At the Haverton Viewpoint, there is a small hole on top of one of the sleepers forming the seats.  Within this hole, a few Leaf-cutter Bees are excavating further holes within the wood and making nests with small semicircles of leaf they have cut with their large jaws.  They roll the leaf bits into sausages and carry them into the nest chambers to make a cosy egg laying site.  Mark Walpole, one of our Saltholme Guides, managed…

British Tree Sparrows declined by 93% between 1970 and 2008.  Consequently, the breeding population we have here at Saltholme is a high conservation priority for us.  They are easily told apart from House Sparrows, as they have a chestnut cap and a white cheek patch with a black spot.  Tree sparrows breed colonially in nest boxes with an entrance hole of 28mm, and we have erected such boxes along the Pedestrian Path, along…

Yesterday's work party was focused on improving the views from the hides. At this time of year the grass and sedges have grown and can obstruct the view of the water.

We have already cleared channels in the reeds to give open water at Wildlife Watchpoint Hide, so yesterday we had the more complex task of creating of opening up vistas of Bottom Tank radiating out from Phil Stead Hide. Because of the possibility of…

The weather was good for seeing butterflies at the weekend. We have had Small Tortoiseshell for some time but now they have been joined by Ringlet, Meadow Brown and Small Skipper.

Lockhart found this Small Tortoiseshell on Saturday

Not quite so easy to see with wings folded.

They lay their eggs on nettle as do the Peacock Butterflies. Lockhart saw a Peacock caterpillar crossing a path but many can be found on our…

The Squacco Heron came back on Saturday and fled the unwelcome attentions of a Lesser Black-backed Gull.  It moved to Haverton Hole before leaving altogether.  There is now some debate as to whether it is the Squacco that turned up in Lincolnshire.

The Squacco Heron takes flight.     Photograph taken by Ian Forrest.

While the poor spring seems to have had a disastrous effect on Four-spotted Chaser Dragonflies, there are now…

The dry weather continues which is good for spotting Damselflies. Lockhart saw this Common Blue on Saturday.

The last two segments on the abdomen - that is segments 8 & 9 - are both blue and there is a black circle on segment 2 confirming that it is a Common Blue and not an Azure Damselfly. Thanks to Dean for the technical information.

Look for these in the Wildlife Garden and along the Dragonfly path. We have…

Last year two broods of Garganey chicks appeared in the Wildlife Watchpoint Cut on the 27th June.  It's all quiet on the Garganey front just now, so we're hoping that means the females are on eggs in a sedge bed somewhere.  Fingers crossed !

The disastrous spring has meant very few Dragonflies around.  There are only a handful of Black-tailed Skimmer and Four-spotted Chaser about.

Better news for Great Crested…

This was the moment we knew we had a Squacco Heron on the reserve:

Andrew Clark managed to get the photo through the Watchpoint Hide windows, as we confirmed the bird's identification with the help of those white wings. Great excitement for a Thursday morning and a good job we didn't manage to get out in front of the hide and cut back the vegetation as we planned. 

This is another first for Cleveland, the fifth…

I was carrying out one of our weekly butterfly transects on Friday afternoon and was walking along the most southerly face of the meadow when something unusual whizzed past me.  I knew it was an insect and I knew it was not a butterfly.  It was a blur of grey with a hint of orange.  Surely not...was it....?  I stopped, saw the blur turn and make its way back to the footpath and then land.  I cautiously approached and from a…

This is the first photo of a Wood Mouse in the house, taken by Mark Walpole, one of our Saltholme Guides.

Unfortunately, Mark doesn't get a Cadbury's crème egg because the mouse isn't on a chair.

Can you do better in the Great Mouse House Challenge ?

I know we can do this, we've got less than two weeks of Springwatch left !

A nice big bill is just right for rooting in the mud. Yesterday Lockhart saw this Shelduck rooting for food.

I also like his action shot of a Grey Heron

and the close-up of a Great Crested Grebe.

Now is the time when the damselflies as on the wing and we have four species at present; Large Red, Common Blue, Blue Tailed and Azure.

A Blue Tailed Damselfly seen by Lockhart yesterday.

The adults are on the wing…

Young birds are all over the reserve now.  The islands on the Main Lake and at Paddy's are full of Black-headed Gull chicks and the adults can be seen feeding them from the hides.  Water Rails and Little Grebes can be seen feeding chicks from the Wildlife Watchpoint Hide and Young Tree Sparrows are attending the feeding stations.  The young are easily told apart from the adults by the yellow sides to the mouth which helps…

Once again we have cut a path through our meadow and called it our Shortcut, but of course it is a very windy path but it gives a good view of the wild flowers in the grass.

