Hello all from Emily
Just a quick update this week because as we approach Christmas we are also moving into the final stages of completion of the centre at Saltholme and so life is very busy! I’m sure you’ll all be pleased to hear that it is looking fantastic. The shop and café have been kitted out, staff have chosen their desks in the office with remarkably little argument, the space dug out around the centre has now been turned into a moat and the swing bridge is ready to open up to all our visitors at the end of January!
Something that has been keeping me particularly busy in the last few weeks has been deciding on the first events to be held at Saltholme. We will be doing favourites such as Dawn Chorus walks (May) and Spring Watch activities (June) but there will also be a few surprises such as our ‘Love is in the air’ Valentines night and, my particular favourite, a ‘Shetland Sheep Spectacular’ (June). Everything you ever wanted to know about sheep but were afraid to ask. You’ll be able to learn more about Saltholme’s Shetlands, watch the shearing and make fleecy crafts! Keep an eye on the ‘Events’ page of our website for further information on all our events.
Bird Bits from Toby
Hello all! It has been standard fare at Saltholme since the last update – no firsts, seconds, thirds or even fiftieths for the county, though we are very proud of the huge numbers of birds our wet grassland is supporting. The survey of wetland birds this month revealed that there was well in excess of 7,000 water birds using the reserve.
There has been a steady rise in the grassland species and we hosted a merlin for the first two days of December. This is
the smallest falcon in the UK and has more in common with the larger peregrine than the commoner kestrel, both physically and in its behaviour. It is a quick agile hunter, pursuing its quarry of small pipits and finches that it finds feeding in the open. The merlin’s previously mentioned cousins, the peregrine and kestrel, are both regular visitors to the reserve. Peregrine sightings have been more regular and probably occur daily on site, but it is a case of right place right time for spotting them. They can often be seen on the ground or perched on posts out on the wet grassland, or the keener eyes may be able to pick them up perching on a nearby pylon or on the Transporter Bridge.
Two of our more subtle winter visitors have been spotted in recent weeks. The water pipit, a half-brother of our coastal rock pipit, and the glaucous gull. The reserve has a wintering population of water pipits, which can be tricky to the untrained eye as they look and sound quite similar to our commoner meadow pipit. Hopefully their numbers will increase into the New Year and we look forward to welcoming extra eyes and ears when our doors open so we can get a good estimate of the population.
The glaucous gull is one of the two arctic ‘white-winged gulls’ we occasionally record on the reserve. It is about the same size as a great-black backed gull and has similar plumage to a herring gull, differing by having pure white tips (primaries) as opposed to the herring gull’s black primaries. They can be difficult to spot when they are amongst hundreds of other gulls but this makes it really rewarding if you do catch sight of one.
From everyone at Saltholme we hope you have a great Christmas and New Year!