Formby is most famous for its Red Squirrels but did you know that it is also home to animals that are even more rare? These beautiful and elusive creatures make their homes in the fragile mobile dune habitats of the Sefton coast where their presence has helped the area to gain both UK and international conservation designations.


Natterjack Toad
This enigmatic amphibian is nocturnal and can be found in dune pools, or slacks, on warm nights during their breeding season from April to July. The males come to the pools first and call to the females using their distinctive ratchet-like song. These calls can be heard up to a mile away and have given rise to the Natterjack Toad’s local name - the Birkdale Nightingale. The female toads lay strings of spawn in the pools from which tadpoles hatch out. As the dune pools are shallow and warm, the tadpoles develop quickly and the young toadlets have usually all left the pools by late Summer.