tide)

Flooding and other maintenance work : Update 2018
Remember to click on photo to enlarge

Four members of the group were at the Decoy on Friday 23rd November. The task of the day was repairing the steps to the Marsh Hide, which would have become dangerous very soon.

Time ran out before they could finish but they managed to complete the task later in the week..

Kingfisher on the decoy. © M. Roberts

The Decoy in the mist. © M. Roberts

Whilst everyone else left the Decoy before the high tide, Rob remained to see if there were any problems. Sadly once the moat had filled, the tide began to ingress onto the Decoy again. This was very depressing after all the work that he and Paul had done over the year. Thankfully, when they went back to check a few days later the drain had done its work and the water had retreated. so although further work is needed, at least the main drainage system is working well.

The water from the moat ingressed onto the Decoy.

Some of the ditches also filled with water.

September 11th 2018: Another group visit was made. Following on from the work undertaken by Halton Wildfowlers Association the Friends of Pickerings Pasture were able to paint all three hides. When any structural damage was encountered this was immediately repaired. Thanks to all of you.
Thank you also to Lynda for providing the lunch.

After lunch...

The painting team.

All the hides have now been painted.

The Pond Hide

From the Marsh side.

The Tom Johnson Hide.

The Marsh Hide.

On Saturday 8th September: Paul and Gary accompanied a group of volunteers from Halton Wildfowlers Association who came to assist with some conservation work despite the pouring rain! One of their main tasks was to lift one of the screens set up to hide visitors from the ducks on the pond. They cut vegetation in front of both the Pond and Marsh Hides and also on both sides of the pathway to the Pond Hide. A large branch from a fallen tree was removed as it was about to damage one of the screens. We are very grateful for their time and efforts.

The Halton Wildfowlers.

Members of Halton Wildfowlers Association.

The wildfowlers take a well-deserved break.

They managed to lift the screen back up.

And the large, dead tree was cut back.

23rd August 2018, Tony Hunter, the Assistant Curator (Entomology) Zoology from Liverpool Museum came to Hale Duck Decoy with his colleague to check for bugs, insects and spiders on the Decoy. It is over thirty years since the Decoy was last visited by the experts from the Museum. They used several methods to catch their insects: using a swish net, knocking trees and undergrowth and sometimes just using their eyes. They had a few interesting finds and have promised to send a copy of their findings in due course.

August Update: Rob and Paul have continued to make their weekly visits. The work has mainly involved digging out ditches while they are still dry. Work continues on the drain, which continues to leak.
Paul with Gary and Eric have made two visits to re-roof the Tom Johnson and Pond Hides. Well done all.

More ditch work.

One drain under the path has now been cleared.

Eric and Paul working on the hide roof.

New roof on the Tom Johnson hide.

The roof on the Pond Hide.

May to July Update: Throughout the year two members of the Friends's Group, Paul Stanyer and Rob Cockbain have gone to the Decoy regularly to work. Occasionally they have been joined by other members and we have had one Group Day down there. The biggest aid to the flooding problem has, of course, been the dry weather since June. The ditches have dried out considerably and the mud has been cleared from many of them.

Rob Orme cutting back more bramble - an on-going task.

The completed pipe.

The dry mud is much easier to dig out.

Paul digging out the mud from one of the pipes.

Eric erecting one of the new bat boxes.

The walk to the pond hide was cut back and improved. The hides were also cleaned inside.

The seating area was severely cut back by Gary.

Paul doing maintenance work on the pipe inlet on Hale Marsh.

Flooding and other maintenance work: Update 2017

Below is the history of the flooding at Hale Duck Decoy and although progress has been made it is very slow, partly due to the age of the volunteers! At last there seems to be "a light at the end of the tunnel".

Throughout 2017 FoPP volunteers, Rob Cockbain and Paul Stanyer made as many visits as possible to Hale Duck Decoy to work on alleviating the flooding. Except for holiday periods, and avoiding the time when birds were nesting, they visited most weeks. It was very hard graft as they were pulling out mud and silt that had built up over many years and using it to raise the banks. Progress was made and water began to run around the Decoy more easily. However the problem of the drain remained unsolved. Many promises were made by experts but nothing was forthcoming. From the years he has been involved with the Decoy, Rob Cockbain had a fairly good idea on how to fix the problem but it was too big a task to undertake.

Jan 17 The cleared ditches (Side D) were looking much better.

Jan 17 (Side E)

Paul cleaning the ditches. Jan '17

Jan 17 Flooding (B/A - towards road)

Mar '17 ( C/D)

Mar 17 (Side A)

April '17 (Side C)

June 17 Paul cleaning out more ditches.

June 17 The pathways are beginning to consolidate.

June 17

Sept 17 The waters continued to recede.

