Blogs

Hi all, from Emily

Life at Saltholme is busy as ever, with the October half term being crammed full of events. Saturday 24 was the RSPB’s Feed The Birds Day, which highlights the importance of feeding garden birds and the enjoyment that can be had from doing it. I was in Saltholme’s education room making fat cakes with children, and a very messy time was had by all! Keeping on the messy theme, I have been making paper and jewellery with children today as part of our half term activities. They all seemed to really enjoy making a bit of bling, although one child seemed more concerned that there might be sharks in the main Saltholme pool. I think one of our great hide guides might have had fun pulling her leg in the Wildlife Watchpoint.
 Our next big event for children is on Sunday 6 December and is a Winter Wonderland. I’ll tell you more about this next month, but the event includes making some great festive crafts and there will be a chance for children to meet Santa as well! Have a look on the events part of the Saltholme website for more information about our upcoming events.
 At the end of this week (Wed 28 to Fri 30 October), we are also having a starling roost event. Safety in numbers, more efficient feeding and even the need to keep warm, are some of the theories behind why such huge congregations of starlings form at this time of year. Staff are all really looking forward to sharing the amazing autumn spectacle of around 10,000 starlings dancing and swooping over the reserve. We’ll take you out to the best vantage point on the reserve and, while we wait for the starlings to arrive, you can try a cup of our café’s delicious home-made soup. Call the centre on 01642 546625, if you would like to book a place. The starling roost is now particularly special. In the past 25 years, the numbers of breeding starlings in the UK has declined by more than half. Fewer feeding opportunities and nesting places are all reasons why these birds are now of national conservation concern.
 Our café has also now changed to using, where possible, just local food producers. We’re now stocking produce from local greengrocers, bakers and butchers, meaning Saltholme’s food is even fresher and Saltholme itself is even greener. Our visitors seem to agree; one recently left a comment in the suggestion box that praised the chocolate muffins as being ‘out of this world’.
 We are now the proud owner of two very new and shiny mobility scooters, which are available to hire out free from the centre. If you would like to pre book a scooter, please call the centre (number listed above).
 The Wildlife Explorers group at Saltholme has been very busy this year, with children aged 4-12 learning about wildlife at Saltholme and the surrounding area. We've found newts in the pond, owls on the reserve, hares in the meadow and dragonflies on the paths. Who knows what we will find this winter - one thing's for sure, we'll wrap up warm so we can still get outside! Next month, we will be at Wynyard Woodland Park - why not join us? Ring 01642542077 for more information, or email ben.calvert@rspb.org.uk. Also, look out for our Phoenix club for teenagers starting in the New Year! We’ll meet once a month and do great conservation work such as building a bird feeding station.

Hi all from Emily

Come down to Saltholme this September and you’ll find that birds of prey fever has taken over the centre. We are currently backing the RSPB ‘Bird of Prey Campaign’ which is trying to stop the illegal persecution of such amazing birds as the peregrine and merlin that frequently visit our site. Birds of prey have been legally protected for over fifty years but their persecution continues and the highest number of reported incidents since records began was tragically as recent as 2007. At Saltholme we are joining the RSPB campaign to try and stop this persecution by inviting everyone that comes through our doors to sign a pledge card, marking their concern. Hopefully the volume of these names will show the government that stricter enforcement of the laws protecting these birds is necessary. Come down to the centre today if you would like to add your support and help make a difference, or go to www.rspb.org.uk/birdsofprey where you can sign a pledge online.

 Staff at Saltholme have always been proud of the stunning centre in which we work and now we’re celebrating winning lots of different awards for the centre! The centre has been awarded ‘gold’ in the Green Tourism Business Scheme, the national sustainable tourism certification scheme for the UK. We scored a fantastic 88% and were judged on a wide set of criteria including commitment to sustainability, use of locally–sourced food and waste management. On top of this, we have also been awarded ‘Best Educational Building’ in the Northern Building Excellence Awards from LABC. The Northern region’s architects gave Saltholme a RIBA (Royal Institute of British Architects) Award for architectural excellence and the centre has topped the sustainability category of the region’s Constructing Excellence Awards. So lots to celebrate at the moment! With British Food Fortnight starting 19 September it’s a great reason to come and check out our centre for yourself, if you haven’t visited yet, and a great excuse to call into our café to try some of our locally produced grub. And we have just heard that we have been awarded five stars in the Tees Valley Food Hygiene Awards; that’s full marks.
 
 Finally, over the next few weeks more of this years and next years upcoming events will be added to our online Events page, so keep an eye on it to find out the latest. Highlights include a theatrical event called ‘What the Raven’s Know’, a repeat of our very popular Valentine’s evening meal and a ‘Hogweed’s School of Wildlife Wizardry’ for our younger visitors.

 We update the sightings page regularly; please click on ‘Recent Sightings’ to view it. I’ve just heard that the first migrating pink-footed geese have arrived, which is a month earlier than we would normally expect them.

Hi all from Emily

So much has been going on at Saltholme in the last few weeks, the reserve has been a real hive of activity. Springwatch sadly never did find their much longed for otter, but we are still keeping an eye out for it on site, so hopefully one day we'll see our most elusive visitor. Thank you to all those that visited Saltholme and kept their eyes peeled with us!

