Image Credit: John Bridges, RSPB Images
It’s 27 January, meaning we’re celebrating the 1-year anniversary of 27 January last year. Granted, a lot has happened in the past 364.25 days but we will focus on what has happened at RSPB Saltholme in the last 7 instead. There’s still a lot to cover, so buckle up and read on…
News from the Estate:
Image Credit: Ben Andrew, RSPB Images
With the water on the reserve slowly but surely returning to a liquid state, the estates team and work party have been able to hurl themselves enthusiastically into a variety of tasks (now with a minimal risk of injury and bending shovels). Those tasks were maintaining hedgerows and raking reedbeds.
Firstly, the hedgerows. Hedgerows are critical for providing food and shelter for a variety of wildlife, as well as connecting sections of habitat and thus allowing species to move between areas. As you can see, it’s important that we keep our hedgerows healthy. This is why the Tuesday work party picked up their shovels and carried on with planting hedge whips, filling gaps in our hedges where previous saplings had died off.
It's not just our hedgerows that are important for wildlife- our reedbeds also attract and support some very rare and interesting species (but we’re not going to tell you which until the ‘Recent Sightings’ section, so there). In fact, the more variety there is in the height and density of reeds, the more species they can host. In the absence of large grazing animals (no, we’re not getting an elephant), our estates team cut and thin sections of the reedbeds themselves to maintain this habitat diversity. Thursday saw the team raking up reeds previously cut at our Wildlife Watchpoint hide.
What’s On:
A guided walk is just one of the many ways you can connect with nature at Saltholme. Image Credit: Andy Hay, RSPB Images
At Saltholme, it’s very important to us that visitors get to experience nature and the outdoors in a way that is meaningful to them- some sketch, some birdwatch, some take pictures, and some simply get out for a walk and soak it all in. To make sure we have something for everyone, we offer guided walks, sensory walks, group activities and talks. This week, we welcomed Middlesbrough and Stockton Mind to our reserve for a sensory walk. The group saw many of our star species, including water vole, marsh harrier, lapwing, wigeon and little egret. They also learned about Saltholme’s history and had the opportunity to ask as many questions as they wanted! If you are interested in booking a guided walk, please contact us on 01642546625.
And that’s not the only thing that’s been happening! Thank you to everyone who came along to our practice Big Garden Birdwatch event last Sunday. Every hour between 10am and 3pm was filled with people learning about garden birds and how to survey them. Everyone went away much more confident in how to complete the Big Garden Bird Watch. Speaking of which, THE BIG GARDEN BIRD WATCH STARTS TODAY! For just an hour of your time, you can contribute to the conservation of garden birds. You don’t need to be an expert; you don’t need to have the latest pair of binoculars (or any binoculars at all); you don’t even need to have a garden! Just click on this link for more information and to sign up.
Recent Sightings:
Can you spot the bittern? After this picture was taken, the bird decided to wander out onto the ice. Image Credit: Matthew Scarborough
We were smitten with a bittern on Saturday. With the Wildlife Watchpoint ponds being frozen over, this usually shy bird came right out into the open to perform for visitors and staff alike. It caused quite a stir, especially when it decided to try out ice skating.
Ok, we’ll be nice…here it is! Image Credit: Matthew Scarborough
Most chiffchaffs migrate to southern Europe and Africa over winter, but some stay in the UK. Image Credit: Ben Andrew, RSPB Images
The first chiffchaff of the year was seen at Haverton this week. As with most warblers, this bird is much easier to identify by its song. So if you see a small-ish, brown-ish bird with an eye stripe that sounds like it’s singing ‘chiff-chaff’, then that helps to distinguish it from the other small-ish, brown-ish birds.
The Egyptian goose is actually related to the shelduck. Image Credit: Mike Langman, RSPB Images
Two Egyptian geese landed on (or in?) our main lake on Wednesday. With their beautiful, iridescent markings these birds are hard to miss. Well, clearly people in the past found them quite easy to miss seen as they are escapees from wildfowl collections…the birds- who were worshipped in ancient Egyptian culture- decided they quite liked the UK and now there are over 1000 breeding birds in this country.
Our short-eared owls migrate from Scandinavia each winter. Image Credit: Ben Andrew, RSPB Images
Our short-eared owl waited until the late afternoon sun was glinting majestically off its feathers before making an appearance on Wednesday. From the visitor centre, you could see it hunting by the main lake as the sun set behind the transporter bridge. We’re sure the owl was showing off, but funnily enough no-one was complaining!
Look for the yellow bill and black legs to distinguish the great white egret from the little egret. Image Credit: Ben Andrew, RSPB Images
And finally, the great white egret has returned! We can get blasé about our great white egret, as it struts so obligingly in front of so many of our hide windows. But did you know that this is one of fewer than 80 individuals known to spend the winter in the UK? Keep your eyes peeled on your next visit.
Speaking of your next visit…you should! As shown here, we have plenty going on and have many more exiting projects and wildlife sightings just around the corner. Want a summary of what you might see? Watch this video, filmed by Ian Robinson, to see some more of our winter species.
We hope to see you soon!
References and Additional Reading
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Bittern [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/bittern/ [last accessed 26/01/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Chiffchaff [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/chiffchaff/ [last accessed 26/01/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Egyptian Goose [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/egyptian-goose/ [last accessed 26/01/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Great White Egret [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/great-white-egret/ [last accessed 26/01/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Lapwing [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/lapwing/ [last accessed 26/01/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Little Egret [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/little-egret/ [last accessed 26/01/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Marsh Harrier [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/marsh-harrier/ [last accessed 26/01/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Shelduck [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/shelduck/ [last accessed 26/01/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Short-eared Owl [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/short-eared-owl/ [last accessed 26/01/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Wigeon [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/wigeon/ [last accessed 26/01/2023].
The Wildlife Trusts (2023). Water Vole [hyperlink]. Accessed through https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/mammals/water-vole [last accessed 26/01/2023].