Image Credit: Ben Andrew, RSPB Images
And with that, we are down to the last dregs in the 2023 coffee cup. How did that happen?! But considering the last few slurps are usually the most caffeinated, this faintly odd metaphor suggests correctly that the last blog of 2023 will be packed with juicy nuggets of information. This week, we’re going to tell you Saltholme’s 2023 highlights. So read on for more!
Spring:
Image Credit: Mission Studios, 2023.
April was a busy month at Saltholme. As well as celebrating the 25-year anniversary of Teesside Environmental Trust (TET- they manage a number of funding streams on behalf of RSPB Saltholme), we also saw the grand opening of our new-and-improved playground. Children from High Clarence Primary School thoroughly tested the new play equipment before it opened to the general public. Several members of staff then tested it even more thoroughly, just to make sure it was fit for use. The conclusion? A huge success!
May brought the official opening of the Dragonfly Boardwalk. No, it’s not a boardwalk made of dragonflies. Instead, it runs alongside the path leading to the Saltholme Pools hide, directly over the Dragonfly Pools. The Dragonfly Pools are teeming with water flora and fauna, but we realised there was no way of safely viewing this wonderful wildlife- especially for wheelchair-users. So, the boardwalk provides excellent, safe and accessible views of pondlife (which is much more exciting than it sounds) meaning all our visitors get to enjoy Saltholme’s special species.
Summer:
Image Credit: Lydia Cave
While Europe wrestled with heatwaves, Saltholme measured the summer rainfall (if you want more information on climate change and how it affects weather patterns, please ask us!). But we didn’t let the precipitation precipitate precipitous decisions about not having fun. Instead, the summer was packed with projects and events…
The Big Wild Sleepout in July was certainly big and wild…we’re not sure how much sleep it involved. But regardless of the average number of sleeping hours being on the lower side, the Big Wild Sleepout was a huge success! It’s not every day families can try out pond dipping, meadow sweeping, birdwatching, bat walks, and moth trapping within 24 hours. It’s not every night families get to sit around a campfire, toasting marshmallows and getting stuck into wildlife-themed quizzes. So, if you want to know what it’s like to have a continental breakfast in a bird hide or to drift off to the sound of Grasshopper Warblers, keep an eye out for tickets in 2024!
Speaking of warblers, the summer also brought some very interesting species to Saltholme. In June, Cleveland’s first record of a Savi’s Warbler in 20 years was recorded not far from our Wilderness Trail. The Great Reed Warbler vied with the Savi's Warbler for visitors’ affections, this time just down the track from the Wildlife Watchpoint hide. Moving on from warblers, June also brought a White-winged Black Tern and a Roseate Tern to our Main Lake.
Summer was also the time when a slug wormed its way into a junction box, discovered electricity and as a result cut power to the whole of the anti-predator fence. Don’t worry, we fixed the problem quickly (well…we called an electrician who fixed the problem much more quickly than we could) and the anti-predator fence was returned to full functionality. The effect of this fence on our ground-nesting birds has been fantastic- a site record of 85 pairs of Lapwings and 62 pairs of Avocets bred at Saltholme this breeding season.
Autumn:
This will become a brand-new footpath, bordered by a diverse hedgerow habitat, connecting the communities, businesses and wildlife of Teesside. Image Credit: Chris Francis, 2023.
After the busy-ness of the summer holidays, Autumn was a time to let the wildlife speak for itself (migrating waders and Starling murmurations were two of the seasonal highlights) and work on longer-running projects. Here’s one we have been working on…
There are a number of footpaths crossing the Tees Estuary. At the moment, these footpaths don’t really join up to create a circular route. At the moment.
The Tees Tidelands Footpath is a project that will create a (roughly) 8-mile circular route around the Tees Estuary. RSPB Saltholme is leading the project, in partnership with the Environment Agency, Natural England, Hartlepool Borough Council and Stockton Borough Council. The project states ‘The aim is to create a circular footpath to connect communities, wetland and nature reserves, and features of historical and cultural interest, all linked to the public transport network’. That sums it up quite well, doesn’t it?
