Lunt Meadows

Lunt Meadows is probably my favourite reserve in Merseyside. It was created about 10 years ago as a flood control defence located beside the River Alt between Maghull and Thornton. Indeed, it did flood recently so wellies or boots may be handy here. The habitat is largely wetland, surrounded by miles of pancake-flat artificially drained farmland as well as some woodland.

There is always something of interest to see here at any time of year. The wetlands hold large numbers of duck, geese and waders. Pink foot geese graze in surrounding fields during the winter. This is also a good area for farmland birds such as yellowhammer, skylark and partridges. Marsh harriers are possible and the site is famous for its owls.

This can be a funny time of year before many winter visitors have arrived, but there should be some pink foots around and some duck, if not the numbers you see later in the year. There are often Ruff, Snipe and Black tailed godwits around at this time. We may see some late swallows perhaps. There are roe deer in the woods but they are wary and not often seen.

We will meet in the carpark at 11am. Entrance to the reserve is free, but I will be charging the regular £1 meetup fee. We will spend perhaps 3hrs wandering around the site before heading for a drink, probably at The Punchbowl in Sefton. Bring a packed lunch. There are no facilities here.

One of the big attractions of Lunt is the chance of seeing owls, this is one of the best places in Merseyside to see these birds. Barn owls are resident here while Short Eared owls over-winter (so they may or may not have arrived by the time of our trip). Dusk is the best time to see these, but unfortunately the carpark is locked at 5pm. Hence, I will probably be heading back into the reserve on foot after the pub if anyone wants to come.