Most visitors are used to seeing birds, insects, hares and even the occasional fox at Saltholme, but if you visited us last month you might have witnessed something a little larger and hairier. The long awaited adventure play area was opened by the adventurous H'Angus the Monkey, mascot of Hartlepool Football Club, and some local school children. It is proving very popular with hundreds of children having already tried out the Saltholme Tree House and other equipment; if you're visiting us soon, you might want to schedule in an extra hour to do it justice.

It has been a month of openings with Chris Beardshaw joining us earlier this month to officially open his Wildlife Garden. On the day, all my finger crossing proved not to have been in vain as the sun shone down as Chris cut the ribbon on the garden gates and we all enjoyed cream teas and scones.

It was great to hear a bit more about the thinking behind the garden. Chris explained how he designed it to take you on an imaginative expedition through lots of different habitats, from a water garden to a forest of enchanted upside-down trees. Peaceful, intriguing and dramatic; it is a great place to sit and relax during your visit.

A few weeks ago we had some more fantastic news as delighted staff spotted the first inquisitive pair of sand martins exploring the specially designed Sand Martin Bank that we have on the reserve. A week on and the number flying in and out of the holes had soared to more than 100.

When the wildlife reserve and discovery park was being planned, it was known that sand martins refuel here in their hundreds after a marathon journey from Africa. Instead of having them travel even further to establish a colony, the project team decided to build them their own special nesting site near the visitor centre. Their home at Saltholme is an £8,000 construction consisting of a front made of reinforced concrete, with holes leading into the nesting chamber, which is filled with sand for the birds to tunnel into and nest.

The result is that visitors enjoying a coffee and cake in the café, can now watch the comings and goings of these brilliant little birds. It also provides a safe nesting area for the sand martins that are on the amber list of conservation concern. Their European population has crashed twice over the past 50 years because of drought caused by climate change in their African wintering grounds.

For those of you that normally enjoy Toby's update on the birds that have been spotted around the reserve, please now visit the Recent Sightings section of the Saltholme website, which Toby regularly adds to.

Bye for now!

Hi all from Emily

 It's been a fantastic weekend at Saltholme, with everyone really enjoying our Spring Watch events. But what of the elusive otter? Here's Mary with the latest. . .

 Overnight something had eaten the sardine bait we had laid for our otter. But what? Everyone in the office crowded round as we downloaded the pictures that the hidden camera has taken in the previous 24 hours. Sadly, the culprit wasn't an otter but a moor hen and her three fluffy chicks. There were some great shots of them pulling the sardines out from under the stone, where we had hidden them. But I couldn't help feeling a little despondent. Were we ever going to see the Saltholme otter?
 My mood was improved a little when Toby from the RSPB said that moor hens were very shy, and it was fabulous to be able to watch how they interacted. And the camera had caught a mallard duck and her chicks on film too.
 Our plan now is to leave the camera in place, but check it a little less frequently because our scent maybe discouraging the otter.  We'll probably download the shots once a week for the next couple of  months.
 I've had e-mails from people saying they have recently spotted otters elsewhere - Mickley, just north of Ripon; on the River Eden between Culgaith and Temple Sowerby; on the River Tees at Croft; and on the River Skerne near the bridge at Blackwell in Darlington. So there are otters out there. Sooner or later ours will show his face. In the meantime, for a glimpse of the moor hen family happily demolishing our otter food,  go to bbc.co.uk/tees

Hi all from Emily

Here's the latest from the BBC's Mary Askew on Saltholme's ottercam...

Day four of ottercam.....and still no otter. But hey, these things wouldn't be fun if they were easy. And we are having fun. Today we were joined by Matt Baker of Countryfile and Blue Peter fame, and together with half a dozen school children, we all went pond dipping. I haven't been pond dipping since my dad took me to Ryton Ponds in the Tyne Valley when I was about seven, and I'd forgotten just how much I loved it.

We caught water boatmen with their front legs like paddles, little stickleback fish, and, in our enthusiasm, rather a lot of sand. Incredibly the pond has only been there for a few months yet seemed to be packed with tiny wildlife.

Some of the kids there today had actually helped plant the watery reed beds in March, and they were really chuffed to see a black coot and her chicks nesting in area they themselves had helped to create.

 It's one of the things I like about Saltholme, it really is a reserve for the whole family to enjoy, and not just for serious twitchers. Staff can even loan you 'Wildlife Explorer Rucksacks' complete with a small pair of binoculars, plastic pots to house any bugs your kids find and a game of 'bird bingo' to play as you walk around.

Hi all from Emily

 Here's the latest on 'ottercam' from Mary...

