Image Credit: Ben Andrew, RSPB Images
With May half-term behind us and visiting children handed back to schoolteachers (and our Learning Team), an eerie calm may have fallen over Saltholme if the wildlife hadn’t had anything to do with it. That’s right, we have had some incredible sights (and sounds) this week- more on that later. For now, we’ll simply say read on to catch up on everything that has been happening at RSPB Saltholme this week…
News from the Estate:
As usual, the estates team have been incredibly busy keeping the reserve up and running. This week has been all about helping hedgerows. The hedgerows along our Clayfield were planted not that long ago (in hedgerow terms) and the growth of surrounding vegetation threatened to slow the growth of the hedge plants themselves. Fortunately for the hedges, the estates team cut back all this competing vegetation, helping these hedgerows become established.
But why do we care so much about hedgerows? Well, several reasons really. We will explain them below.
Wildlife corridors are places that connect isolated habitats to each other, allowing wildlife to move from one place to another. This not only gives these animals more access to food, water, shelter and other bare necessities (have we made you sing the song?) but also means they are more likely to meet other wildlife with similar interests and breed.
Hedgerows make great wildlife corridors; there used to be miles of hedgerow around the UK, but a lot of them have since been removed. In fact, many UK species are specially adapted to living in and around hedgerows, so the loss of these habitats affected their population size. By re-planting hedgerows, we are helping to re-establish these populations as well as enabling the movement of other wildlife.
It’s worth saying at this point that you can, in fact, make your own wildlife corridors! Find out how to help your local wildlife move from place to place here.
We’ll start at the beginning with this one…plants have roots. Roots are there to both anchor the plant in the soil and to absorb nutrients. However, the roots also bind soil together and slow the flow of water through a habitat. This can not only prevent flooding and soil erosion, but can also prevent pesticides, herbicides and other pollutants entering nearby water sources. So more hedges mean these positive effects are felt more frequently on our reserve and in the surrounding area.
Probably the simplest benefit. Hedgerows provide food! Not only is the timber the perfect place for insects (which then get eaten by birds, which then get eaten by different birds/other predators), but hedgerows are a good sources of berries in the winter. This boosts survival rates in wildlife populations, which in turn boosts breeding successes the following Spring!
So there you have it. Just a fraction of the benefits of hedgerows. So next time you see a hedge, give it a smile.
What’s On:
As you may have gathered if you read this blog regularly, there is always something happening at Saltholme. This week, we have begun to gear up for our summer events. Yes, yes we know that May half-term was only last week. But that means that there is a limited amount of time before:
On 19 June, Nature Tots is back! We ran a pilot session at the start of May, looking at life in our ponds and the lifecycle of frogs. This time, we will be discovering the brilliant birds you can see at Saltholme, and how we can get even better views of them by using binoculars! To add to the fun, attending pre-schoolers (and, before you get jealous, associated adults too) will get to make a clay bird to take home with them! Sounds good, right? Bet it will sound even better when you realise tickets only cost £4.50 (£3.70 for RSPB members). Don’t believe us? Follow this link to see for yourself!
If you are panicking about Father’s Day, panic no longer! On 17 and 18 June, we will be running an Artisan and Eco Fair here at Saltholme. Entry to the fair is free (normal reserve entry fees apply), so you can find the perfect gift for Fatherly Figures whilst supporting local businesses selling products that don’t cost the Earth. Why not combine this with a walk around our wonderful reserve, followed by visiting our café, to make a day of it?
Have you ever wondered what night on a nature reserve is like? This is your opportunity to find out! If you get tickets to our Big Wild Sleepout event (1-2 July), you will get exclusive out-of-hours access to our reserve as well as the chance to take part in a variety of wildlife-themed activities. Bat walks, meadow sweeping, themed quizzes and much more will mean this is the best possible way to kick off July. Follow this link to book tickets!
Recent Sightings:
It’s been a ‘warbler’ sort of week- either warblers themselves or species closely associated with them. Read on for more…
The Great Reed Warbler is Europe’s largest warbler species. Listen for its song and look out for the bold eye stripe. Image Credit: Andreas Trepte, Wikipedia.
There has been a Great Reed Warbler on-site this week. Now, all our Reed Warblers could be described as fantastic, brilliant, super-duper or any other (positive) adjective you want. But they cannot be described as ‘great’, because the Great Reed Warbler is actually a different species! It looks like a very large Reed Warbler that has been on a slightly higher toast setting and has therefore darkened slightly around the edges. The individual at the reserve this week has behaved in direct contradiction to the ideal Victorian child, being heard more than it was seen. But hearing something that only visits the UK briefly is still…great!
The Lesser Whitethroat is smaller than the Whitethroat, with darker cheek feathers. Image Credit: Philip Croft.
And if the Great Reed Warbler wasn’t enough for you, a Lesser Whitethroat briefly joined it! This one will be busy chomping through all the insects that visitors have also been inadvertently straining through their teeth this week. So next time you accidentally ingest more protein than expected on a visit to Saltholme, remember you’re only seeing the birds because of the presence of these insects!
Cuckoos are known for laying their eggs in the nests of other birds. This means they do not have to raise the chicks and can thus leave the UK sooner for their wintering grounds in Africa. Image Credit: Ben Andrew, RSPB Images.
And where there are warblers, there are Cuckoos! We’re very lucky to have these birds at Saltholme (the Reed Warblers may disagree with us) as they are now unfortunately a Red List species. So on your next visit, keep an ear out for the unmistakeable call of this bird.
Well, that’s all we have time for this week. As you can see, there is plenty happening on our reserve and will be in the future. So we highly recommend that you come and see Saltholme for yourself. This blog is just a taster! We hope to see you soon.
References and Additional Reading
British Trust for Ornithology (2023). Great Reed Warbler [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/great-reed-warbler [last accessed 08/06/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Create Wildlife Corridors [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/get-involved/activities/nature-on-your-doorstep/take-action-for-nature-in-your-community/create-wildlife-corridors/ [last accessed 08/06/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Cuckoo [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/cuckoo/ [last accessed 08/06/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Lesser Whitethroat [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/lesser-whitethroat/ [last accessed 08/06/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Reed Warbler [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/reed-warbler/ [last accessed 08/06/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). The Value of Hedgerows for Wildlife [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/our-work/conservation/conservation-and-sustainability/advice/conservation-land-management-advice/farm-hedges/the-value-of-hedgerows-for-wildlife [last accessed 08/06/2023].