But that’s not all- this project is one cog in much wider workings…
Whilst most of the footpaths are already there, some new footpaths are needed to join existing routes together. One of these new footpaths will follow the edge of ‘Wild Saltholme’. Wild Saltholme is land that was until recently poor-quality grazing land. When the grazing lease ended, the land was given back to nature. Once we have finished the ‘setting up’ phase, the plan is to step back and see what nature does. In 2023, seven new ponds have been created on this land and the six created in 2022 have been surveyed for signs of pondlife. The results have been very encouraging. The new footpath will be bordered by mixed hedgerow. As well as providing an important wildlife habitat, this hedgerow will spread seeds to Wild Saltholme, establishing more habitat for threatened species.
This is all part of a larger project called the Tees Estuary Recovery Network (TERN). The clue is in the name- this partnership aims to ‘improve, create and restore coastal, estuarine and land-based habitats’ (Gov.uk, 2023) over an area of around 11,000 hectares. Protecting the precious habitats of Saltholme and the surrounding area for future generations is key to the continued (and hopefully improved) recovery of UK wildlife, so we have high hopes for this project!
Winter:
Image Credit: Ben Andrew, RSPB Images.
Winter brought storms, snow and Santa. It also brought a time to reflect on some of the other things we have achieved this year. Here’s a brief round-up:
On the last weekend in November, we launched our largest Artisan and Eco Fair since the Covid Pandemic. Nearly 20 local businesses were represented, promoting local crafts, plastic-free living, wildlife art and much more. We’re hoping this event continues to grow in 2024!
Throughout the 2022-23 academic year, we have been working with local poet Bob Beagrie to engage the children of High Clarence Primary with the nature on their doorstep. After a series of visits to Saltholme the children of each class have used art, poetry, stories and more to talk about their experiences of Saltholme and its wildlife. As well as learning about the importance of protecting nature, the children have also developed their literacy and creative writing skills. It’s been a win-win!
If you are a regular reader of this blog, you may remember that one of our 2022 projects was to improve the habitat at Cowpen Marsh and our Wet Grassland. This included digging new channels for freshwater, sluices to control this flow of water, improved nesting areas for breeding birds and much more. The results have been spectacular- on one day at Cowpen Marsh, one birder reported Rough-legged Buzzard, Buzzard, Hen Harrier, Marsh Harrier, Barn Owl, Short-eared Owl, Great White Egret, Cattle Egret, Little Egret, and Red-necked Grebe. Not bad at all is it?
And in 2024…
Who knows what 2024 will bring? It’s a leap year, so we’ll have a whole extra day (well…technically 0.75 extra) to conserve wildlife. January 2024 will also mark the 15th Anniversary of Saltholme’s official opening- where has the time gone?! Keep your eyes peeled for more information on upcoming events to mark this.
Of course, we know 2024 won’t be all plain sailing. With the Cost of Living crisis, the deepening Climate Crisis, national and international political turbulence and much more, the RSPB need your support now more than ever. Just remember that every donation, every membership, every visit…even every shop or café transaction contributes to the work we and other RSPB reserves do to help UK nature. We could not do it without you, so see you in 2024!
References and Additional Reading
British Trust for Ornithology (2023). Great Reed Warbler [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/great-reed-warbler [last accessed 22/12/2023].
British Trust for Ornithology (2023). White-winged Black Tern [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/white-winged-black-tern [last accessed 22/12/2023].
Gov.uk (2023). Nature recovery projects to boost wildlife and access to nature [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.gov.uk/government/news/nature-recovery-projects-to-boost-wildlife-and-access-to-nature [last accessed 22/12/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Avocet [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/avocet [last accessed 22/12/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Barn Owl [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/barn-owl [last accessed 22/12/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Buzzard [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/buzzard [last accessed 22/12/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Cattle Egret [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/cattle-egret [last accessed 22/12/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Grasshopper Warbler [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/grasshopper-warbler [last accessed 22/12/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Great White Egret [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/great-white-egret [last accessed 22/12/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Hen Harrier [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/hen-harrier [last accessed 22/12/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Lapwing [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/lapwing [last accessed 22/12/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Little Egret [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/little-egret [last accessed 22/12/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Marsh Harrier [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/marsh-harrier [last accessed 22/12/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Red-necked Grebe [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/red-necked-grebe [last accessed 22/12/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Roseate Tern [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/roseate-tern [last accessed 22/12/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Rough-legged Buzzard [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/rough-legged-buzzard [last accessed 22/12/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Savi’s Warbler [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/savis-warbler [last accessed 22/12/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Short-eared Owl [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/short-eared-owl [last accessed 22/12/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Starling [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/starling [last accessed 22/12/2023].