 Last night the camera trap caught a large eel swimming around our otter perch. It may not be the footage we were hoping for, but knowing that eels are living here is good news. Otters need to eat the equivalent of 20 per cent of their own weight every day to survive so having a healthy population of eels at Saltholme should mean 'our otter' sticks around.
The more I find out about otters the more interested I become. Today I learnt that otters can tell each others sex, age and mating potential just by smelling each others spraint (droppings). How clever is that! And apparently - although I haven't tried this out - fresh otter spraint smells fragrant, just like jasmine tea.
If you fancy seeing the camera footage of the eel, it's available at www.bbc.co.uk/tees Fingers crossed that there will be shots of the elusive Saltholme otter up there soon too - who knows what tomorrow will bring....

Hi all from Emily

 So our Springwatch 'ottercam' is in place and we're all keeping our fingers crossed that the elusive otter gets spotted soon! Over to BBC Look North reporter Mary Askew for the latest . . .

 Day two of Saltholme's 'ottercam' and this morning we were bursting to see if the camera trap had recorded anything overnight. 
 Theoretically we were just testing the kit, but at the back of our minds we couldn't stop hoping that we had hit the jackpot. First however, I needed to do a live chat with BBC Tees' Diane Youdale. During the interview I realised I was calling the Saltholme otter "our otter" - maybe I'm getting a little too involved!
It took cameraman Jonny Coates and I just ten minutes to get from the offices of BBC Tees, in the centre of Middlesbrough, to the Saltholme visitor centre, which shows just how close this otter is getting to a massive conurbation. Kenny Crooks of Tees Valley Wildlife Trust was waiting for us in reception. Kenny is acting as our otter expert, and was there to check we had set up the camera trap correctly. Fortunately, he was really positive about its position and the little stone island - or perch - we had built yesterday in front of the lens. Much to our delight, the camera's display showed it had tripped into action ten times since we had left it 18 hours earlier. 
 Something had been there, but what? The sardine bait we had left was untouched. We downloaded the camera's memory card on to a laptop in the back of Jonny's car, but my excitement faded as we played each of the ten 90-second films. Each short burst of film showed nothing. In fact, it was really hard to see just what had triggered the camera. 
 Our only clue was that all the shots had been taken in a relatively short period between nine and ten o'clock this morning. After much discussion it was decided that during that time the sun had been shining directly on to the stone perch. This had attracted a number of insects (including a beautiful dragonfly), and it was these that had triggered the camera.
 Kenny tried to cheer us up, "I wouldn't expect you to get anything yet - the otter is probably only swimming past here once every three or four days. You are going to have to be patient," he said. For good measure Kenny put an otter spraint next to the sardines. He had collected the dropping many miles away, and the theory is that the Saltholme otter will want to investigate a stranger's scent. Here's hoping.
Will we have better luck tomorrow morning? We will download any film from the camera straight onto www.bbc.co.uk/tees for you to find out.

Hello all from Emily,
 Life is bustling at Saltholme, as always! The most exciting news at the moment is that we have BBC Springwatch with us for a while, searching for the otters that we have seen signs of on site. I’m going to be handing over the blog to BBC Look North reporter Mary Askew this week as she writes us updates about the team’s progress. Over to Mary . . .
 
Monday June 1
When I first heard rumours about an otter at Saltholme I was sceptical. I had fallen for the RSPB reserve back in 2007 when I reported on Springwatch's Kate Humble turning the first sod of the visitor's centre. I loved the tranquil streams and ponds that lay just a few hundred metres from Teesside's heavy industry, but could an otter live here? I thought it unlikely. Just a few years ago the Tees was classed as a 'dead' river and otters need clean water to survive.
Then I spoke to Saltholme manager Dave Braithwaite. "It's true," he said. "Kenny Crooks of Tees Valley Wildlife Trust was down here looking for water voles, but while he was here he found otter footprints, and an otter spraint - that's otter poo. We're so excited."
"Has anyone spotted the otter," I asked. "No," Dave sighed. Then there was a long pause. We were both thinking the same thing: Wouldn't it be fabulous to set up a hidden camera to see if we could capture it on film.
That was three weeks ago, and today our camera finally arrived in the post. It's a really clever bit of kit that springs into action whenever it detects movement, the type of equipment that viewers to Springwatch have become accustomed to in recent years. Of course, it might be triggered by movement from any of the wildlife at Saltholme - even the rare purple heron that has been spotted over recent days - but, fingers crossed, it's going to be triggered by our otter.
So cameraman Jonny Coates and Saltholme’s assistant warden Toby Collett pulled on their waders and fixed the camera to a post in one of the streams - although Toby nearly dropped it in his excitement at spotting what looked like a tiny bit of reed in the water, no more than 3cm long. "It's a caddisfly larvae," he exclaimed, "I've never seen one alive before." I hope I looked suitably enthusiastic, but I confess I had hoped to spot something a little bigger...
Jonny and Toby created a little stone island in the middle of the water, right in front of the camera, in the hope that the otter might rest there. And, to make it all the more tempting, we put some premium tinned sardines down too. It's a spot that had been singled out by Kenny Crooks (whose work with urban wildlife is funded by a Heritage Lottery Fund) as a good location. He says he's confident we'll see an otter there in the next few days. All we can do now is wait. Early every morning this week, we'll be wading into the water to download whatever the camera has recorded in the previous 24 hours. That material will go straight onto BBC Tees' website. This means you can find out if we have been successful, almost as soon as we do - just log on to www.bbc.co.uk/tees/nature

Hello all from Emily

Life at Saltholme is finally starting to settle down after the whirlwind of our opening and I’ve even found five minutes to become a little obsessed with two of Saltholme’s residents – the great crested grebes!

