I've been trying for a while now to get Dave to write a blog or two about what he loves about Saltholme, I finally managed to get him to give us a bit of insight into what keeps him coming to work........
This is my first ever Blog.
I`ve been asked if I would say some stuff about Saltholme given that I`ve been here for quite some time; since 4th January 2006 to be exact. I`ve agreed provided I am allowed to talk about Saltholme`s wildlife and birds in particular and how I feel about them. Ground rules approved and out of the way here goes Number One.
Wigeon ducks are great but Wigeon are at the top (oh and by the way, I was taught to capitalise bird names so at my age I`m not going to change that now, hope your not offended).
I grew up in York and winters along the Lower Derwent Ings between Wheldrake and Bubwith were Wigeon delights Thousands of them; actually tens of thousands of them wheeling in loose whistling flocks above the flooded meadows. You knew you were in a wild and special place rich with birdlife and the feeling was good. So when I arrived at Saltholme, Wigeon were on my radar. Being part of a wider wintering waterbird assemblage Wigeon were a legitimate target for conservation management. What we have done and continue to do to enhance the habitat for wintering Wigeon is detail but here we are less than ten years on and numbers have doubled. More than 2500 birds have been resident all winter.
They breed across the North Sea in the wild wetlands of the Baltic Basin. What people need to know is that at Saltholme you can get really close to them as they now graze 50 yards from the path around the main lake. This is amazing because they are one of the wildest ducks going. I watched them today in the early spring sunshine. They hardly raised their heads and just went about their business of pulling grass. What beautiful birds. People who have never studied them need to. Check out the male`s `punky` orange forehead stripe on his chestnut head with his pinkish buff breast fading into a pastel powder-blue body ... simply stunning.
Made me feel positive about nature conservation, Wigeon make me happy ... you should try them.
Dave