Saltholme

• About Saltholme
• Star species
• Seasonal highlights
• Recent sightings
• Events
• Facilities
• Buying binoculars or a telescope?
• How to get here
• Accessibility
• Our supporters
• Our work here
• Visitor book

• Home >
• Reserves >
• Reserves by name >
• S >
• Saltholme >
• Recent sightings

Recent sightings

• 19 May 2013

  Farewell Saltholme! Part 2 of 2

  To continue from yesterday's post...

  During my traineeship, I have had a lot of involvement with Saltholme's social media. I have made a few blog posts here and there and the odd tweet too, but mainly I have been working on the RSPB Saltholme Facebook page.

  Myself, our assistant warden Toby Collett and marketing officer Liz Morgan head up the social media team and together we structure and organise the content to go on our Facebook page every week, which takes the form of a social media calendar, which I email out to the regular contributors. As regular Facebookers might know, we often give you reserve news and sightings in the mornings, with a supplementary story in the afternoon.

  

  Above is a photo of the recent sightings board, which I usually photograph so I can remember what's been about on the reserve!

  A big positive from my time here has been the training courses. Sometimes it can be difficult leaving the reserve for a few days as you do fall behind with other work, but the training has been invaluable in proving me with key skills for future employment within the sector. I won't list all the courses I attended here, but I will say the most valuable ones to me were the interpretation courses and the marketing and brand training.

  

  You can see me here at John Veverka's introduction to interpretation course in Wales, presenting a smoking lapwing! - It was a little exercise where we designed an anti-littering poster :D

  One more positive for me to take from this traineeship is that I met the love of my life at Saltholme! Jane was on a placement from Teesside University at the time and helped with the family activities during the summer holidays. I can proudly say we are engaged and are very happy together :)

  So that just leaves me to say a huge thank you to everyone who has helped me over the last 13 months. My line managers Ben Calvert, Caroline Found and Liz Morgan have been very supportive throughout, and excellent mentors. I also got great support from the Nature Counts team down at the RSPB Lodge, thank you to June Laban-Mitchell and Heather Giles. I must also extend gratitude to HLF for making these traineeships possible - without their generous funding, all this great experience would not have happened!

  Today is officially my last day, before I get ready to move down south with Jane, to work at a pub doing marketing, social media and events! The idea is to keep the work experience going and make a better job of saving money, not always easy these days :D

  Take care all!

  Stephen Vincent

  Visitor Services Trainee

  Posted by Stephen Vincent

• 10 May 2013

  Saltholme Recent Sightings: 3rd- 10th May 2013

  Hi,

  The week brought with it some glorious hot sunny days which created ideal conditions for our weekly butterfly transect. Species recorded during the survey included, Small Tortoiseshell, Peacock, and Green-veined White.

  Wader passage was a prominent fixture during the week with a traditional May Temminck’s Stint being a real highlight (Saltholme West, 7-8^th). Other wader species recorded during the week included, Avocet, 2x Little Ringed Plover, 1x Ringed Plover, Dunlin, 1x Little Stint (Back Saltholme, 10^th), 3x Wood Sandpiper (Saltholme West, 7^th and 8^th), 1x Common Sandpiper, Greenshank, 25x Black-Tailed Godwit and 1x Whimbrel (Fire Station Field).

  This Wood Sandpiper showed superbly well from the Saltholme Pools Hide. Many Thanks to Renton Charman for the photograph.

  I was up bright and early during the week to survey the Haverton Pools. On arriving at 4:00 I spotted a couple of Common Pipistrelle bats feeding on midges along a hedgerow. Bird song is particularly prominent at this time of year and given the early start I managed to record the progression of Saltholme’s dawn chorus.  On arrival Blackbird, Reed Bunting, Lapwing and Song Thrush were already singing, the first Sedge Warbler burst into song at 4:25 followed by a sharming Water Rail at 4:37. By around 5:00 most birds had woken up, a Marsh Harrier flew over at 4:50, Grey Heron arrived to feed on the pools at 5:20 followed by a whistling Whimbrel at 5:25. Swallow, Yellow Wagtail and Common Tern were the late starters not arriving to the area until 5:45.

  The Grey Heron behaves like any traditional fishing enthusiast in that it likes to arrive bright and early to fish the best spots. Many Thanks to Ray Scott for the photograph.

