July Wildlife on the Sefton Coast: What to Look For

22 June 2026

Skylarks

Skylarks breed throughout the dune grassland and coastal heath habitats on the Sefton Coast. In July they are still on second or third broods and the song flight is consistent through the morning. You will hear them before you see them: the continuous, rippling song delivered from 50 to 100 metres above the ground.

The best habitat for skylarks on the Sefton Coast is the open dune grassland between the dune ridges and behind the foredune. Areas managed for short, diverse sward support the highest densities. Look up when you hear them. The hovering song flight is distinctive and once you have seen a skylark singing overhead it is one of the characteristic experiences of walking this coast.

Skylark numbers have declined sharply across Britain in recent decades, largely due to agricultural intensification. The managed dune habitats on the Sefton Coast represent important breeding habitat for the species. The Dynamic Dunescapes restoration work, which has created more open short-grazed sward, is thought to have supported skylark productivity on the reserve sites.

Common Lizard

The common lizard is the UK's most widespread reptile and breeds on the Sefton Coast dunes, particularly on south-facing slopes with bare sand and short vegetation. July is the month when newly born juveniles appear: the species gives birth to live young rather than eggs, typically in July and August.

Juveniles are tiny, around 4 to 5 centimetres, and very dark in colouration compared to adults. Adults are typically 10 to 15 centimetres, brown or grey-brown with a lighter underside and often a darker dorsal stripe. Both sexes bask on warm sand or bark in the morning sun.

The common lizard is often confused with the sand lizard, which also occurs on the Sefton Coast. The sand lizard is larger, stockier, and the males have bright green flanks in the breeding season. The common lizard is slimmer and more uniformly brown. Both species require basking sites and bare sand for thermoregulation, which is why the Dynamic Dunescapes habitat restoration work directly benefits reptile populations.

Sea Holly

Sea holly (Eryngium maritimum) flowers on the Sefton Coast dunes in July. It is one of the most distinctive dune plants: spiky, blue-tinged bracts and electric blue flower heads, growing directly from the sand in the mobile and semi-fixed dune zones. The colour is genuinely unusual for a UK wildflower.

Sea holly is a protected species in the UK. It is declining nationally due to coastal development and trampling. On the Sefton Coast it grows on the open foredune and dune face in areas with good sand mobility. July is the peak flowering month. It is worth looking for on the seaward face of the dune system at Ainsdale and Formby.

The plant is adapted to dune conditions: deep tap root reaching stable sand, waxy spiny leaves to reduce water loss and deter grazing. The blue colour of both the bracts and stems, not just the flowers, is caused by a similar pigment mechanism to the colour in sea kale and other coastal plants. Do not pick it. Do not trample the surrounding sand which is active habitat.

Breeding Birds: Late Season

By early July most of the first-brood passerine breeding has concluded. Linnets, stonechats, and reed buntings may be on second broods in suitable habitat. The marshside RSPB reserve and the dune slack habitats at Ainsdale have good populations of all three species.

The little tern colony on Ainsdale beach is typically in the chick-rearing phase in early July, with chick fledging through mid-July. This is a critical period for the colony. Keep dogs on leads near the fenced exclosure if you are walking south from Formby Point.

Marsh harriers are regular over the reedbed habitats at Marshside through summer. A July morning visit to the Nelson hide or the coastal path at Marshside will often produce a harrier quartering the reedbed in the first hour after dawn.

Where to Go

For skylarks and sea holly: walk the open dune grassland at Ainsdale Sand Dunes NNR or National Trust Formby. Morning is best. The dune face seaward of the main dune ridge is where sea holly is most concentrated.

For common lizard: south-facing dune slopes with bare sand, any time from around 9am when the sun has warmed the surface. Ainsdale NNR has good lizard habitat near the boardwalk areas.

For breeding birds and raptors: Marshside RSPB reserve on Marshside Road in Southport (PR9 9TH). The Nels Hide and Stan and Peggy Scott Hide both give views over the reed bed and coastal marsh. Early morning mid-week is quieter than weekend afternoons.