A complete Whitewinger whitewash today,with not a single whitewinger being seen in 4 1/2 hours by myself,Jeff Clarke and several others.
In total at least 8 Yellow Legged Gulls present,all adults apart from 1 1st winter.
An adult LBB gull gull still with a complete black bill,and a 1st winter Herring Gull with a bill that a Black Skimmer would have been proud of were the only other things of interest.

Four and a half hours with Pete Berry and others today:

6 Yellow-legged Gulls (4 adult, 1 fourth-winter, 1 first winter)
3 Iceland Gulls (all probably juveniles)

Unfortunately my computers crashed and I'm unable to access the e.mail with the gen on it(i'm doing this on a borrowed computer).From memory it was first ringed in August,almost certainly as a young bird,which would presumably make it' intermedius' rather than graellsi.I'll have to check when I get my computer up and running to confirm.

Of interest an adult Lesser Black Backed Gull that I managed to read the ring a couple of weeks ago was first rung in Norway in 2006 and had been seen previously in winter 2008 at a landfill site in Gloucestershire.

Two hours today with Pete Berry, until the huge tide came, complete with impressive roaring 2 foot bore and covered the bank!

Single juvenile Glaucous Gull showed very well
4 Iceland Gulls (one 2nd winter and 3 juveniles, including the long staying bird with pink on its right cheek)
3 adult Yellow-legged Gulls



-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Friday 9th of March 2012 03:57:28 PM

Four hours today in what can only be described as challenging conditions( too sunny, despite the weather forecast).
Also, rather strangely, only a few hundred Gulls were present at any one time despite all the mud being exposed throughout the visit and despite thousands appearing over the tip occasionally.( Maybe they were roosting on Pumphouse pool?).
Highlight was the brief appearance of an adult Caspian Gull.A typically dark eyed, long pasty legged bird with pale tongues visible eating into at least P8 on the upperwing with a nice underwing too.It didn`t hang round to really grill but it didn`t look like the bird photographed here last month, but difficult to say.Lovely structure with a small head , high chest and hanging rear belly, possibly a female(the bill was slender with little gonydeal angle).
Four Iceland Gulls were picked out, 3 x 1stw and a 2ndw.One of the 1stws is a large bird with a big pale based bill.I saw it here last saturday too, its got a smudge of pink paint on its right neckside.
Three Yellow-legged Gulls( 2 x 1stw and adult) and an adult Med Gull were also seen.
A Rock Pipit flew over calling and four Bullfinches were in the bushes.
More cloud needed next time!

Another 5 hours with Ian and Pete.
5 Iceland Gulls - 2 adults, 2 juv/1w and a probable 2w seen in flight just before departure.
7 Yellow-legged Gull - 6 adults and a 4w
Hybrid LBBxHerring present most of the day.
Yellow legged argenteus Herring Gull.
3 Grey Partridge
1 Redshank
20+ Curlew.
Usual selection of photos here.

Cheers
Jason

-- Edited by JasonAtkinson on Thursday 1st of March 2012 05:36:55 PM

After the recent whitewinger fest it was almost a whitewinger whitewash today.
4 hrs with Jeff and Jason produced the following:-

1 1st winter Iceland Gull
at least 6 ad. Yellow Legged Gulls
1 ad Yellow Legged argenteus Herring Gull
1 hybrid (presumably Herring X LBB gull)displaying to and paired up with an adult Herring Gull,god knows what their offspring will look like
10 readable ringed birds.

Three recent ringing recoveries are as follows
1st winter Herring Gull seen last week ringed in Montrose as a chick in August 2011
An ad ringed in Forest of Bowland
and another adult ringed in Northumberland at a landfill site as an adult in 2005,first sighting since then.

Quite a few gulls were hanging around the bank this morning until flushed by a birder coming down onto the far bank from the tip.

3 second winter Iceland Gulls and an adult Med were seen but the vast majority of the gulls flew off before I could sift through them.

26 Meadow Pipits were flitting in the nearby bushes

A bit of a whitewinger fest today,with Jeff Clarke from 10.30am till 1pm when the big tide pushed al the gulls off the bank.

