Image Credit: Andy Hay, RSPB Images
What a week! It may have been the teensiest bit nippy, but the winter sunlight and shining frost have added a sprinkling of Christmas magic over the reserve. Oh, you forgot it was nearly Christmas? Don’t worry, leave the to-do list for now and read on to discover what has been happening at Saltholme this week.
News from the Estate:
Image Credit: Ben Andrew, RSPB Images
The estates team have been conducting an experiment this week: How many layers is it possible to wear, whilst still being able to move? The answer is ‘not enough’.
Aside from scientific breakthroughs, the team have been kept busy both on our main site and at Cowpen Marsh. Let’s start at Cowpen Marsh, where our work party have been removing buddleia from the track at the base of the new sea wall. Certain butterfly species, such as grayling, need open space to bask in the sunlight. By removing some vegetation, we benefit these species. And it’s not just insects that feel the positive effects- ground-nesting waders will be able to spot predators more easily with sparser vegetation (and predators have fewer places to hide) and so feel safer to breed on this marsh.
Two things have changed at our Welly Splash this week. This first is that the name ought to be changed to the Welly Crunch due to the water no longer being liquid. The second is that the Youth Ranger team and the Work Party have been busy cutting the willow around this feature. The willow will grow back from the bases that have been left and the cut branches are used to maintain nearby willow brash barriers. What are brash barriers? They are walls made up of cut branches and other vegetation, that provide shelter from the elements for visitors and wildlife alike.
What’s On:
Now that Santa has trundled back up to the North Pole to get ready for The Big Night (he left the Arctic weather here though), life has calmed down a little in terms of Saltholme events. But don’t mistake that for there being nothing to do…far from it!
Has it got to the stage of the festive season where the children seem to have your energy as well as their own? Saltholme has your back- we’ve got not one, but TWO festive trails to keep kids (from 1 to 92) occupied and exercised…
Firstly, our ROBIN ROBIN Activity Trail is back for a second year running! The great thing about this trail that the fun lasts beyond your visit to the reserve; as well as finding the hidden characters and items around our site, your £3 trail pack also includes recipes, crafts and puzzles that will keep even the elf on the shelf amused and out of mischief when you get back home.
For those who seem to have a knack for finding hidden presents and/or every shredded nerve in the body of stressed adults, you can put those skills to good use in our Christmas Reindeer Treasure Hunt. Download the AdventureLab app (QR code available on the front desk) to help Rudolph find all his reindeer friends! This is a great way to explore the reserve and is just as much fun for grown-ups as it is for children.
Recent Sightings:
If you need a cup of tea, go and make it now; we have a lot of sightings to get through this week!
The waxwing does not tend to breed in the UK, but visits over the winter months to feed on berries. It particularly likes the berries of hawthorn and rowan. Image Credit: Ben Andrew, RSPB Images
The waxwings have arrived! Two individuals were seen in the hedges by the wildlife watchpoint hide on Wednesday. Hopefully they are the front runners and more will follow shortly. We have been keeping an eye out for these winter migrants for a while, so it’s brilliant to know they are finally here!
Redwing and fieldfare can be difficult to tell apart. Look underneath the wings- if there is a red patch there, you are looking at a redwing. If not, it’s probably a fieldfare, like the one pictured above. Image Credit: Ian Francis, RSPB Images
Speaking of winter migrants, we have been inundated with redwing and fieldfare. These winter thrushes have been stocking up on the thousands of berries that adorn the hedgerows at Saltholme. We have seen hundreds of these birds this week; they were late arriving due to the warm November that we have had (they didn’t see the need to fly south when they were perfectly warm enough in the north), but this ‘Arctic Blast’ has brought them all in. They have given the reserve a wonderful festive atmosphere.
Kestrels are just one of the bird of prey species seen at Saltholme this week. Image Credit: Ben Andrew, RSPB Images
We’ve also had amazing views of several birds of prey this week. The cold weather has made them hungry, and so we have seen short-eared owls, peregrine falcons, barn owls, kestrels and sparrowhawks on a regular basis. The presence of these birds have created spectacular aerial displays of redwing, fieldfare, ducks and waders who have been avoiding these predators. What a spectacle!
Bitterns usually hide away in reedbeds, but the cold weather has meant they have been spending more time out in the open. Image Credit: Ben Andrew, RSPB Images
Some species you usually need spectacles (of the binocular variety) to see are the bittern and the water rail. Not this week! Both have been diving out of reedbeds to show off to visitors. The water rail in particular has forgotten that it’s usually camera-shy. We’re not complaining though.
Well, we have mentioned a lot of birds this week but nowhere near all of them. Want to know what other species have been seen recently? Check out this video, filmed by Ian Robinson, to find out what you could spot on your next visit to Saltholme.
We hope to see you soon!
References and Additional Reading
Butterfly Conservation (2022). Grayling [webpage]. Accessed through https://butterfly-conservation.org/butterflies/grayling [last accessed 15/12/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Barn Owl [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/barn-owl/ [last accessed 15/12/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Bittern [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/bittern/ [last accessed 15/12/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Fieldfare [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/fieldfare/ [last accessed 15/12/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Kestrel [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/kestrel/ [last accessed 15/12/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Peregrine Falcon [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/peregrine/ [last accessed 15/12/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Redwing [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/redwing/ [last accessed 15/12/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Short-eared Owl [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/short-eared-owl/ [last accessed 15/12/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Sparrowhawk [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/sparrowhawk/ [last accessed 15/12/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Water Rail [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/water-rail/ [last accessed 15/12/2022].
Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (2022). Waxwing [webpage]. Accessed through https://www.rspb.org.uk/birds-and-wildlife/wildlife-guides/bird-a-z/waxwing/ [last accessed 15/12/2022].