Gorse Covert Mounds Habitat Survey 2012

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Darleen Sharp
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1 Gorse Covert Mounds Habitat Survey 2012 Scope The scope of the survey is the area at Gorse Covert that is owned by Warrington Borough Council and managed by the Woodland Trust. Part of the site had been previously designated a Site of Importance for Nature Conservation (SINC) following survey work in The objective of the survey was to re-assess its wildlife content and thus assist the Cheshire Wildlife Trust in establishing its current status. Preliminary advice is that the whole site will be designated a Local Wildlife Site (LWS), which is the replacement designation for SINCs, with a separate specific citation for the remnant Pestfurlong Moss because of the national rarity of lowland bog habitats. Location / Access The overall site is broadly triangular with the wide edge along the eastern boundary, and covers ~19.5 Ha. The three corners of the site are at: :392540, :393250, : A map is shown on the Friends of Gorse Covert Mounds web site ( ). The site is bounded by: The A574 spur road along its northern edge to Junction 11 on the M62, which is adjacent to the north-eastern corner of the site The Gorse Covert housing estate along its southern edge; Agricultural land along its eastern edge The main access to the site is on Gorse Covert Road at : where there is a small car park. There are several casual accesses to the site from individual housing areas, from the Birchwood Forest Park at the western end, and off Silver Lane near the site northeastern corner. There are a number of footpaths on the site with the main one running along the spine of the site from south-west to north-east. This is joined by the path from the site car park, broadly half way down its length. Site Description / Topography The majority of the site was created around 1980 as part of the Gorse Covert housing development. It acts as a screen from the A574 and M62, and from industrial units across the A574. The area is mounded up to ~10m above the base housing level at its western end rising to a high spot ~20m above the base housing level by ~100m from the site eastern edge. The mound was based on demolition waste created during clearance of the preexisting WW2 munitions factory, covered by imported soil. The majority of the mounded area was planted with non-uniform mixed specie plantation woodland / scrub but there are some areas of planted grassland that is managed by an annual cut. The site has a number of small ponds, including one with an area of ~0.2 Ha. Gorse Covert Mounds Habitat Survey

2 From the high spot, the site slopes down steeply to broadly the base level of the housing and the adjoining agricultural land. This area is a remnant lowland bog and would historically have been linked to similar habitat at Risley Moss and Holcroft Moss, but is now quite dry. Part of the area has been significantly encroached by birch to the extent that it is effectively birch woodland, with significant areas of rhododendron. Habitat Description The site has a number of sub-habitats as shown in Appendix 1. DAFOR nomenclature is used where appropriate to describe relative distributions. Woodland / Scrub The woodland / scrub areas are primarily new plantation woodland, but there is some existing wet woodland around the largest on-site pond. They have very few wildflowers other than the typical path-side species such as Dandelion and Daisy along the site paths. In a few areas local residents have introduced garden bulb species such as Daffodils and Crocus in the woodland immediately behind their gardens. Some English Bluebell has been introduced by local volunteers (FoGCM); unfortunately other residents have introduced Spanish Bluebell (unknowingly?) as part of bulb planting. The tree species are mixed but have local concentrations. The woodland has for convenience been subdivided into the sub-areas shown below to give a better appreciation of how the species are distributed: W1: Mixed Plantation Woodland: This area contains the majority of the tree species listed in Appendix 2. No specie is dominant across the whole area, but some are locally abundant. W2: Poplar Hybrid rich mixed woodland: Although this area contains many of the species listed in Appendix 2, Black Poplar hybrid trees are dominant. W3: Birch dominant woodland: This area is in fact encroached lowland bog where Birch is dominant. There are patches of rhododendron, but otherwise only rare individual other tree species. W4: Waterside woodland: This area comprises typical waterside trees such as Grey Willow, Alder, etc. Some large Crack Willow near to the largest on-site pond. S1: Hawthorn dominant scrub: Much of this area is entirely Hawthorn, with rare individual other species. S2: Blackthorn dominant scrub: Much of this area is entirely Blackthorn, with rare individual other species. There are some areas that are effectively encroachment onto the grassland areas. S3: Mixed scrub: This area contains several scrub species but none are dominant. However, some are locally abundant. Grassland The grassland areas are all newly (~35 years ago) created. Because of access difficulties, some areas are managed differently and the grassland has been divided into two sub-areas: Gorse Covert Mounds Habitat Survey

3 G1: Wildflower rich grassland: This area contains all of the wildflower species listed in Appendix 3. It is managed by annual hay cut but there was some evidence that not all of the cut material has been removed, which is making areas more attractive to stronger growing grasses. G2: Wildflower poor grassland: This area is already dominated by stronger growing grasses and now has fewer wildflowers that are generally more widely spaced. Remnant Bog The area has been seriously downgraded by drainage. The area is now dominated by Purple Moor-grass, with occasional Heathers. There is also some encroaching Silver Birch and Downy Birch that are accelerating the drying out process. It is evident that the nearby Birch dominant woodland (W3) was previously part of the bog area but has now been totally encroached. There is one small area of the remnant bog that was previously a shallow pond that is now dried up. However, there are still some small patches of sphagnum that could form the nucleus for potential regeneration, as has been achieved at nearby Risley Moss. Ponds All of the ponds were created as part of the original mounding work in the 1980 s and all associated plants were hence probably introduced. An area of one pond is effectively full of the otherwise nationally rare Water-soldier. Two of the ponds have had fish such as carp, perch and rudd introduced by anglers. Even so, the other ponds support frogs, toads and smooth newts. At least two of the ponds support Great Crested Newt (seen visually in 2012). Survey Work The survey work was carried out under the guidelines stipulated by Woodland Trust. Principally, this meant that the majority of the sightings were recorded from, or adjacent to, site footpaths. Unless otherwise identified, all of the species recorded were identified by Phil Rees, with assistance from colleagues in the Friends of Gorse Covert Mounds ( Phil Rees February 2013 Gorse Covert Mounds Habitat Survey