Regular blog readers will know my bird knowledge is sadly very poor but having recently been able to spend more time out on the reserve then I have previously been able it is improving and I have become very attached to these elegant divers. A pair have been seen most days on the main pool doing their head shaking courtship dance and lately they appear to have been building a nest; so hopefully they are a sight many of you will get to enjoy when you visit us.

If you were amongst the first visitors that came to Saltholme in January, a return visit now will be well worth it. All three of our architect-designed hides are now open as well as the majority of the trails, so there is a lot more reserve to explore. The Walled Wildlife Garden is also now accessible and although it will take a while to mature there are already some flowers in bloom. Still to come in the summer is the opening of the cycleway and the much-anticipated children’s play area.

Other recent goings on at Saltholme include a very busy Easter weekend where we saw thousands of visitors through the doors for the craft activities, reserve trails and, of course, large amounts of chocolate! Our next event is Early Doors at Saltholme – A Dawn Chorus Walk on Sunday 3rd May. Apart from being one of nature’s wonders it is also a great chance to visit the reserve outside of normal opening hours and the price includes a hot breakfast bun and tea or coffee. If you are interested in getting more information on the event please see the events page of the website or email me to book at emily.smith@rspb.org.uk. 

The annual RSPB members weekend in York was a great success; myself and Gwen our Community Officer manned the Saltholme stand on the Friday and with much enthusiasm told everyone how great the site is! The day after saw seventy-five members visit Saltholme for the afternoon and despite the weather being fairly bleak, everyone seemed to really enjoy themselves. 

Finally, our first children’s WEx club meeting was a tremendous success and was so popular that we are planning to run a second club, hopefully starting in the next few months. For more information, or to book your child a place, please contact Gwen at gwendolyn.potter@rspb.org.uk.

Bird Bits from Toby

Everyone has their own tell tale signs of spring. The first blossom or hints of greenery in a hedgerow, frogspawn in the pond, birds singing or simply the longer hours of the day. Of the few larger flora species that we have on the reserve, there are signs of life with buds releasing this years leaves, beginning the end of the seemingly endless brown of our newly created site. Of our singing birds we are lucky enough to have several on site that are very distinct and give a good opportunity for visitors to familiarise themselves with their song before the influx of summer arrivals.

The skylark is a name synonymous with the countryside and our arable landscape. They advertise their territories with a spectacular song-flight, during which the bird rises almost vertically with rapid wing-beats, hovering for several minutes and then parachuting down. Song flights of up to one hour have been recorded, and the birds can reach 1,000 feet before descending.

I would struggle to illustrate the song in words but it is a consistent turnover of whistles and chirrups. Sometimes it is a lot easier to hear them than see them but, if you are lucky, one may lift up from the grass on your way to Saltholme Pools Hide or Paddy’s Hide. It is slightly smaller than a starling with a sandy brown streaky plumage, often tricky to pick out on the ground. 

The meadow pipit is another streaky brown grassland bird, but differing from the skylark in its slightly smaller size and an olive brown rather than sandy brown colouration. It spends a lot of its time running on the floor chasing insects and, like the skylark, is most conspicuous in flight. It is very vocal in the air with a tseeep tseeep call and distinctive song flight. It ascends vertically while singing and then at the peak of its flight parachutes downwards with wings held up and tail spread.

The final bird to keep an eye, and ear, out for is the reed bunting. At present male reed buntings have singing rights over our reedbeds, till the sedge and reed warblers return from Africa, so hear them while you can. The best place for them is the Wildlife Watchpoint where they are frequently seen at the feeding station and heard in the reeds to the left. The male is a very distinctive bird with a black head and a white collar, while the female has less obvious features, with a very stripy head.

Across the reserve much of our wildfowl has departed North, leaving a brief void in numbers before the summer migrants return. This movement was illustrated beautifully by 19 whooper swans, which spent 18 March resting on the Main Pool. Two more groups dropped into the reserve briefly this month with 31 on the 22nd and eleven on the 30th.

While most ducks are moving away from Saltholme, one will hopefully be making regular appearances over the summer and put in an early appearance on the 19th. A male and female garganey showed very well in front of Saltholme Pools Hide but could not be found the next day.

The peregrines were around at the start of the month, with occasional singles of merlin, but sightings dwindled as March drew to a close and they won’t have regular presence on site until the autumn. Wader passage was evident with between seven and 12 ruff on site daily from 13 March. Black-tailed godwit numbers were up and down with the 22 that were seen on the 8th being the highest count and four on the 25th being the lowest.The wintering spotted redshank is moulting into its dark summer plumage and it appears dusky when it occasionally shows on Back Saltholme.

Our first chiffchaff of the year was in the hedge behind the Wildlife Watchpoint on the 22nd and the first swallow cruised the length of Back Saltholme on the 30th. Finally, a male marsh harrier was on and around the reserve for the first two days of April. Hopefully our reed beds will be as attractive to it as the Café is to our visitors and we can enjoy more regular sightings of this bird of prey as we enter our first spring as a fully fledged reserve. 

