Image Credit: Mark Stokeld
Just in case August passed for you as quickly as it did for us, we would like to remind you that it is now September. This means the summer holidays are drawing to a close. But that doesn’t equate to life slowing down at Saltholme! Read on to find out more.
News from the Estate:
It’s a Bank Holiday week, which means there has been a fair amount of rain. As a result, the vegetation around the reserve has been attempting to cover every available footpath, fence and sapling. Fortunately for the footpaths, fences and saplings, the estates team have been there to clear vegetation from around the critical structures that future-proof our reserve.
What’s On:
Water boatmen are a common sight in our ponds. These minibeasts eat plant debris and algae. They use their long hind legs as paddles, giving them their name. Image Credit: Neil Philips, RSPB Images
Lots of families have been taking a break from school shoe shopping by visiting Saltholme. We’ve had plenty of fun and educational activities to keep them entertained.
With the occasional bout of rain in the early part of this week, we took the decision to run pond dipping sessions instead of meadow sweeping (sweep nets rapidly become slosh nets when dealing with wet grass). It was a good call- we found loads: water boatmen, water spiders, water mites, pond snails, caddis fly larvae and much more.
Whilst garden spiders are completely harmless to humans, when it comes to small insects they are ferocious hunters. They catch their prey in a web, and then finish them off with a venomous bite. Image Credit: Ben Andrew, RSPB Images
One such group were from the Beaver, Cub and Squirrel sections of a local Scout unit. They visited Saltholme on Tuesday morning to learn about the minibeasts that can be found here. Tree shaking and deadwood hunting proved hugely popular; we found a huge variety of spiders, shield bugs, woodlice, beetle larvae and woodlice (yes we mentioned them before, but we found a lot). And the fun didn’t stop there! After we’d finished looking at land minibeasts, we moved on to discover what could be found in the ponds at Saltholme. Turns out Scout units are very good at catching damselfly larvae!
Recent Sightings:
Image Credit: Andy Hay, RSPB Images
A white-fronted goose has been parading around the Paddy’s Pool hide this week. There are no prizes for guessing the defining feature of this species (the white marking on the face), but did you know that you can tell the origin of an individual bird by looking at its beak? Individuals that breed in Siberia have pink bills, whereas those that breed in Greenland have orange bills. Both migrate to the UK over the winter months.
Image Credit: Mike Langman, RSPB Images
Paddy’s Pool couldn’t have all the fun though- a little stint spent the week traipsing between Dorman’s Pool and Saltholme Pools. Like the white-fronted goose, it does not tend to breed in the UK. Instead, they treat the UK the same way we treat motorway service stations, using it as a ‘rest and refuel’ before carrying along their migration route to Africa.
Image Credit: Chris Gomersall, RSPB Images
Finally, the star Bird of Prey this week has been the merlin (not to be confused with an Arthur). It may be small, but it has been incredibly photogenic this week; it has spent most of its time perched on fenceposts, keeping a sharp eye out for passing dragonflies and small birds.
As usually, this is a tiny proportion of the wildlife that can be found at Saltholme. Want more of an overview? Watch this video, filmed by Ian Robinson, to discover what else you could see on your next visit!
References and Additional Reading
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Lesser Water Boatman [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/other-garden-wildlife/insects-and-other-invertebrates/beetles-and-bugs/water-boatman/ [last accessed 02/09/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Little Stint [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/little-stint/ [last accessed 01/09/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Merlin [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/merlin/ [last accessed 01/09/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). White-fronted Goose [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/white-fronted-goose/ [last accessed 01/09/2022].
The Wildlife Trusts (2022). Garden Spider [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/invertebrates/spiders/garden-spider [last accessed 02/09/2022].