Image Credit: Ben Andrew, RSPB Images
It’s been a week of sunshine, punctuated by short but very dramatic rain. This means two things: firstly our ponds are now fuller than they were at the beginning of the week, secondly conditions have been very good for standing outside and watching all the wildlife that is sprouting all over Saltholme. Read on to discover what has been happening on our site this week.
News from the Estate:
Image Credit: David Chandler, RSPB Images
The invaluable estates team and work party have been busy keeping the site running as usual. This week, they have been clearing basking spots for our butterflies. Butterflies and other insects like bare ground to soak up the sunshine. But plants also like to grow into these places! So, if you saw the work party weeding along our pedestrian paths this week, that is what they were doing.
Our welly splash has also been getting some TLC over the week, with the work party completing tasks including construction of a willow barrier at the new viewing area, the cutting back of path side willow stems and cleaning the Welly Splash. Come to Saltholme over the weekend and see what a difference they’ve made!
What’s On:
In honour of the bank holiday weekend (30 April- 2 May) our latest Binoculars and Telescopes Open Weekend ran for 3 days instead of the usual two. This was the perfect opportunity to christen the new viewing area outside the shop. It gives a great angle over our main lake, and is the perfect place to try out those shiny binoculars and telescopes that are stocked in our shop.
Our new outdoor education space (in the discovery zone) has also been used for the first time! We have had not one, not two, but THREE school trips in this week. Our learning team are doing a great job of showing these children just how awesome and important the natural world is. Nearly 100 children have learned all about plants this week; they completed plant surveys, created natural art, played plant-related games and had a brilliant time doing all of the above!
Recent Sightings:
Image Credit: Chris Gomersall, RSPB Images
The common terns are back! Well, one is. The others will be on their way. To be honest, this solitary tern has re-terned (see what we did there?) slightly earlier than usual; our common terns usually arrive on-site in mid-May. So, keep your eyes peeled!
Some more signs of spring are the number of chicks that are starting to cheep their way around Saltholme. We have some incredibly fluffy goslings on our main lake (Canada geese, in case you were wondering), and moorhen chicks lurking in our reedbeds. More lapwing chicks have been added to those that were seen last week too. And there are more to come! Very excitingly, some of the Mediterranean gulls on our main lake and Paddy’s Pool have been seen building nests (stealing from the nests of the black-headed gulls in order to do so), and our avocets have been sitting on nests for a while. So keep your fingers crossed!
Image Credit: Mike Langman, RSPB Images
And just in case that wasn’t enough for you, we’ve had even more sightings! A wood sandpiper was seen lurking alongside a white wagtail [hyperlink] at the Saltholme pools hide on Wednesday. Pied Wagtails are more common in the UK- it’s likely the white wagtail seen this week is a passing visitor from Europe.
And three great white egrets have been seen flying around site this week. Two are often seen flying round together. They are not a pair, as you may think. The rings on their legs identify them as SIBLINGS, who were both hatched at RSPB Ham Wall (in Somerset). It’s a small world; they have both ended up at Saltholme!
As usual, it’s important to point out that this is a tiny proportion of the species seen on site recently; there simply isn’t enough space in this blog post for them all. Just ask at the front desk, or look at our sightings board, to discover everything that is based at Saltholme at the moment.
We hope to see you soon!
References and Additional Reading
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Avocet [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/avocet/ [last accessed 05/05/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Canada Goose [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/canada-goose/ [last accessed 05/05/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Common Tern [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/common-tern/ [last accessed 05/05/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Great White Egret [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/great-white-egret/ [last accessed 05/05/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Lapwing [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/lapwing/ [last accessed 05/05/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Mediterranean Gull [webpage]. https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/mediterranean-gull/ [last accessed 05/05/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Moorhen [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/moorhen/ [last accessed 05/05/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Pied Wagtail. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/pied-wagtail/ [last accessed 05/05/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Wood Sandpiper [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/wood-sandpiper/ [last accessed 05/05/2022].