Hi everyone,
That's a yaffling green woodpecker, beeping teals and bubbling curlews to be exact.
It might have been a dreadfully rainy and wet day at Saltholme, but spring is still in the air. Some of the snowdrops are out in the wildlife garden. I'll try to get a photograph of them tomorrow morning.
Toby spent most of the day in Haverton Scrub watching the long-eared owls. May is the traditional month of rich birdsong, but a lot of Saltholme's songbirds are already practicing. Toby excitedly told me that bullfinches were singing and the green woodpecker was 'yaffling'. We've got our fingers tightly crossed in the hope that the green woodpecker will find a mate and breed. Up at Haverton, there was also a group of siskins, a stonechat and a male sparrowhawk.
Out on the ponds, the ducks, coots and swans are still feeling as amourous as they were last week. The drake teals are displaying and the coots are becoming more and more grumpy (and vicious!) in readiness for the spring. Next time you're at Saltholme, listen out for the teals calling. I think that they sound a bit like the 'beep' at the supermarket checkout ... but that's probably just me.
The fieldfare funfair isn't as busy, but there are still about 20 of them gorging on the fruit. Fingers crossed that they'll still be around on Saturday and Sunday for the Big Garden Birdwatch. Have you registered yet?
Earlier in the week, some visitors witnessed a breathtaking chase down at Saltholme Pools Hide. A peregrine chased and caught a redshank right in front of the hide. It's quite a gory story, but exhilarating all the same. Speaking of redshanks, more and more of them are returning to Saltholme now that it's not as frosty. We're hoping that two of them that have been in front of the visitor centre for most of the week will pair up and breed here.
As a closing remark, we're really pleased to have over 400 curlews. Listen for them 'bubbling' as they fly in to Saltholme to make the most of the wet and muddy grass.
Bye for now,
Ben.