5 Appendix 2: Tree / Shrub Species Cherry Dog Rose Hawthorn Ash Blackthorn Holly Scots Pine Field Maple Gorse Silver Birch Downy Birch Elderberry White Willow White Poplar Cotoneaster Hazel Pedunculate Oak Goat Willow Horse Chestnut Sycamore Beech Wych Elm Alder Dogwood Yew Black Poplar hybrid Snowberry Damson Guelder-rose Alder Buckthorn Grey Sallow Crack Willow Rhododendron Pyracantha Distribution, locally frequent, locally occasional Widespread occasional, locally dominant, locally dominant. Evidence of bird-introduced garden cultivars, locally occasional Locally frequent, locally dominant Locally occasional Widespread but rare Widespread but rare Locally abundant around ponds and local Very rare Locally abundant around ponds, locally abundant and local, locally dominant and local Locally frequent and local and local and local Locally abundant and local Gorse Covert Mounds Habitat Survey

6 Appendix 3: Wild Flowers Daffodil Introduced garden cultivars in woodland Primula spp Introduced garden cultivars in woodland Grape Hyacinth Introduced garden cultivars in woodland English Bluebell and local. Small area introduced by volunteers in 2011 Spanish Bluebell Introduced garden cultivars in woodland Herb Robert Locally frequent along woodland paths Tufted Vetch Dandelion Abundant Daisy Red Campion along woodland paths Meadow Buttercup Abundant Creeping Buttercup Abundant Cleavers Locally frequent along woodland paths White Clover Spear Thistle and local Creeping Thistle Abundant Marsh Orchid (hybrid?) Yellow Rattle Common Mouse-ear Black Knapweed Common Bird's foot Trefoil Cut-leaved Cranesbill Greater Plantain Ribwort Plantain Abundant Yellow Flag Iris Locally abundant in large pond Marsh Marigold around ponds Red Clover Water-Soldier Dominant in part of large pond (needs control) Common Reedmace around ponds White Water-Lily in ponds Meadowsweet Locally frequent in wet areas Grass Vetchling, but widespread Ox-eye Daisy, but local Hogweed and local Lesser Trefoil Great Willow-herb Cow Parsley Hard Rush Locally abundant Ragged Robin and very local Silverweed Locally frequent Ragwort Rose-bay Willow-herb Square-stem Willow-herb Common Vetch Wood Avens along woodland paths Foxglove Harts-tongue Fern and local Water Mint around ponds Gypsywort around ponds Yellow Water-Lily in ponds Gorse Covert Mounds Habitat Survey

7 Colts-foot Water plantain Meadow Vetchling Vervain Himalayan Balsam Blackberry Fleabane Common Comfrey Lesser Celandine Cowslips in ponds : Localised: Now largely removed by FoGCM volunteers : Widespread along woodland edges : Localised : Localised in mixed woodlands Appendix 4: Nesting Birds Surveying was carried out using BTO technique. Results are from five surveys in April / May Territories / Nests Robin 16 Wren 16 Blue Tit 5 Great Tit 13 Coal Tit 2 Long-Tailed Tit 2 Chaffinch 8 Greenfinch 4 Goldfinch 3 Bullfinch 3 Dunnock 5 Blackbird 11 Song Thrush 5 Mistle Thrush 1 Tree Creeper 2 Greater Spotted Woodpecker 2 Chiffchaff 6 Willow Warbler 1 Blackcap 11 Wood Pigeon 12 Jay 2 Magpie 4 Carrion Crow 1 Collared Dove 3 Willow Tit 1 Sparrowhawk 1 Appendix 5: Other Casual Sighting Records Mammals Fox Rabbit Grey Squirrel Gorse Covert Mounds Habitat Survey

8 Bank Vole Mole Stoat Common Pipistrelle bat (identified by Rob Smith) Alto Pipistrelle bat (identified by Rob Smith) Noctule bat (identified by Rob Smith) Brown Horseshoe bat (identified by Rob Smith) Amphibians (all breeding) Frog Toad Smooth Newt Great Crested Newt Reptiles Common Lizard (on remnant bog area) Butterflies Comma Brimstone Peacock Small Tortoiseshell Gatekeeper Speckled Wood Meadow Brown Large White Small White Green-veined White Holly Blue Dragonflies Large Red Damselfly Azure Damselfly Blue-tailed Damselfly Southern Hawker Dragonfly Common Hawker Dragonfly Migrant Hawker Dragonfly Common Darter Dragonfly Winter Visitor Birds Lesser Redpoll Fieldfare Redwing Waxwing Buzzard Kestrel Brambling Lesser Redpoll Siskin Gorse Covert Mounds Habitat Survey

9 Bees Bee records were made by George Pilkington of Latin Name Local name Bombus pascuorum common carder bumblebee B. terrestris buff tailed bumblebee B. lapidarius red tailed bumblebee B. hypnorum tree bumblebee B. vestalis cuckoo bumblebee B. pratorum early bumblebee B. lucorum white tailed bumblebee B. hortorum garden bumblebee Gorse Covert Mounds Habitat Survey

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