Image Credit: National Audubon Society
Buckle up…there’s a lot to talk about this week and we intend to mention as much of it as we can. There have been unusual visitors to the reserve (birds, not paying guests), conservation tasks to complete and events to organise; read on to find out more!
News from the Estate:
On top of counting nests, monitoring breeding populations and mapping species distributions, our estates team also have to keep the reserve running. This means ensuring conservation methods are as effective as possible. The work done this week is a good example of this- the team have been cutting the vegetation around the stems of Japanese knotweed. Japanese knotweed is an invasive plant species that, if left unchecked, can spread rapidly through a habitat. By cutting the vegetation around the stems of this plant, the estates team can more easily (and effectively) apply herbicides and other chemicals that aim to prevent this notifiable plant from getting out of control.
On Thursday, part of the central meadow was cut and raked in preparation for our Big Wild Sleepout (see below). We think everyone was pleased that this task was done on the coolest day of the week!
What’s On:
The short answer to ‘What’s On?’ is ‘a lot’. So, take a deep breath before reading this section…
Firstly, we had an Artisan and Eco Fair last weekend. We welcomed eight lovely local businesses to our visitor centre to supply our visitors with gifts (for themselves or for other people), plastic-free goodies, artworks and much more. In case you missed out, don’t worry! We are hoping to run more fairs in the near future. In the meantime, here are the links to the businesses from our latest fair:
Image Credit: Ben Andrew, RSPB Images
You’d think after an Artisan and Eco Fair, we’d give ourselves a weekend off. But that’s not how we roll at Saltholme; we are determined to give our visitors a good experience. This weekend (16-17 July) is the Big Wild Sleepout! This event pretty much does what it says on the tin. Tomorrow, attendees will have the opportunity to wild camp on our reserve and see our nocturnal wildlife. There will be activities. There will be fish and chips. There will be insect repellent. It’s going to be great! Keep an eye on our social media pages for pictures from this event, and to hear about future iterations of the Big Wild Sleepout.
This is a Herald moth. We often find these creatures in the World War II ammunition store at Saltholme. Image Credit: Matt Wilkinson, RSPB Images
Finally, we’re giving you an opportunity to meet our moths tomorrow morning (Saturday 16 July). Ed Pritchard, our Warden, will put out a moth trap on Friday evening, and unveil the findings on Saturday morning from 9:30am. You may think moths are just nocturnal butterflies with an annoying taste for clothes, but they are actually a very important- and very interesting- group of insects that form complex relationships with a variety of other plants and animals. Come along tomorrow morning to learn more!
Recent Sightings:
The cattle egret appears to have overtaken the glossy ibis as the star of the Philstead hide. Well, when we say Philstead we mean both the hide and the Firestation Field; it looks very settled until everyone rushes to see it, at which point it changes its mind, flies to another part of the reserve and makes everyone run after it. Then it goes back to Philstead and looks smug. But it looks awesome so we’ll let it slide.
The Caspian tern is the largest tern species. Image Credit: eBird
Two Caspian terns have graced us with their presence this week. These birds can be recognised by their heavy, red bill (with a dark tip). As you can probably gather from the name, the Caspian tern tends to only visit the UK rather than breed here. They were initially seen hiding amongst our common tern colony on the main lake, but spent most of their time entertaining visitors at the Saltholme Pools hide.
Barn owls were one of the species that were extremely negatively affected by a pesticide called DDT in the 1950s and 60s. Chemicals in the pesticide caused any eggs laid by the owls to have very thin shells, meaning they were much more easily broken in the nest. Now that this pesticide is banned, barn owls are breeding more successfully. Image Credit: Josh Swales
The Thursday work party were lucky enough to see a barn owl out hunting on our central meadow. We know this adult has some hungry mouths to feed, which is why it’s out and about during the day (much to the disgust of our vole population).
The distinctive marking seen on the males of this species is more of a moustache than a beard. Image Credit: Leslie Cater, RSPB Images
We’ve got bearded tit fledgelings at Dorman’s Pool! They’ve been investigating the reedbeds around this area, learning how to avoid predators and anyone trying to get a good photo of them.
Image Credit: All About Birds
And last but certainly not least, a little gull tried to steal the thunder of the Caspian terns at the Saltholme Pools hide on Wednesday. We think they’re on a par in terms of level of magnificence; both are mainly passage migrants to the UK, both migrate large distances throughout the year, and both show just how great a place Saltholme is to see species like this.
Not satisfied that we covered everything? You’re absolutely right, we didn’t. There are simply too many species to see here! For a more comprehensive round-up of recent sightings, watch our hide guide Ian Robinson’s video here. Oh, and make sure to visit our site to see these species for yourself!
References and Additional Reading:
eBird (2022) Caspian Tern [webpage]. Accessed through https://ebird.org/species/caster1?siteLanguage=en_GB [last accessed 14/07/2022].
Royal Horticultural Society (2022). Japanese Knotweed [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rhs.org.uk/weeds/japanese-knotweed [last accessed 14/07/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Barn Owl [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/barn-owl/ [last accessed 14/07/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Bearded Tit [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/bearded-tit/ [last accessed 14/07/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Cattle Egret [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/cattle-egret/ [last accessed 14/07/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Common Tern [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/common-tern/ [last accessed 14/07/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Little Gull [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/little-gull/ [last accessed 14/07/2022].