  Other interesting sightings this week included, 2x Lesser Redpoll on the feeder next to the Phil Stead Hide (6^th), singing Reed Warblers in the Discovery Zone reedbed, a drake Garganey, 2x Grey Partridge (Carpark, 5^th), 3x Wheatear (Saltholme Clay Field dung heap, 7^th) and 2x Whinchat (Dormans Pool).

   Finally, more chicks emerged from the comfort of their eggshells during the week with a couple of Canada goose families and at least two Lapwing nests hatching. Hares could be seen grazing in many of Saltholme’s fields and Red Campion has started to flower en masse in the carpark.

  The scratchy song of a male Common Whitethroat can be heard from most of the scrub at Saltholme. Many Thanks to Ray Scott for the photograph.

  Cheers,

  Adam

  Posted by Adam Jones

• 2 May 2013

  Saltholme Recent Sightings: 27th April- 2nd May 2013

  Hi,

  There was a lot of bud bursting action on the reserve this week as trees and shrubs started to expose this year’s fleshy green growth. Green was also the colour of the week’s most unusual bird sighting in the form of a Green Woodpecker near Back Saltholme.

  

  This showy Grasshopper Warbler was photographed by Ian F during the week.

  Wader passage slowed down a little however this week’s tally included, 2x Avocet, 2x Little Ringed Plover (30^th), 2x Ringed Plover (30^th), 3x Dunlin (29^th), 2x Common Sandpiper (29^th) and 6x Black-tailed Godwit (29^th).

  Two Marsh Harriers were present during the week, one of which was an adult male. The Black-necked Grebe pair remained on Back Saltholme and could be observed displaying in front of the Saltholme Pools Hide. A walk to the Allotment Pool was worthwhile for anyone wanting to catch up with the drake Lesser Scaup who has been with us for nearly a month now! Other notable wildfowl included, our first goslings of the year in the form of Greylag Geese (Back Saltholme, 26^th), 2x Red-Breasted Merganser (29^th) and a Garganey.

  

  Mirror image. The spring sunshine tempted the Black-Necked Grebe pair to go into display mode (Many Thanks to Ian F for the photograph).

  As for passerines, a Blue-Headed Wagtail was seen on the wet grassland (28^th), a Lesser Whitethroat was near the Visitor Centre (26^th) and 5x Swift were seen hawking over the reserve (26^th).

  Finally, our mammal stars of the week were the fox family which proved to be very photogenic at times.

  

  Many Thanks to Hils for this super photograph of the three fox cubs.

  Cheers,

  Adam

  Posted by Adam Jones

• 26 April 2013

  Saltholme Recent Sightings: 19th – 26th April 2013

  Hi,

  The large motorway service station that is RSPB Saltholme has been a hive of activity over the past week as hundreds of migrating birds stopped to have a rest and refuel before continuing their epic journeys to distant lands.

  (Please visit the site to view this video)

  Ray Scott took this great video of an Avocet feeding in front of the Saltholme Pools Hide during the week.

  The wagtail family were well represented with the highlights being a Blue-Headed Wagtail from Central Europe (23^rd) and a Channel Wagtail (a hybrid between a British Yellow Wagtail and Blue-Headed Wagtail, 26th).  40+ Yellow Wagtail of the British race flavissima was an excellent count from the Saltholme Pools Hide (23^rd), mixed in with these were good numbers of Pied and White Wagtail.

  Wader passage continued with the following, 4x Avocet (26^th), 3x Little Ringed Plover (20^th), 2x Ringed Plover (26^th), 63x Golden Plover (26^th), 2x Turnstone (26^th), 20+ Dunlin (20^th), 1x Common Sandpiper (26^th), 10+ Redshank (26^th), 1x Spotted Redshank (20h-21^st), 1x Greenshank (26^th) and 21x Black-tailed Godwit (23^rd).

  Ray Scott also captured this great moment when a Spotted Redshank (back bird) was feeding alongside a Redshank. Note the longer bill and darker plumage of the Spotted Redshank.

  In my opinion the drake Lesser Scaup was the best duck on site however a stunning drake Garganey which arrived on 20^th was certainly impressive when it showed well from the Saltholme Pools Hide. Our first and only duckling of the spring so far was a Mallard first sighted on 24^th.

  Like a Swallow the Garganey migrates to Britain for the summer. Many thanks to Ian F for the photograph.