Hello all from Emily

 The first month of Saltholme being open has come and gone and it has been a fantastic success. By the time of our opening in March, 10,000 visitors will already have had their first experience of this flagship site. All your feedback has been very positive and much appreciated, thank you for bearing with us while we have found our feet!
 Valentine’s Day bought with it our ‘Love is in the air’ event, tickets for which sold out. Everyone really got into the spirit of the day, starting with canapés and then a, somewhat muddy, walk across the reserve. In the evening they were greeted in the café by candle-lit tables and a five-course meal, which our wonderful catering team had slaved over all day. The Saltholme choux swans with raspberry coulis were a particular favourite. Fortunately, the catering team made a few extras just in case so the staff didn’t miss out trying them! The night was finished off in style with a very smart looking site manager Dave Braithwaite giving a talk on courtship . . . the way birds do it.  Thanks to everyone that came along and for all the lovely comments you have passed on since the event. Keep an eye on the events section of the website for more information on all our upcoming events.
 If you have children, grandchildren or are good enough to look after someone else’s occasionally, then we have dates for your diaries! Every Sunday afternoon we are now running drop in craft activities in the education room here at Saltholme. Come along anytime between 12pm and 3pm to take part, better news still is that there is no charge until April.
 Also for the young wildlife enthusiasts the Saltholme Wildlife Explorers (and their Mums, Dads, Grandmas or Granddads if they want to come!) is go, and we would like to issue you a special invitation to the first group meeting.  On the last Saturday of March we will meet at Saltholme at 10.00am til 12.30pm. Other months we will meet at 10.30am until 12.30pm. Indoors and out, we will explore wildlife habitats and behaviour. We will also enjoy games and activities such as building nest boxes and making bird puddings. The topic for the March gathering is ‘Miraculous Migration’ – get ready for the longest holiday in the world! Learn all about some very special winter visitors to our reserve, and what happens when they go on a summer vacation.
 The Wildlife Explorers club is for children aged 6-12, although look out in the coming months for Phoenix club which is for 13-19 year olds. If you would like your child to come along to the first WEx meeting at the end of March please email our Community Officer Gwen at gwendolyn.potter@rspb.org.uk, or phone 01642 542077.

Stop press! Unfortunately the cafe will be closed to visitors on Friday 6 March 2009. We apologise for any inconvenience this may cause. Tea and coffee will be provided on the ground floor.

Bird Bits from Toby

 A huge apology for the paucity of blog info to those that are unable to visit the reserve and who follow the blog to get their Saltholme updates. We have been exceptionally busy but hope to get back on track soon and keep you up to speed more frequently with what we’re seeing.
 During February the highlight and star bird of recent weeks is the first winter red-throated diver found on the Main Pool on 10 February. It seemed pretty content but then flew south early afternoon, not to be seen again…… or so we thought. Come 4 o’clock it was back again and has been on and off till the 16th at least. Although visible from the centre, excellent views can be had next to the path that leads to the Wildlife Watchpoint.

 The wintry spell that saw very few visitors arrive on the reserve had the opposite affect on the birds. There were obvious increases in wintering thrush with fieldfares and redwings being present around the reserve and at both our feeding stations. Meadow pipits were also more numerous, which may have attracted the male and female merlin that were here on the 10th and 11th respectively. Continuing with birds of prey, both the resident peregrines showed well on the wet grassland over the Valentine’s weekend. They could be seen through the telescopes at the centre viewing point and from the café. A short-eared owl flew past the viewpoint on the afternoon of the 10th and a barn owl was hunting over back Saltholme on the early evening of the 14th.

 The frozen ground and water conditions have ushered out a variety of species into our viewing areas. Snipe and redshank have been seen regularly along the fringes of the Main Pool and from the Wildlife Watchpoint. The redshank is easier to spot with its long red legs and obvious white on its wings and rump when in flight. The snipe is a much more cryptically coloured bird, a combination of brown and cream stripes and streaks, with a long bill. With much of our open water freezing, the deeper Main Pool has hosted good numbers of tufted ducks and pochards, while the Watchpoint have had pintails, shovelers, teals, wigeons and gadwalls; all out on the ice.

 As February draws to a close, birds will be thinking of moving north to return to breeding grounds. This is good for us as we have got our water levels just right and so we hope for a few birds to stop off on their journey. We have a sightings board in the centre at reception, so anything seen on the reserve will be reported on there and our hide guides will be more than happy to show you what’s about. With the many extra pairs of eyes now out and about a lot more birds are being reported and we look forward to hearing what you’ve seen on your visit to Saltholme.

Posted by Emily Smith and Toby Collett

Hello all from Emily

We’re finally there everyone. On Wednesday 21 January we opened the doors (and swing bridge!) to the Saltholme centre and Wildlife Watch Point, our main hide, in advance of the opening of the rest of the reserve in March. The opening hours are currently 10am – 4pm.