Rob and Paul were joined by Paul Long, Rob Orme and Eric Thomson on some visits which meant more improvement work could be undertaken. The work in September by the Freemen of Hale to improve the drainage is reported elsewhere. The Friend's group work party for November was held at the Decoy and further improvements were made. Their hard work continued until the end of the year. Sadly on the high tide some salt water flooded back into the Decoy at the point were the work was done, but it didn't continue once the tides were lower. High tides will continue to be a problem until more work is done next year.

Nov 17 The Friend's group workparty began the refurbishment of the footpath to the hide.

Nov 17 They started with the bridge over the ditch.

Nov 17 The task was finished by a smaller group on a later date.

Nov 17 And Paul is still cleaning out ditches!!

More Flooding 2016

Flooding A/B March '16

Flooding C/D March'16

Work Days at Hale Duck Decoy 2013 - 2015

The History: On 5th December 2013 the tidal surge flooded Hale Marsh and went over the decoy bank in two or three places, flooding the inside paths with two to three inches of salt water. Almost immediately a pump was introduced to reduce the levels of salt water and to try to limit the damage. Over the high tide period on the 3rd January more gales forced the tides higher than predicted and during the following days, with all the high tides and rain, the decoy was again flooded and access impassable. Our pump also gave up the ghost due to overwork!

Flooding on Side A - Dec '13.

Side C - Towards Tom Johnson Hide - Dec 13

Flooding A/B - Dec 13

A visit was made to the decoy in February by a work party from The Conservation Volunteers and members of the Friends of Pickerings Pasture in appalling weather conditions. They concentrated, unsuccessfully, on trying to sort out the blockage within the major outlet drain. The original workings are really old and it was thought that a full overhaul was needed to really sort out the problem – a job too large for the Group. However some progress was made and a new pump was working well.

The debris left by the original flood outside Side B

Side C - Jan '14

Side E - Jan '14

Over the next couple of months access was really limited although the debris that built up around the pump was regularly cleared and at the end of May a new, better pump arrived and was installed on the Decoy. We hoped it would clear the last of the standing water quickly but by August it had become obvious that with more rain the water-levels were now higher and the pumps were not being effective at all. They were removed.
Halton Borough Council brought in experts to improve the drainage by renewing all the original works but the costs were really high and the job was deferred. The Friends Group were by this time becoming quite despondent. A few visits were made in January and February - it did not improve.

We decided to seek help ourselves from a source recommended to us. He was confident that the problem was not caused by damage to the drain and advised that a mesh, inserted several years ago to stop leaves and the silt from leaf decay building up, be removed and a new plastic pipe be inserted into the existing metal pipe instead. This has worked well and the water is at last draining as it should into the Ramsbrook. The lower water levels have been helped by the warm weather. We hope the good weather continues before the winter rains are upon us once again. We have our fingers crossed that when the tides fill the moat again it will not stop the pipe draining water off the decoy!

Side D - Silt and leaves have built up.

Corner A/B - Drying out.

Corner C/D dried out but left lots of slippery, smelly mud behind.

Thick mud & silt on Side A

The Clean Up: Over the next couple of weeks it was obvious that the water was still receding and a group went down to start the clean-up, in preparation for a visit by a some botanists from Nantes, in France. On 20th July seven members of The Friends of Pickerings Pasture had one of their monthly work-parties at the Decoy for some further work. The ditches are in a very poor state, with leaf debris and muddy silt filling them up and preventing the water from draining freely. Starting from near the outlet pipe a start was made to remove the debris and locate some of the drainage pipes under the pathways. It was extremely hard work but several meters of ditching were cleared and the water was running more freely in them.

Silt removed from Side E - 20/7/15

Clearing the debris from the ditches & trying to find the drainage pipe.

Clearing the mud from the ditches

Lynda cleaning the information boards.

Other tasks were also carried out: the information boards were cleaned and the covers removed for repair.
The spider's webs were cleared away from around the seats and viewing slits in the three hides which were brushed out and the droppings from the old swallow's nest removed. There was evidence that they may try a second brood in one of the hides. A notice board was re-erected, a gatepost repaired and the bench seats were painted.

Another work party of nine continued the good work on 8th August 2015 .

Initially, we were rather worried as there was signs of more flooding.

But, checks on the system both on & off the decoy -

indicated it was another build up of silt -

which was scrubbed off and the piping replaced.

Ditch clearance on side A

More work at the other end of Side A.

Looking much better and water moving at last.

Meanwhile another group were replacing the steps to the pond hide. Parts had worn through old age, other parts had rotted in the flood.

The wood had to be carried across the marsh and round to the hide.

The old steps had to be removed and the area cleared of debris.

The original steps were underneath. The new hand rails were secured first. At the end of the day, and some really hard work, the new steps were in place.