Gatewarth :

Single Little Egret flying over River.
Two Grey Partridges . Two Buzzards and a Kestrel.

Gatewarth
Long flock of Long Tailed Tits in Hawthorn/Blackthorn/Dog Rose bushes and hedges mixed in with smaller nos of Blue and Great Tits and one or two Willow Warblers.

Originally posted by Brian Baird today:

Gatewarth

2 Chiffchaff, 3 Grey Partridge, Buzzard, Kestrel, Jay, Long-Tailed Tit flock, Goldfinch and House Sparrow noted this afternoon.

Male and female Ruff on the mudflats west of Norton Marsh early afternoon on Friday last. A scarce bird on the patch and only my third record in twenty one years. Also present 86 Curlew, a.l. 2000 Lapwing, 1 Redshank, 1 Green Sandpiper and Marsh Harrier.
six Little Egrets feeding below Fiddlers Ferry on 27/8, other August birds- Black-tailed Godwit, Arctic Tern and female Pintail.

Gatewarth

Reed and Sedge Warblers still just about singing, only 1 of each and v brief efforts.

Whitethroat. Family group of Blackcaps apparently feeding on Blackberries.

Jay. Stock Doves. Plenty of young Herons feeding on River with adults.

Butterflies on wing inc Gatekeper, Speckled Wood and Red Admiral.

Gatewarth

A kestrel hunting on far side of River rather late this evening. 9.30 ish.

Gatewarth

Bee orchid now with 3 flowers out.

Gatewarth 8.30pm
Only one Grasshopper Warbler reeling around Gatewarth this evening. Just outside the reserve, in rough field along canal.
Two m Kestrels hunting together.
Single Marsh Orchid flowering in sloping field down to the Ferry. Probably Southern Marsh tho' very dark.

Two whimbrel on the river west of Norton Marsh this morning.

Mike Mulholland wrote:

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The fifth bird, still in winter plumage was obviously diifferent, noticably bigger than the others and had a longer more curved bill, possibly of the race sakhalina?

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A tough call Mike, if actually possible at all? There is much overlap within bill lengths of the races of Dunlin and though as a rule the eastern races (plus of course the North American race) are longer billed, this overlap especially between the sexes and in a vagrant context, makes it's use in the field practically impossible perhaps. No doubt in hand measurements are the only way forward there (bill and wing length). As for it being in non-breeding plumage, it's not uncommon for our regularly occuring races to be in such plumage at this time of year and atleast 3 of 7 birds I saw at a county site last week were in such plumage.

There are no currently accepted races of sakhalina in the UK although one was under official consideration some years ago and I'm not sure of it's outcome. Frankly, sakhalina is poorly understood, not helped by birders like me that have seen hundreds (thousands?) of the race but not payed enough attention to them!

I like your thinking out of the box though.

Nice selection of warblers heard and/or seen between Fiddlers Ferry and Gatewarth tonight 8.30pm ish.

Blackcap, Willow W, Chiff Chaff, Reed and Sedge W. Whitethroat and Grasshopper W.(including one reeling from reedbeds on far side of River right opposite Ferry Pub.)

Gatewarth
2.30 pm full sunlight, 2 Grasshopper Warblers reeling from scrub on top of bank opposite Richmond Bank and from the old tip area.
Reed and Sedge warblers singing on site too. Whitethroats v numerous.

Gatewarth :

At least 4 Grasshopper Warblers reeling 8.15ish this evening. In between Gatewarth and Fiddlers Ferry/top of track leading to River. One seen briefly.

One Grasshopper Warbler reeling from same area as Sunday night, just outside Gatewarth.

Seen relatively well. Singing from inside reedbed initially then flew into small bushes around reedbed.

2 Swallows over Penketh Old Hall stables this evening. First of year for me.

Willow Warblers and Chiff Chaffs numerous at Gatewarth. At least 10 Blackcaps singing just along the Sankey Cut from Gatewarth at Sankey Valley Park, none heard at G/warth though.

Very gingery Fox on far side of River.

Butterflies today at SVP and G/warth : Orange Tips, Commas, Small Tort, Peacock,Brimstone.

Fewer Chiffchaffs on site at Gatewarth today, only 3 birds singing.

A Peacock Butterfly and 2 Small Tortoiseshells flying.

Fiddlers Ferry
Towpath up towards Gatewarth yesterday:
Single Chiff Chaff singing from trees around generating station.

Surprising amount of potential confusion here !!

When referring to "Gatewarth", I mean the old tip right on the banks of the Mersey that basically overlooks the Richmond Bank. It is just along the canal from The Ferry pub in Penketh. It's possible to park at/near the Ferry car park and walk up to Gatewarth.

Both Richmond Bank and Gatewarth are shown on at least some OS maps of the area.