It has been really difficult trying to explain how brilliant Saltholme is on this blog, so it has been fantastic to finally let you all in so that you can see for yourselves. Wednesday morning started with a mixture of excitement and pure fear for most members of Saltholme staff. When the first crowds had happily passed through the doors we all relaxed and later, evaluating the day over a few glasses of wine, we all agreed that the day was a great success. We had nearly three hundred visitors and were particularly impressed to discover that we had a visitor all the way from South Africa.

We’ve had some great feedback from you all and I’d just like to say a big thank you from the whole team for all the support and good luck messages that we have received.

In the following few weeks there will be the opportunity to see and explore for yourselves the centre, shop and café. Prior to our opening, the catering team had to test out their equipment so the rest of the staff had the arduous task of having to eat countless bacon sandwiches; we definitely recommend you make time during your visit for one.

High standards of culinary delights aside, there is also the chance to wander down to the fantastic Wildlife Watchpoint. Overlooking one of our busiest pools, you’re likely to see mute swans, shovelers and wigeons, but also keep an eye out for some other less numerous but regular visitors to site such as short-eared owls and peregrines. There will also often be one of our brilliant volunteers or member of the estates team in there to chat with and point out Saltholme’s fantastic wildlife.

If you pay us a visit in these first few months, each time you return there will be something new at the reserve to impress (we’re nice like that). New trails and hides will be opening in conjunction with our official opening in March. Areas such as the wildflower meadow and the walled wildlife garden, designed by celebrity gardener Chris Beardshaw, will be maturing and for the young, or very adventurous, the playground will be opening later in the year. 

So you see, no two visits will be the same and there is plenty to keep you coming back for more.

The icing on the Saltholme cake, which is particularly good news in the current climate, is the financial boost that the attraction is giving the local area. More than 20 jobs have been created at Saltholme (many of these posts filled by local people), much of the food in the café is locally sourced, work contracts have been given to local firms and in total Saltholme is estimated to provide a £1m boost to the local economy. Just another fantastic reason why you should come and visit us!

Just to confirm the parts of Saltholme that are currently open are the centre and the Wildlife Watchpoint; opening hours are 10am – 4pm.

Bird Bits from Toby, or The account of the glaucous-winged gull

I have been wanting to get to grips with gulls and a stint of residential volunteering at RSPB Minsmere helped me in the right direction. When I started as Assistant Warden at RSPB Saltholme I was very pleased to see we were right between a tip and landfill site. My delight was heightened further once I had a nosey round our new Visitor Centre. Not only would I be able to sift through thousands of gulls but I could do it inside, in comfy chairs and with bacon sandwiches flowing from the café behind me.

Unfortunately work beckoned and I was immediately stuck into getting the reserve ready for our grand opening. 

 The final day of 2008 was part of our work week and during the lunch break I made a quick scan through a group of about 150 gulls on the Main Pool. Slowly I started to examine each one and 10 minutes in I had something…………. grey primaries, ‘Kumlien’s Gull!!’ As I tried to get the others in the room on it, I glanced back at the bird and had a proper look at it after my initial two-second identification and shout. It didn’t actually look like an Iceland type gull at all………. The primary projection seemed to go just past the tail and the head and bill were much more comparable with the Herring Gulls it was keeping company with. Was it just an aberrant Herring Gull? 

 As well as the obvious grey primaries, the bird had a very finely streaked grey brown head, showing no white, which continued down to the chest. The eye was dark and appeared quite forward on the face. The beak had a pale base with red on the gonys and yellow on the tip. It didn’t look too dissimilar in size and shape to the Herring Gulls, perhaps even a bit slighter. Unfortunately the bird spent most of the time facing away from us which made it tricky to fully analyse these features. Luckily, this did mean that when it stretched it wings we all got a very good look at the primary pattern. There was much less white in the primaries than would be expected in Herring Gull and a thicker white trailing edge to the wing. 

I borrowed a colleagues camera and I managed a few record shots of the bird including a crucial photo of it open winged. 

Everyone else had headed out onto the reserve to carry on working and I felt very guilty about hanging about birding so knowing I had some good pictures I thought it best to join them. Just as we were packing up Chris Brown, one of our volunteers, remembered he had a copy of the National Geographic Field Guide to the Birds of North America. We had a quick flick through the Gulls and came across Glaucous-winged Gull……….. with a very similar, nay identical, wing pattern illustration to the bird in front of us! Surely not, far too rare we both thought. We weren’t even open yet and didn’t want to get a reputation for dodgy records to start just yet, we need at least a few years to warm up. Back at home I posted my find on BirdForum and Teesmouth Bird Club forum. 

Some time later and the consensus was unanimous across the board……… I’d found Britain’s 2nd and the Western Palearctic’s 4th Glaucous-winged Gull!!
 
Posted by Emily Smith and Toby Collett

 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!

Hello all from Emily

 Apologies that this latest installment is a couple of weeks overdue. Toby and I have been at RSPB headquarters for training days that all new members of staff attend. It was fantastic to learn more about the charity and in particular to hear about the work that we do internationally. If you have a few spare minutes, I recommend watching the video on the RSPB website about the conservation work going on in the Sumatran Rainforest. It is truly inspiring!

