Blogs

It was a mighty cold day at Saltholme yesterday, with a cold and lazy wind driving some grizzly weather across our fledgling reserve.  A stroll round the site to look at the latest progress turned into a much brisker walk than we'd planned. Surrounded by all the hardy builders and carpenters I felt a proper softy wrapped up in layers and (shock, horror) even wearing fleecy gloves!  But then I spotted that the builders had woolly hats tucked under their safety helmets & felt bold enough to follow their lead. Safe head, warm ears.  Result!

I'd not been to Saltholme since building work started and RSPB project manager, Kevin Bayes, showed me round with his usual visionary enthusiasm.  It was very exciting to see the framework of the Saltholme Discovery Centre taking shape.  The building is inevitably clad in a jumble of scaffolding (and will be for some time yet, I think) that obscures the exciting design of the Centre.  We had to weave cautiously through the maze of poles that currently fill the internal space.  It's a tribute to Kevin's inspiring commentary that even on an unseasonably chilly April day I could visualise the Centre bustling; the classrooms full of activity, the lift busy transporting people to the cafe floor, visitors sitting on the cafe's balcony taking-in a unique landscape - and enjoying better weather.  Out on the reserve itself I could imagine the visiting birdwatchers finding new birds and enjoying great views of wildlife, while families (who had probably never been to a 'reserve' before) soon discover that Saltholme's trails, hides and play area make an ideal place for a day out.

Kevin has lived with the paper plans for this site for a long time now, so not surprisingly he is excited about every new concrete base for a hide or steel superstructure for a workshop that appears on the ground.  Of course, like any project manager he wishes that work on site was moving faster, but at least something fresh seems to have sprouted at Saltholme almost every time he makes a site visit. 

We all know that there's still a huge task ahead before the vision that Kevin conjured in my mind's eye can become a reality, but I came away knowing that it will be worth the wait.

Oh and by the way, we saw a few spring migrants to brighten up a wet afternoon.  Seeing a yellow wagtail was a real treat and sand martins, house martins and a swallow were flitting over the pools.  As I never get tired of saying, seeing birds like these in the midst of what is still basically a building site is such a wonderful herald of the treats that Saltholme has in store in future.

David Hirst

At last, a real sense of Spring.  I’m just back from the Saltholme site where skylarks are singing and lapwings are tumbling and calling over their chosen territories in the flooded fields. 

Inevitably, the project hasn’t always gone quite as smoothly as we hoped and at times this winter is has felt more of an up-hill struggle than I would have wished.  The rain and gales haven’t helped and we’ve also faced some technical difficulties, particularly involving the steelwork, all of which have slowed things down. Today, though there is a real sense of energy on site.  The buzz (not just of the bees) was palpable. 

Teams of scaffolders, brickies, welders, chippies and a host of other skilled workers are swarming industriously over the site.  Saltholme's Discovery Centre is growing again.  From high on the scaffolding, the network of steel, which will become the sweeping roofs, is reminiscent of the veins in an insect’s wing, giving a real sense of the natural inspiration that the architects have drawn upon for their design. 

Elsewhere, the road widening required to allow access to the site as a whole, is well under way.  By way of coincidence, news of another large section of the project also came through today.  Work will begin on the cycleways to link the site to Middlesbrough and Stockton, at the end of this month. That work is being supervised by Stockton Borough Council, but costing over half a million pounds, it has required considerable input from RSPB legal and financial teams.

With the emphasis on infrastructure for people on the site, it is easy to forget that habitat creation also continues apace, with the excavation and reed transfer for a new reedbed on the south side of the site now completed.  There was a timely reminder of the potential when a marsh harrier passed through the site over the weekend.  We hope that one day they will stay and breed in the new reed habitats we are preparing.

Two avocets also popped in for a quick look.  That is another species we want to do more for.  They ought to breed on Teesside.

And finally, a strange trail of scattered cockle shells has appeared on site.  If followed they lead to two large mounds of shells, not the ancient middens of shore dwellers of the past, but the result of a visit from two very modern lorries last week.  These shells will form the tern-friendly topping of yet more islands being formed within the pools on site, set to augment the third largest common tern breeding colony in England.  Continuing work by the site team and volunteers will ensure these new tern des-res’ will be ready for when the birds arrive in the next few weeks.

Kevin Bayes, RSPB Project Manager