Red squirrels are fighting back

National Trust Formby

National Trust Formby, a group on Flickr.

Join our new Flickr group and share your photos of Formby!

For dog owners

There is a new page on the Formby website written for dog owners.  Formby is one of the few places on the Sefton Coast without seasonal restrictions on dog access although we do have some guidelines on areas that your dog has to be on lead.

Visit the page by clicking here

The text on the website was written by Ranger Louise Michell who also provided the fantastic dog photo below!

Beautiful in every season

Fundraising appeal

Today we have launched a new fundraising campaign to help raise funds for National Trust Formby.  This winter we must raise £1,600 to plant 1/2 a hectare of mixed conifers and £2,400 for fencing to shield the young trees.

Native red squirrel numbers have declined across the UK since the introduction of their grey cousins in the 19th Century.  Grey squirrels prefer the higher calorific food available in deciduous woodland so planting a coniferous habitat helps the red squirrels survive in an area unsuitable for greys.

The launch has gone well so far and we are hoping for as much help as possible to spread the word!

As a charity, the National Trust relies on memberships and public donations so we would really appreciate if you could help us to create a brighter future for the reds by texting SQRL01 plus an amount (eg £5) to 70070.

Thanks for your support!

Post by National Trust North West.

Photos of Formby

The National Trust have a Flickr group where they invite visitors to upload their photos to be included in the official desktop calendar.

This months theme is 'outdoors in the sun'.

Have you taken a great picture at Formby?  Upload it onto the group and your photo could be chosen!

National Trust Flickr  

Job vacancy - Ranger

Become a Ranger at Formby and be part of a fantastic team at an inspiring place

Formby. The perfect place to refresh the body and soul – and an incredible place to work too. But keeping the great outdoors is no small task. In fact, it’s a massive team effort. Working alongside Ranger colleagues, you will play a key role in maintaining excellent standards of presentation and conservation maintenance and you’ll play a key role in enhancing the visitor environment. You’ll talk to visitors and supporters about the importance of our work, sharing your passion for nature and the outdoors and making sure that every visitor to Formby has an unforgettable experience. 

Closing date: Sunday 14th July

Click for more details 

Natterjack Toad Scrape

The natterjack toad is under threat in Britain and has become much rarer due to changes in land use.  As it is found in coastal dunes, salt marshes and heath-lands, Formby is the perfect location for the elusive & rare toad.

Formby has 3 on site ponds created as a habitat for these rare toads.  One of these ponds is tucked between the dunes and woodland off the Gypsy Path at the most Northern reach of the NT’s stretch of Formby beach.  Known as a ‘toad scrape’, it was created thanks to a grant from the Million Ponds Project & Biffaward.

Natterjacks spawn in shallow water as it gets warmer in April/June.  We had recently spotted a string of natterjack spawn in the pond and Assistant Ranger Louise Mitchell's aim was to check for and remove any common toad spawn, to decrease the competition and increase the population of natterjacks.

Common toad spawn is easily identified as the eggs are in double strings and the eggs are larger, about 1.5-2mm diameter; whilst natterjack spawn is in a single string of smaller eggs 1-1.5mm diameter.  Plenty of common toad spawn could be seen in the pond.

The common toad spawn is carefully collected into buckets ready to be transported to an alternate pond suitable for common toads.

The alternate pond is on the other side of the site, close to some of the farmed Asparagus fields and site offices, ready to hatch into tadpoles.

Unfortunately there was no sign of any single string natterjack spawn today.  It may have been engulfed by common toad spawn, or eaten by common toads or other predators.  We will keep a close eye on the pond to monitor the natterjack toad population.

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from all the staff & volunteers at Formby!