 As we get increasingly close to our opening date of January 21st life at Saltholme has definitely shifted up a pace! With this in mind we have now started recruiting volunteers and are hoping that lots of you will want to come and join our fantastic team! If you have green fingers, the skills to inspire young minds or the ability to talk the hind legs off a donkey then Saltholme needs you! There are various ways you can get stuck in and help us. From membership recruiters to leaders of guided walks, from helping in the visitor centre to lending the education team a hand, and so much more. You don’t necessarily need a huge knowledge about birds or wildlife (mine isn’t exactly great!), all we want are people that are passionate about Saltholme and the work that goes on here. It’s also a great opportunity to make a difference to your local community. Convinced yet?! For more details of the many different volunteering opportunities on offer at Saltholme, visit www.rspb.org.uk/volunteering, or call Centre Manager Lisa Daley on 01740 665099.

 Thank you to all that came to Peter Barratt’s Garden Centre for our Feed the Birds Day Event, it was great to see how excited and proud everyone is about Saltholme even before we are open. We are next out and about on the 6th and 7th of December at the Christmas Market held in Durham (unfortunately we are unable to attend on the 5th) – we`ll be delighted to see you there if you can make it!

 Finally . . . another plea for help! If you have a pair of working binoculars that you no longer want or need it would be fantastic if you would be willing to donate them to Saltholme so that we can lend them out to visitors who fancy a closer look at our wildlife. Please contact Lisa Daley on 01740 665099 if you are able to help us.

Bird Bits from Toby

 Hello all! As I’m sure everyone has noticed the weather is becoming increasingly colder; nowhere is this more apparent than on the reserve, and this will certainly be being felt by our birds! The RSPB had their feed the birds weekend on the 25th and 26th of October and as the weather conditions become unfavourable garden birds can do with a little help, so please keep an `eye` out for them by keeping your feeders topped up.

 The two main highlights of the past few weeks were Cleveland’s third lesser yellowlegs on the 13th and 14th of October and on the 15th of November what is believed to be the areas second cattle egret! Unfortunately neither bird stayed around for long. The yellowlegs, an American wader slightly smaller in size and structure to the redshank, and generally more elegant, as well as having yellow legs, was flushed by a sparrowhawk on the morning of the 14th and was not be relocated. The cattle egret put in an even briefer appearance, leaving on the same day it was found. I hope this will be just a temporary absence as the wet grassland looks to be an ideal habitat for it so I’ll be giving all the little egrets on site a good grilling, trying to pick out that yellow bill which is a key difference between the two.

 A drake blue-winged teal was also present at the same time as the cattle egret, though this was its second day on Back Saltholme. This is the second record for the species in as many years on the reserve as an eclipse drake spent the whole of September at Haverton Hole in 2007.

 Finally, a pair of short-eared owls have been patrolling the long grass opposite the hide on Back Saltholme. These are best viewed in the late afternoon as they hunt low to the ground and we hope they will stay with us over the winter, providing good views for our first visitors at end of January!

Hello all
 
 I’m pleased to say that I’ve escaped the office a couple of times in the last week in order to join the hive of activity that is the Saltholme site! We’re all really excited now as the building is nearing completion and so our end of January opening is seeming ever closer. It has been great showing a few people round the site (equipped with hard hats and high visibility jackets of course!) as they are always so surprised at how fantastically unique the centre really is and how much thought has gone into the design of the site. The moat in particular seems to really capture people’s imagination, although personally I’ve made it my aim to see the peregrine which has been regularly dropping in – how often do you get to see the fastest animal in the world?
 The main site developments to add are: the moat round the building is nearly excavated and the swing bridge mechanism is in place. Inside the building the visitor stairs have been built, the suspended ceiling in the café is in place and the kitchen fit out will be happening at the end of October. We have also received some fantastic artists impressions of how the education rooms will look once decorated, we can’t wait to test them out with school groups!

 How little do you think a little egret is? Well I saw my first on a visit to the reserve only last week...well in fact I saw my first, second and third, as to my delight there were three. All sat quite still by the edge of one of the new reedbeds we have created. It was one of those grey sunless days where the clouds are low (we’ve had a few of those this year). It was an amazing sight to see how the egret’s snowy-white plumage shone out through the grey day, even whiter than a swan! Long-legged and sharp-billed they are clearly a member of the heron family. But what really surprised me was that little egrets aren’t little at all; they are larger than pigeons, for example. Emma, Saltholme’s Warden, points out that "the name is relative and as far as the egret world is concerned a little egret really is little, it is a lot smaller than a great white egret for example."
 Little egrets are commonly seen at Saltholme – come along when we open to see if you can spot one!

Bird Bits
 As regular visitors to this page may know I am one of three new faces at the Reserve and I would like to take this opportunity to introduce myself a wee bit further. I'm Toby, the Assistant Warden, a product of the RSPB’s very successful residential volunteer scheme. I have spent the last six months down at RSPB Minsmere in Suffolk and prior to that I have worked as a fencing contractor, farmhand and ecological field worker. Most of my time at Saltholme will be spent out in the field so I will be keeping my eyes open and notebook hot as I scribble down my sightings of birds, the more interesting of which will be reported on these blog pages.
 
