Image Credit: Richard Carlyon, RSPB Images
The longest month of the year is over and done with; we’re now, already, in February. But if 2024 is sneaking past you at an alarming rate, just remember time flies when you’re having fun! We’ve certainly had fun this week, with plenty of events coming up and wonderful wildlife to showcase our reserve. Read on for more!
News from the Estate:
We have the largest inland breeding colony of Common Terns in the UK. Image Credit: Ben Andrew, RSPB Images.
The Estates Team have certainly been having fun this week because they have been playing about in boats. Well, ‘playing about’ does them all a disservice because they actually been working very hard in boats. Said boats have been used to ferry the Work Party across to the Tern Islands on the Main Lake. There, the old layer of cockle shell has been removed, making way for a fresh layer. The cockle shell mirrors the shingle beaches that make up the preferred nesting habitat of birds such as the Common Tern. This layer also helps to prevent vegetation growth on the island, which would discourage nesting terns.
But what do we do with the old Cockle shell? We don’t waste it, that’s for sure! The old cockle shell is shovelled off the islands and into the lake. It may sound strange, but this provides a great home for water invertebrates, boosting biodiversity and providing an important food source for fish and birds. This shows, when you want to conserve birdlife, you can’t just focus on one species or area- everything depends on everything else and seemingly insignificant changes can have a big effect. That’s why it’s so important to protect and look after every aspect of nature!
What’s On:
As of today, THE WELLY DOGS HAVE RETURNED! Throughout February, there will be 14 Welly Dogs hidden around the Discovery Zone (plus one by the Welcome Desk), modelling some very fetching collars. Your challenge is to find the odd one out! This is a free trail (normal reserve entry fees apply) so why not come along and see if you can find all the Welly Dogs?
We know you’re a discerning bunch, so you may have seen that we very briefly had an Instagram account. We launched our new Instagram page on Saturday 27 January…by that evening Artificial Intelligence displayed genuine stupidity by deciding to delete the entire account for ‘violating community guidelines’. Your guess is as good as ours. BUT we have now set up a NEW new Instagram account and would love for you to follow us! You’ll find out about wildlife sightings, events updates, quizzes, family fun and much more! Just search for ‘saltholmerspb’ and, if the AI allows, we should be there!
Recent Sightings:
It’s been a good week for wildlife sightings (we’re up to 106 species on our Year List!)…so good that we can’t possibly mention them all here. But there are some in particular that stand out:
Whitethroats usually spend the winter in sub-Saharan Africa. Image Credit:Ben Andrew, RSPB Images
Firstly, a Whitethroat has been seen relatively frequently from Haverton Viewpoint. ‘A Whitethroat? In February?!’ we hear you ask. Yes! It’s early in the year for this migratory warbler to be on-site, but with a changing climate the timings of migrations (or whether migrations happen at all) also changes. It may be a sign of the times, but it’s still good to see this bird returning to Saltholme.
The Bittern is a Schedule 1 species, meaning it’s illegal to intentionally recklessly disturb them. Of course, we would expect you and ourselves to not intentionally disturb any birds, on our reserve or otherwise. Image Credit: Ben Andrew, RSPB Images.
A species that is here year-round but is rarely seen is the Bittern. This reedbed specialist is shy and secretive, but when it does make an appearance it is always spectacular. And it made several appearances this week! Again, Haverton Viewpoint was the place to be to see this skulking member of the heron family. We hope you see it on your next visit!
The Kingfisher is another Schedule 1 species. Image Credit: Ben Andrew, RSPB Images.
We have to finish with a crowd favourite- a Kingfisher has been flying around our Discovery Zone and giving café visitors fantastic views of it fishing from the Sand Martin burrows on the Main Lake. With great photo opportunities and long stretches with the Kingfisher posing majestically on reeds, this brilliant blue bird has certainly drawn a crowd. Want to see it for yourself? Come along and visit us! Remember that birdwatching is an activity in our SALTHOLME PASSPORT so sighting the Kingfisher could count towards one of your 15 stamps…
We can give you more information on the Saltholme Passport and why we’ve created it on your next visit…that was a subtle hint that we would very much like you to visit! So, we hope to see you soon.
References and Additional Reading
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2024). Bittern [hyperlink]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bittern [last accessed 02/02/2024].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2024). Common Tern [hyperlink]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/common-tern [last accessed 02/02/2024].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2024). Kingfisher [hyperlink]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/kingfisher [last accessed 02/02/2024].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2024). Whitethroat [hyperlink]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/whitethroat [last accessed 02/02/2024].