Along with much of Saltholme the meadow is 'made ground', that is the soil has been brought from somewhere else. Then it was heavily fertilized to produce vigorous grass before it was part of a nature reserve. To change this we graze it with sheep…

Spring is progressing and the wildlife producing the next generation. Some are still displaying

as with these Great Crested Grebes seen by Lockhart on Saturday.

Others are feeding young.

which this Little Grebe was doing with a freshly caught fish at the Widlife Watchpoint hide.

This hide is giving good views of Water Rails with chicks - but Lockhart did not get a good enough photo - but did get this one of two…

If you go down to the Watchpoint Hide, make sure you peer into the Mouse House in the back wall of the hide.  Far too many people are visiting the hide without seeing this des res for rodents.

When it was first installed, Wood Mice would only venture into there during the night.  I hoped that when they bred, the young mice would be more used to getting food there, and it appears to have worked.  Now, they are more used…

Spring is marching on and signs of new life are everywhere. We observe and record much data at Saltholme, and Dean, assistant warden does regular surveys. We know that there are several lapwing nests, and chicks can now be seen on the Fire Station field from the viewing screen (near the pedestrian access gate), Goslings are more obvious on the water.

Hidden from view the blackbirds have hatched young and the discarded…

The Common Terns are back and will soon be looking for nest sites. The Black-headed Gulls have already nested so the Terns should have the rafts as a safer option.  Over winter there have been some blue buoys on the main lake where the anchors are and the rafts have been tied up on the bank.  Today, after adding a little more cockle shell, we pushed the rafts to the buoys and tied them back on the anchors.

It helps to know…

Many of our butterflies are on the wing and in need of a meal. Some have hibernated as adults which explains the poor state of this Peacock Butterfly which Lockhart, who took the photo, said was one of the worst he has seen.

Others have just emerged from a pupa like this Green-veined White.

Both were seen on Friday at Dorman's Pool taking nactar from this wallflower. This is a garden escape which likes free-draining…

It did not feel very much like spring as we were repairing the fences on the extreme north west of the reserve, but the spring migrants were there. House Martins and Swallows were flying quite close to the farthest reaches of the Wilderness Trail, with the distinctive white rump of the House Martin clearly visible in contrast with the Swallow's dark.

At the weekend the Wildlife Garden was host to a Whitethroat which…

We have a  breeding colony of common terns (Sterna hirundo) here at Saltholme.  Islands were created and covered with cockle shell when the site was first developed.  The terns create shallow scrapes in the cockle to lay their eggs in. 

A common tern on the Tees

Over the last couple of years black-headed gulls (Chroicocephalus ridibundus) have started using the islands as well and the two species share the islands nesting…

Spring well and truly is in full swing here at Saltholme. The sun is shining, the flowers are blooming and more and more we're seeing wildlife in the throws of courtship.

The highlights for the reserve this week have really come from the Haverton end of the reserve, if you venture as far as the wildflower walk you will be in for a real treat. The walk is really living up to it's name with the cowslips in full bloom…

A pair of Garganey (Anas querquedula) have made a return to Saltholme and have been spotted in front of the Wildlife watchpoint as well as from the Phil Stead hide.

Garganey are similar in size to teal, being one of our smallest ducks and are our only summer visiting duck.  They spend their winters in central Africa but at about this time of year they start arriving at their breeding grounds. 

They are usually very elusive;…

Longer days, milder temperatures and the first of the years bank holidays under our belt, it can only mean that spring is here, and at Saltholme that means two things, lambs and migration.

The Easter break has seen us welcoming hordes of families on to the reserve for our lambing live event where we spoke to them about why Saltholme is such a special place and how our fabulous flock of Shetland sheep help to keep this…

After 6 months in a dusty cupboard in the warden's office, the Saltholme moth trap emerged and was set a couple of nights ago for the first time in 2015.  It's one of the best things about Spring; the start of the moth trapping season. 

At Saltholme we have been regularly trapping and recording moths for two years from our workshop compound, near the reedbeds at the Wildlife watchpoint and have encountered over 200 species…

The days are lengthening and getting a little warmer. Wildlife responding with some species waking up and looking for homes for the next generation.

Lockhart saw this Peacock Butterfly at Dorman's Pool yesterday newly emerged from hibernation. There are already new shoots on the nettles on which the eggs will be laid - the adults need nectar from the spring flowers.

With bumble bees as well as butterflies a good…