6 Iceland Gulls(5x 2nd. winters/1x 3rd winter,one of the 2nd winters showing characteristics of Kumliens Gull,but may just have been a coarsely marked Iceland)
2 ad. Yellow Legged Gulls
a probable ad Herring X LBB Gull hybrid
3 Oystercatchers
1 Snipe

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Friday 24th of February 2012 02:44:14 PM

7.30 to 9.45am today produced:

2nd winter Iceland gull
2 grey partridge on path
Little grebe
2 curlew flying over
Lapwings and teal as normal

2 1/2 hours today.
1w Iceland Gull
Adult YLG
Adult Med Gull

Cheers
Jason

Hi Ian, I spoke with one of the patch regulars yesterday and he'd had a couple of views of a seal recently in the Mersey just west of RB and thought it had a long muzzle and hence it was a grey seal. I suppose there could be more than one seal in the river and that perhaps there are two species. I'm intending to stake out the river at HWH on friday morning for a few hours, even if there are no seals around there should be plenty of gulls and a few waders (and maybe otter).

Hi David, interesting record. Over the years a few pinnipeds and cetaceans have made it to our stretch of the Mersey including a Hooded Seal off Widnes in 1996 and of course the Minke Whale that beached itself on a sandbank west of Runcorn Bridge in 1998.
I've had a few sightings of Grey Seal in the river between Richmond Bank and Wigg Island and 2 records of Harbour Porpoise, (I've also had this species in the Manchester Ship canal - it had to turn round at Latchford Locks but not before it performed to a small crowd that had quickly assembled).

Early morning (40min visit) today gave me my 1st ever (2nd winter) Iceland gull.

Just as thrilling was videoing a common seal swim by eating a fish for breakfast!

-- Edited by DAVID KENNEDY on Sunday 12th of February 2012 07:58:37 PM

was there yesterday at about 10am ish , there was only about 1000 gulls on the bank and from half of them that was just off the bank near the ferryboat i seen 2 yellow-legged gulls and the caspian gull. No white-winged at this time but i left around 11.

Apart from the obvious self delight in finding one I am glad the site has one, it's been a lengthy omission from the sightings page. Thanks for all your help in understanding probably the most complex taxon in birding. Aren't gulls just great.
Pictures here.

Cheers
Jason

After being asked my opinion about todays possible Caspian from Jason's images (I unfortunately was stuck in work!), there's no doubt it is indeed a classic adult Caspian Gull.

Nice one Jason, you got there in the end. Who says perseverance doesn't pay off ?

pete berry wrote:

---

A couple of hours in ideal conditions after the sun had gone behind clouds,some of time with Jason produced

7 Ad. Yellow Legged Gulls
1 poss Caspian Gull(no views obtained of underwing)
no sign of any Whitewingers,amazing considering there must have been 10,000+ gulls on the Bank today,and not a Whitewinger amongst them

---

-- Edited by Ian McKerchar on Tuesday 7th of February 2012 07:47:30 PM

A few hours this am with Ian before the freezing rain really set in!
2w Iceland Gull
Adult YLG
And an unidentified 1w Herring type. Took a video but it was at a distance and doesn't really show a great deal.

Cheers
Jason

Visited today with Henry C, and bumped into a Wigan chap i've met out and about a few times - should have asked your name! Next time.
Challenging light conds for first hour or so, at least it was dry and calm for once.

1 2nd W Iceland
At least 3 YLG (2+ad, one FW)
one presumed intermedius
a few argentatus.
A very enjoyable and, as always, educational couple of hours.

Two and a half hours up to the big high tide around midday today:

2, possibly 3 second winter Iceland Gulls (difficult to judge between a couple of individuals but probably 3).
2 Yellow-legged Gulls (adult and first winter).

3hrs today with Jeff Clarke

2 Iceland Gulls(a 1st winter and a 2nd winter)
4 Yellow Legged Gulls(3 ads/and a 4th winter)
1 adult Med Gull
and an adult Yellow Legged Argenteus Herring Gull
2 Greylags over
nothing like the number of whitewingers reported on Birdguides there yesterday.

I forgot bird of the day? A Green Woodpecker 'yaffling'

Cheers
Jason

A bit disapointing today for Jeff Clarke and myself,after what was seen recently

Only a single 2nd winter Iceland Gull(seen twice) and a single Ad. Yellow Legged Gull in 4 hours(although one hour was lost with a big tide pushing everything off the bank)
We also saw(in flight only)a bird that showed characteristics of a 1st winter Caspian,but unfortunately it flew off down river and didn't return,worth keeping an eye out for though.

-- Edited by pete berry on Wednesday 11th of January 2012 06:30:52 PM