 September and October are the changeover months in the bird calendar when we say goodbye to our summer residents and welcome our winter guests.  It is also the time when more uncommon migrating species are seen, as they are moved off their usual course by varying weather conditions. The large bodies of water we have at the Reserve act as a draw for the black and white ospreys; but unfortunately not enough to keep them. Both were single birds flying through on their way south where they will stay in sub-Saharan Africa before heading back up in March. Another summer raptor on the reserve was a young hobby; this agile falcon will be following the osprey’s lead and heading to Africa to spend the winter.

 Our other wildfowl numbers have been steadily increasing over the last few weeks and our open water holds large numbers of wigeon, gadwall, and teal, while smaller numbers of shoveler and pintail can be found amongst them. Golden plover, lapwing and curlew are also settling in for the winter, which is good news for our local peregrine falcons. One of the reserve’s most spectacular sights is when this large powerful falcon is on the hunt, skimming low across the grassland or swooping into a dive from high above. A good indication of when a peregrine is in the area is a sky full of birds as they all congregate into one large flock, hoping to evade the hunters grasp and avoid becoming it’s next meal, a sight you will hopefully see when you come and visit us!
 Look forward to seeing you all on the reserve in the New Year!

Join us!
 If you’re interested in joining the Saltholme team we will shortly be advertising for a Catering Supervisor (closing date for applications is 29th October and interview date is 7th November) and are currently advertising for a Community Officer (closing date for applications is 24th October and interview date is 4th November). See the vacancy page on the RSPB website for further information.
 Feed The Birds Day – Want to know more about Saltholme or feeding birds? Come and talk to us at the Peter Barratt’s Garden Centre in Stockton on Friday 24th October where we will be between 11 and 2.
Posted by Emily Smith and Toby Collett

Hello everyone,

 I’d like to introduce myself - I’m Emily Smith, Visitor and Promotions Officer at RSPB Saltholme, and one of three new staff members that have recently joined the Saltholme team. Caroline Found, Life Long Learning Manager, and Toby Collett, Assistant Warden are the additional two.
 For the last couple of years I’ve worked at visitor attractions in the North East. On a recent break away in Scotland, I came across an RSPB ‘Aren’t Birds Brilliant’ site. I’d always had an interest in wildlife but didn’t know a huge amount about birds. The ABB group were located in a church, where a peregrine had set up home on the roof. Expecting to spend just a few minutes there, I left nearly an hour later, full of enthusiasm to learn more about birds, but also feeling passionate about what the RSPB do and the fantastic inspiring people that work so hard for them! A couple of months later and here I am!

 I’m pleased to say that my role includes responsibility for the Saltholme Blog, which I plan to update every couple of weeks. However, in order to give you an idea of what has happened in the last couple of months (prior to my appointment), here is a quick round up on how Saltholme is developing:

The interior of the main building is now plastered - which may not sound hugely exciting but it makes the building feel a lot closer to being completed.
The under-floor heating has been installed and the tiled flooring is down in the café. Happily, the building and the beautifully designed Family Hide are now waterproof! 
The fit out for the classrooms and office is being worked on, and the Kingfisher Room - which will be available to hire for meetings and training courses etc, is also well under way. 
The enclosure for the walled garden that celebrity gardener Chris Beardshaw has designed for us is also now in place.

 One of the best parts of my job is hearing from people that have grown up near the site. So many have played and watched birds on the land and it is fantastic to hear of your interest in what we are doing there. Here is one Saltholme story that I love - thanks very much to Lucy for telling it to me:

‘Born and bred in Middlesbrough there were plenty of places nearby where I could have discovered wildlife: Albert Park, Roseberry Topping and my own back garden to name a few. However my favourite was the last place most people would then have thought of to go wildlife watching: the middle of a heavy industrial area, sandwiched between ICI, British Steel and an oil refinery, a lush wetland oasis among the towers and smoke – Saltholme! It was handy to get to and we could see the pools without getting out of the car, so my parents often took my brother and me there to see what we could see.
 I was just a toddler when, one late winter day, when we had a few minutes to kill, we found ourselves parked up in a lay-by with the windows down, overlooked by the famous Transporter Bridge. We didn’t wait long before a pair of Great Crested Grebes appeared and put on a full display: head shaking, synchronised diving and even the elusive penguin dance! It was the most magical thing I had ever seen, one of those time-stopping, rest-of-the-world-disappearing moments. Though this was nearly 30 years ago I remember it as though it were just last week. I was thrilled to hear that there was to be a new reserve opening in Teesside and wondered if it was that same spot. When I found out it was, I think I actually squealed!’

 Great crested grebes are elegant looking water birds and the dance Lucy mentions is their elaborate (and very entertaining) courtship display – I hope this wets your appetite for one of the many brilliant sights you’ll be able to come and see when we are open. If all goes to plan then we hope to open our doors to you all at the end of January, so not too long!

 Thank you all for your interest and support, bye for now.

Posted by Emily Smith