Image Credit: Ben Andrew, RSPB Images
We’re back to opening this blog with a comment about the weather but, as the sun has shone so wonderfully on RSPB Saltholme this week, it would be a crime not to mention it. It would also be a crime to not mention the multitude of marvellous sightings and the crucial conservation work that has been happening recently. Interested? You should be…read on for more!
News from the Estate:
Avocets are one of the species that breed at Saltholme. Image Credit: Lockhart Horsburgh.
Chicks. We have lots of them. Not only does this provide entertainment for our visitors, it is more importantly a sign that the conservation work on our reserve is working. However someone needs to monitor how many chicks are hatching and fledging. Cue our wonderful Estates Team!
Here is your posh word of the day: precocial. It refers to chicks who are capable of moving and feeding themselves pretty much immediately after hatching. Many ground-nesting birds have precocial chicks as it means they can escape from danger (of which there is lots on the ground). We have a lot of ground-nesting birds such as Lapwing, Avocets, Little Ringed Plovers, Common Terns and Oystercatchers. This means the Estates team have to try and figure out which chicks belong to which parent whilst all the chicks are doing the equivalent of running up and down the street and in and out of each other’s houses. It’s a job that can make you go cross-eyed but it’s a good problem to have as it means these populations are doing well at RSPB Saltholme.
Unfortunately conservation is not always so pleasant. Life has a nasty habit of throwing things at us that we would much rather it didn’t. Avian flu is one of those things. Those of you who have recently visited our reserve will have noticed the large number of dead birds on-site, particularly at Paddy’s Pool and on our Main Lake. This is due to Highly Pathogenic Avian Influenza (HPAI, which is a strain of Avian Flu). The UK is currently undergoing the largest ever outbreak of this disease, and we are sorry to say that many of the birds on our reserve- mainly Black-headed Gulls - are affected. This means the Estates Team have the less pleasant task of monitoring and recording how many birds are dying of HPAI. We cannot do anything more than monitor, but the information gathered will- in the long run- be very useful in understanding HPAI outbreaks and can therefore be used to help lessen the effects of future instances. So, for all it is not a task any of us relish, this monitoring is an absolutely critical part of our conservation work and will hopefully help these bird populations in years to come.
Please report dead or dying birds that you see to the Defra Helpline on 03459 33 55 77.
Right, if you would like to continue with the sombre mood let us refer you to current affairs. For now, let us return to more cheerful parts of reserve life.
What’s On:
Our Artisan and Eco Fair starts tomorrow! That’s right, a whole weekend of guilt-free shopping. Come along to support the wide range of local businesses selling products that don’t cost the Earth (in any sense of the phrase), maybe combining your visit with a trip to our lovely café (hint, hint) or a wonderful walk around our incredible reserve (this is less of a hint and more of a fairly firm nudge, or a kick under the table).
What’s even better is it is also our Binoculars and Telescopes Open Weekend! So you can browse for Binoculars as well as Beeswax wraps on 17 and 18 June.
So, we hope to see you at RSPB Saltholme this weekend! Entry to the Eco Fair is free (normal reserve entry fees apply) and the Fair is open 9:30am until 4pm on both Saturday and Sunday.
Recent Sightings:
It’s been another great week for Saltholme Sightings, so we thought we’d better tell you some of the highlights…
The Caspian Tern is the largest species of tern. Image Credit: Jay McGowan, Macaulay Library.
Firstly, a Caspian Tern was obliging enough to land at Saltholme just in time to be included in our monthly Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) counts. As the largest of the tern species, this bird is hard to miss; it has a massive, bright red bill and a black cap on its head during breeding season.
Image Credit: Wikipedia
We’ve had the largest of the terns AND the largest of the warblers (in Europe anyway) on-site this week! Yes, the Great Reed Warbler has been serenading staff and visitors for most of the week. It may not have been seen that often (in true warbler style) but the song has more than made up for that. Keep both your eyes and ears open on your next visit!
Cetti’s Warblers feed on insects and larvae- our reserve is full of these and so is the perfect place for these birds. Image Credit: Amy Lewis, The Wildlife Trusts.
Staying with warblers, we have had two broods of Cetti’s Warblers confirmed on our main site! Yes, Cetti’s Warblers are regular summer visitors to Saltholme and can be heard singing loudly and persistently in and around our Discovery Zone. But did you know these two broods represent the first confirmed breeding attempts for this species on the main reserve? How brilliant is that?! This is a sign that there are not only an abundance of suitable nesting spots but also plenty of food for both the parents and the chicks.
The Bee Orchid is a mimic- if you look at the shape and colour of the flower, it looks like a female bee. This attracts male bees, who try to mate with the mimic and end up pollinating the flower instead. Image Credit: Mark Stokeld.
This week, we will round off the blog by mentioning something you may not think is here- Bee Orchids! These fabulous flowers have been seen in our Discovery Zone. As well as being beautiful, the evolution of this plant is fascinating. The flower has evolved to mimic the appearance of its main pollinator- a specific species of bee. By pretending to be(e) the female of this species, the flower attracts the male bees who will try to mate with the ‘female’, thus getting covered in lots of pollen. When the male makes the same mistake with another bee orchid, pollen is transferred and the plant is pollinated. HOWEVER, the story gets even more interesting from there…the bee which the flower mimics no longer occurs in the UK, meaning these flowers must rely on self-pollination instead. The story of this lovely little plant shows how tightly connected ecosystem elements are, and how changes in one species or group of species can affect many others (cue Lion King music).
Want to see these species for yourself? What a great idea! We’re a very welcoming bunch (even if we do say so ourselves) and would love to show you RSPB Saltholme and all its wildlife. Please come and visit us and see what you can find!
References and Additional Reading
All About Birds (2023). Caspian Tern [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.allaboutbirds.org/guide/Caspian_Tern/id# [last accessed 16/06/2023].
British Trust for Ornithology (2023). Great Reed Warbler [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.bto.org/understanding-birds/birdfacts/great-reed-warbler [last accessed 16/06/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Avocet [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/avocet/ [last accessed 16/06/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Black-headed Gull [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/black-headed-gull/ [last accessed 16/06/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Cetti’s Warbler [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/cettis-warbler/ [last accessed 16/06/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Common Tern [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/common-tern/ [last accessed 16/06/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Lapwing [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/lapwing/ [last accessed 16/06/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Little Ringed Plover [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/little-ringed-plover/ [last accessed 16/06/2023].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2023). Oystercatcher [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/oystercatcher/ [last accessed 16/06/2023].
The Wildlife Trusts (2023). Bee Orchid [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.wildlifetrusts.org/wildlife-explorer/wildflowers/bee-orchid [last accessed 16/06/2023].