Image Credit: Mark Stokeld
It’s 2024! Another year at Saltholme to look forward to, and it promises to be a good one- it’s a leap year so you’ll have an entire extra day to come and visit us, we’re already up to 79 bird species on our year list, and it’s the year Saltholme celebrates its 15th anniversary! But we’re getting ahead of ourselves…we want to tell you about what has been happening this week. So read on for more!
News from the Estate:
New Year, New Me? Not in Saltholme’s case! The reason is we think we’re pretty great at what we do (we’re also brilliant at being modest) so we’re going to keep on doing what we’re doing. New Year, New Tree might be a more appropriate phrase, as the hedgerows at Wild Saltholme have outgrown their protective guards. This is not only an encouraging development for giving this land back to nature, it also means the team have been able to remove the protective guards to allow these hedgerows to continue growing. It’s a good sign for the coming years!
What’s On:
Image Credit: Andy Hay, RSPB Images
December and January are two busy months for us. In December, we get lots of families visiting to try and run some energy off the children and avoid having to think about Elf on the Shelf. In January, we get lots of families visiting to try and run some energy off the children and avoid having to think about going back to work. Good thing we have an activity trail to keep everyone occupied!
The Christmas Tracker Trail has proved to be very popular over the Christmas holiday. In this trail, you need to find the rubbings of animal footprints (stationed around the Lake Walk) and work out which animal each footprint belongs to. Not only do you get to keep the rubbings of the footprints, but you also get a certificate for completing the trail! Not bad for £1.50- just ask at the Welcome Desk when you arrive.
But what if you have younger children? Is there something for them too? Oh yes! As previously mentioned, we’re awesome at what we do so we think of these things. Nature Tots returns on 15 January!
Nature Tots is aimed at pre-school children and their associated adults. Running fortnightly, these sessions get you and your child out-and-about exploring the world around you. There are craft activities, stories, bug hunting adventures and much more. Keep an eye on our website and social media pages for tickets because Nature Tots promises to be a highlight of 2024!
Recent Sightings:
Marsh Harriers are frequently seen at Saltholme. Image Credit: Lockhart Horsburgh
How many bird species do you think were recorded at Saltholme in 2023? If you guess 189, you were correct! 175 of these were recorded on our Main Site, making last year a very good year for our reserve. 2024 also promises to be a good year for sightings, with us flying (get it?) out of the gates with 75 species confirmed on New Year’s Day alone. Here are some of the 2024 highlights…
On New Year’s Day, a Bittern leapt joyfully out of the reedbeds at Haverton to greet the visiting birdwatchers and photographers. What was even better is that a Barn Owl and a Marsh Harrier joined it in flight, creating a spectacular show for 1 January 2024.
Waxwings are migratory, visiting Saltholme in the winter months. Image Credit: Ben Andrew, RSPB Images.
The spotlight wasn’t entirely on Haverton though, as a Waxwing spent a lot of the day posing incredibly majestically in the car park. Usually, Waxwings only stay in one place for a short period of time. But this one bucked the trend, catching the eye of photographers for most of the morning.
This is a female Hen Harrier. The males are slightly smaller and are mostly grey instead of mottled brown. Image Credit: Pete Morris, RSPB Images
You could be forgiven for thinking things settled down as we got further into January, but the Hen Harrier at Cowpen Marsh had other ideas. As one of the rarest Birds of Prey in the UK, it’s always a pleasure to see Hen Harriers at Saltholme.
As you can probably tell, 2024 holds a lot of potential for our reserve. There will be plenty of events to mark our 15th Anniversary (more details in due course), plenty of species sightings to keep visitors and staff occupied, lots of conservation work to do and much more. We’d love you to be a part of Saltholme’s 2024 story, so please come along and visit us! Remember you have a whole extra day to visit this year, so make the most of it!
We hope 2024 is a good one for you too.
References and Additional Reading
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2024). Barn Owl [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/barn-owl [last accessed 05/01/2024].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2024). Bittern [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/bittern [last accessed 05/01/2024].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2024). Hen Harrier [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/hen-harrier [last accessed 05/01/2024].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2024). Marsh Harrier [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/marsh-harrier [last accessed 05/01/2024].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2024). Waxwing [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/waxwing [last accessed 05/01/2024].
I'm just a newbie but think that you have put the description of the female Marsh Harrier under a picture of a Short Eared Owl!