To make matters slightly less clear, some of the signs on site call it "Gateworth".

"Gatewarth Tip" is a working household waste site further up the river towards Warrington, at Sankey Bridges, I think.

Gatewarth is hardly the most picturesque reserve in the country, particularly at the moment as lots of sewarge work and bore hole drilling/testing is going on in the area. But as well as the gulls at Richmond Bank it does have interesting birds. Best site locally for Grasshopper Warbler, e.g., I think. There are notices up on site at the moment asking for feedback re poss development....if anyone's interested, a few responses encouraging conservation might not be a bad idea ??

There's little doubt the area you mention is an old tip of some form Mike, Pete and I have discussed it before and the usual capping material can be easily seen at various points.

This area's name as Gatewarth merely puts some pieces in the jigsaw for me regarding gull sightings on this thread, thats all, Call it what you will of course, you say potatoe...

Ian McKerchar wrote:

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Not really John, though I know where you're coming from. In gull watching terms (which is why I go there) it's always been refereed to as Richmond Bank, so for me I use the term that has always (for as long as I can remember) been utilised officially, including in a county recording capacity. I didn't know of Gatewarth (it's not recorded on any maps as such but then again neither is Richmond Bank!) until I saw this thread and the little sign there last week (which doesn't indicate an area etc?).

I do remember the 1996 Lesser Yellowlegs there being at 'Gatewarth' though but I don't recall it actually being on the bank but rather on some small pools further along by the sewage plant which are now overgrown. I also remember it was a pig to see too

I'm certainly not saying anyones wrong or that any one name should/should not be used. I just wondered if the two sites were one and the same

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richmond bank is on the 1-50000 ordnance survey map as the sandbank in the middle of the river,and im sure on the old 1-25000 maps gateworth was shown,but I haven't got the map now

Ian McKerchar wrote:

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Cheers John, if this is true though and in a gulling capacity at the very least, this area as always been known as Richmond Bank (due to the bank they loaf on) and birds seen here are recorded officially as such.

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Think it depends how you look at it,the sandbank in the river is richmond bank,The area you are standing on probably Gateworth. A bit like being at penny and having a separate thread for the shingle spit.Its interesting really when birding, is it the area you are watching from or the area you are looking at-most likely in the richmond bank one as that is the focus for everyone watching its richmond bank.But if you see a flock of linnets as you walk to the lookout point it would be gateworth.

Ian McKerchar wrote:

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Still intruiged Mike. Is this on the bank on the Mersey? Is it near the bridge the tip trucks use? Is it accessible (John seems to do so) and worth a look? Lots of gulls regularly use an area just a little further up stream from Richmond Bank at low tide. The area is practically besides the largest new cell on Arpley Tip and so is an obvious choice for gulls to bathe and drink. They mainly then move round to Richmond Bank anyway and it seems the area is quickly covered by the incoming tide. Is this Gatewarth? Just wondered what viewing was like if so

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I think that knowing the area from fishing the canal many years ago,and birding the area a bit at that time,I would call the area you all stand on to look at the gulls at Richmond Bank as Gateworth.Thats why I kept asking everyone where do they mean by richmond bank,always thinking you were looking from the Moore side.
All the locals used to call that area south of the canal from the small canal bridge you turn right at to get to richmond bank-ip to old Liverpool road half a mile east along the canal as Gateworth,and originally didn't have access and was fenced off if I can recall and was part of the original landfill ,before it was covered and planted on about 20 years ago.Not 100% sure ,but pretty sure there is no real access south of the area you lot use for richmond bank on the north side of the river until you pass warrington,as I have cycled the area many times,and apart from the bridge over which mike mentioned,which is off old liverpool road ,which there is generally not much to see there is nowhere else.
I would say Gateworth is the area you all stand on to watch Richmond Bank.

Ian McKerchar wrote:

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John, I'm intrigued as to where Gatewarth actually is as I have the feeling the area you refer to with all the gulls is actually Richmond Bank, as we know it? I saw a little sign for Gatewarth there the other week but no direction or any other details.

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Ian

Gatewarth is the site of an old landfill site north of the river and I think just a bit upriver from Richmond Bank.

There is also a waste collection point at Gatewarth and a bridge over the river here - the bridge is perhaps a quarter of a mile upriver from RB.

The old landfill site is currently being monitored by the Environment Agency - apparently claims of radioactive materials dumped there. In reality a lot of these old landfill sites were stuffed with all sorts of waste back then. Might explain some of the odd gulls though, especially that two-headed Herring Gull

Gatewarth

Incredibly huge numbers of gulls on the River this afternoon. Very restless, poss upset by a buzzard perched up on the bank. Brief view of an Iceland Gull in the crowd.

-- Edited by John O'Neill on Thursday 3rd of March 2011 08:02:00 PM