Country: Sharp shellfish; Be quick if you want to spot a live razorshell.

Byline: John Dempsey

THE first spears of yellow iris and the widening basal leaves of evening primrose were warming to the heart, but a sharp flurry of snow was enough to remind me that winter is still with us.

In a deserted dune land landscape playful carrion crows broke the monotony, and yellow coltsfoot shone.

The slacks, still heavily flooded, appeared lifeless, but will soon throng with toads, and a little later in the year, orchids will bloom here.

I dropped onto the tide line north of Ainsdale, as the bright afternoon sunlight gave way to angry purple clouds.

Fishermen dug for lug worms and hundreds of gulls ignored them to capitalise on a razors hell wreck.

The casings of these weird shellfish were scattered in white drifts along the shoreline - like the morning debris after a good night in a Greek restaurant.

There are three species of razors hell that can be encountered in UK waters, with the pod razor the most abundant.

When alive they thrive around the low tide zone, but you'd be lucky to spot them when they're burrowed in the sand.

The slightest disturbance sends this bivalve scooting away like a shellfish scud, deep into the sand and to safetyThey are capable of a remarkable turn of speed thanks to a system of valves that lurk inside the long, thin shell - and a shiny patina that makes this casing smooth and streamlined.

This covering is usually missing by the time they end up on the high tideline, when it is the sheer volume of casings that is often noteworthy.

A large muscular ``foot'' is its final secret weapon, allowing the razors hell to pull itself back down down its tunnel before any danger gets too close.

Their tunnels are given away by an oval-shaped depression in the sand, and some fishermen claim to be able to lure them out by scattering salt around the entrance.

This irritates them apparently (quite why a beast that is soaked in saltwater should find this troublesome is beyond me) and those with quick reactions can grab the razors hell before it zooms beneath the sands, but you need to be as sharp as, well, a razor, to win this struggle.

I am assured that they taste good too - but I think I'll leave 'em to the gulls for the time being.

David Dobbing from Raby Grove was delighted to find a pair of bullfinches visiting his Bebington garden.

One of our most beautiful birds, it is worth listening out for their calls this year.

If the normal melancholy single note is replaced by a call ``not dissimilar to a child's toy trumpet'' (I kid you not), then you may be dealing with a subspecies - the northern bullfinch.

There was an influx of these bigger, brighter bullfinches from Scandanavia this winter, and there have been several records from around the region.

Another subspecies from the Caucausus has also been claimed in mainland Europe this winter, and that too has a daft call, but I can't see it getting this far west.

Mrs McAlpine from Great Sutton discovered frog spawn in her sheltered garden pond last week, while Jimmy Brady discovered flowering coltsfoot in Prescott and admired the blooming dandelions on the Rainford by-pass.

John Reeve calls with news of displaying ravens and buzzards near Ledsham, and an errant black swan near Bromborough.

Send in your items of news for the column by calling John Dempsey on 0151 472 2408 (Mon to Fri) ore-mail him at [e-mail]

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Razorshells scattered on Ainsdale beach