John Dempsey works for Green Sefton, the Sefton Council service which brings together the Coast & Countryside, Parks & Greenspaces, Flooding & Coastal Erosion, Risk Management and Grounds Maintenance teams for a joined-up approach to the vital management, development and oversight of Sefton’s beautiful coastline, parks and green spaces. 

You can read his regular columns in the Southport Visiter. 

Here, John takes us into how the service is preparing for the cold winter months, and what it means for the incredible natural habitat on the Sefton coastline. 

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Winter looms, but plenty still to see on Sefton Coast 

Shorter days really begin to beckon now, but there is still plenty to see on the Sefton Coast, even in the winter months. 

The crowds of summer may have thinned out and many of the species that this coastline is famous for have gone into hibernation, but the coastline offers a solitude few places so close to large urban communities can match. 

The trick is getting out to enjoy it and doing that in the right way. 

Green Sefton advises all visitors not to stray more than 50 metres (about the length of four double decker buses) from the seawall [in Crosby], regardless of the state of the tide. 

For any visit to the coastline, from Crosby to Crossens, always check the weather and tide times before venturing out and let someone know when you intend to return. 

Time your visit for late afternoon on a day with broken cloud and you may be treated to a show that rivals the Northern Lights. 

Cutting back meadows will boost floral diversity 

I confess I have a soft spot for the dunes and grassland at Hightown and the Alt estuary. 

While the whole Sefton Coast is magnificent, Hightown’s meadows and dunes hold some of my earliest memories from the late ‘60s and early ‘70s. 

So, it is great to see plenty of Green Sefton winter work scheduled for this stretch of the coast. 

Visitors to the area may have notice some of the larger meadow areas flayed and cut back after years of being allowed to grow uncontrolled. This work may appear drastic, but it should have huge benefits for the habitat and supercharge wild floral diversity. 

When natural grassland is left unmanaged, many wildflowers simply cannot compete with taller grasses and scrub. By opening the site up and keeping the sward height in check, many long-lost dune species that are hopefully dormant in the seedbank below the surface, may start to appear. 

Hopefully, it will not be too long before orchids and other dune species once abundant on these level grasslands will become a familiar sight again. 

This work will complement other work by Green Sefton core staff, contractors and volunteers on the Hightown dunes. This entails controlling scrub, removing invasive species and sand patching. This is for the benefit of not only the wild flowers, but also the insects, natterjack toads, sand lizards and ground nesters, and migrants including skylarks and grasshopper warblers. 

The wonderful Hightown Beach Clean group of volunteers work with Green Sefton – watch out for details of their activities (all are welcome). 

Finally, members of the Knowsley Safari organisation have also joined forces with us, increasing their involvement in conservation work on the coast – more of that [soon].

Spotting Snow Buntings is fun - but show them respect

Shuffling about among the tideline debris, they can be almost invisible, but once they take to the air, startling white wing patches and a distinctive trilling call immediately give wintering Snow Buntings away.

Although scarcer than they once were here in winter, the Sefton Coast plays host to small numbers of this attractive little bird each year.

The 'tameness' of some Snow Buntings is down to the fact that as a breeder on the remote tundra and massifs of northern Scandinavia, Iceland and Greenland they rarely encounter people - or dogs - so have no concept of fear of us.

One one level this is great - it allows people to enjoy memorable and close interactions with a fascinating species with all the benefits that can bring.

But we must not assume that all are as people-tolerant. Some Snow Buntings are warier and they can be prone to constant disturbance, which stops them feeding and forces them out of areas.

Just like us humans, Snow Buntings don't share common character traits!

If you are lucky enough to encounter Snow Buntings on the Sefton Coast this winter, whether a walker, photographer or birder, enjoy them but treat them with respect.

If such a generally friendly species stops feeding and flies away from you, you are too close.

It's no effort to detour slightly, leaving them in peace - after all these are engaging creatures that need to feed almost constantly to stay alive.

There are miles of coastline in Sefton for all to enjoy, but it is important to keep the welfare of wildlife here uppermost on visits to this protected landscape.

You can learn more about the work being done on Sefton’s coastline by following Green Sefton (@greensefton) on Facebook or Instagram.