Hi,
Westerly winds and associated milder temperatures dominated during this period. Given the time of year it was perhaps not too surprising that the reserve’s species assemblage remained stable throughout. A significant storm surge on the 5th December produced the highest Teesmouth Tide in 150 years; although the Main Reserve remained unscathed significant flooding occurred on Cowpen Marsh. Towards the end of this period the December WeBS count was undertaken producing an excellent count of Lapwing and Wigeon.
The reserve currently has over 1000 whistling Wigeon wintering on the wet grassland (Many Thanks to Renton Charman for this photograph).
The most notable sighting was of a Great White Egret seen briefly on the 10th December. Although this species breeds in southern England it is still a rarity in the North East with this individual being only the second December record for vice-county Durham. Staying with the heron family at least one Bittern is currently wintering on the reserve with commuting flights between the Wildlife Watchpoint Hide and Haverton Viewpoint recorded on numerous dates.
The monthly Wetland Bird Survey provides us with valuable data which can be used to help assess the health of our wetland habitats on the reserve. Notable records from December’s survey of the Main Reserve (excluding Saltholme West) included, 1x Bittern, 477x Canada Goose, 64x Barnacle Goose, 5x Shelduck, 1326x Wigeon, 194x Teal and 47x Tufted Duck.
With thousands of birds currently wintering on the reserve there were plenty of hunting opportunities for birds of prey. Three Sparrowhawk have been a common occurrence at the feeding stations. Whilst 2x Peregrine Falcon (daily), 1x Merlin (24th), 1x Marsh Harrier (27th) and 2+ Kestrel (daily) frequented the grassland.
Many Thanks to Tim Robinson for this photograph of a Sparrowhawk taken recently on the reserve.
Wader records from this period included, 117x Curlew (15th Dec), 42x Dunlin, 6x Black-tailed Godwit (15th Dec), 1000+ Lapwing (15th Dec) and c.1000 Golden Plover (7th Dec).
Other interesting sightings included, 13x Pintail (Saltholme Pools Hide, 12th), 1x Long-tailed Duck (Saltholme East, 23rd-7th Dec), 5x Red-Breasted Merganser (Saltholme Pools Hide, 24th Nov), 10x Grey Partridge (Haverton Meadow, 3rd Dec), 6x Tree Sparrow (near Phil Stead Hide, 9th Dec) and 4x Twite (Visitor Centre, 15th).
Although an annual winter visitor to the Teesmouth, Twite rarely make it as far as Saltholme (I took this Twite photograph at South Gare back in 2012).
Finally, if you like to list the birds seen on a visit to Saltholme then the Haverton Cycleway is a fantastic track to stroll along in order to top up your list. The reason being that it contains a small area of scrub, a rare habitat on our predominantly wetland reserve. Recent sightings from this area include Great Spotted Woodpecker, Redwing, Fieldfare, Bullfinch and 2x Stonechat.
Cheers,
Adam