  Other notable sightings this week included, a pair of Black-necked Grebe (all week, Saltholme Pools Hide), 2x Common Tern (26^th), Arctic Tern (Back Saltholme, 20^th), 150+ Meadow Pipit dropped down into the fire station field during a heavy shower (25^th), Reed Warbler (26^th), Sedge Warbler (26^th), Grasshopper Warbler 22^nd and 26^th), Blackcap (26^th), 4x Common Whitethroat (22^nd),  1x male Marsh Harrier (26^th), 1x Common Buzzard (over, 21^st), 6x Swift (26^th), 100+ Swallow (26^th) and 1x Tree Pipit (Headed North, 23^rd).

  Spring has well and truly sprung when you see your first Sedge Warbler of the year. Many Thanks to Ian F for this super photograph.

  Finally, the display of flowering cowslips along the Haverton Trail is particularly impressive at the moment and our first successful moth trapping session of the year occurred on the 26^th with 11x Hebrew Character and 1x Clouded Drab.

  Cheers,

  Adam

  Posted by Adam Jones

• 19 April 2013

  Saltholme Recent Sightings: 5th – 18th April 2013

  Hi,

  It was a fortnight of two halves here at Saltholme. The first was dominated by northern and easterly winds which created unfavourable conditions for bird migration. However on the 13^th April the winds swung round to a southerly direction allowing summer migrants to flood into the UK.

  The rare Lesser Scaup kept eager visitors on their toes as it toured around the reserve, however by the end of this period it looked to have settled on the Allotment Pool. A pair of Greater Scaup remained on East Saltholme providing a fantastic opportunity to compare the two Scaup species. April’s WeBS count was undertaken on the 7^th, the survey highlighted the large scale departure of many of our wintering species like Wigeon, although Coot numbers were still pretty high for the time of year.

  

  This pair of stunning Black-necked Grebes arrived on 17th April (Many Thanks to Ian F for the photograph).

  From the 13^th April summer migrants started to arrive on the reserve with many species at least two weeks later than last year.  Swallows, Sand Martins and House Martins could be found in reasonable numbers hawking over most of the water bodies by the 15^th, an early Swift was sighted over the Visitor Centre (15^th), Chiffchaff could be heard singing from most of the hedgerows, a Willow Warbler was at Haverton Gate (13^th), good numbers of Yellow, Pied and White Wagtails could be found on the wet grassland, 11x Wheatear were feeding in the Fire Station Field (16^th) and a female Common Redstart was observed in the Wildlife Watchpoint Hedgerow (17^th).

  

  The first Yellow Wagtail of the year was sighted on the 13th (Many Thanks to Ian F for the photograph).

  It was an excellent week for wading birds as spring passage kick started with the following species, 3x Avocet (Saltholme West,  17^th), 2x Little Ringed Plover (Main Lake, 14^th),  8x Ringed Plover (Back Saltholme, 16^th), 18x Dunlin (Saltholme West, 17^th), 1x Green Sandpiper (Fire Station Field, 13^th-16^th), 1x Common Sandpiper (Main Lake, 15^th-17^th), 1x Spotted Redshank (Saltholme Pools Hide, 16^th-18^th), 5x Black-tailed Godwit (Back Saltholme, 18^th), 2x Whimbrel (15^th) and 1x Jack Snipe (Back Saltholme, 16^th).

  

  On 17th April the first Common Tern of the year was sighted, surprisingly it was 7 days earlier than last year! (Many Thanks to Chris S for the photograph).

  Other notable sightings included, a passage Osprey (15^th), a cream crowned Marsh Harrier (5^th, 7th and 15^th), Arctic Tern (Allotment Pool, 13^th-14^th), 3x Dark-Bellied Brent Goose (wet grassland, 13^th), 1x Common Buzzard (over, 11^th) and 2x Grey Partridge.

  

  This Little Egret was still managing to eat well despite its deformed bill ( Many Thanks to Renton Charman for the photograph).

  Cheers,

  Adam

  Posted by Adam Jones

• 7 April 2013

  Sunday Supplement: April 2013 Predictions

  Hi,

  It’s April 2013 and we’re all waiting in anticipation for our first summer migrants, insects emerging from their winter sleeping quarters and hopefully the start of SPRING! March definitely had a winter feel to it as cold easterly winds dominated throughout. This meant species such as Smew hung around for a lot longer than usual and much of the vegetation was suppressed for the time of year.

  I’ve got my fingers crossed for some southerly airflow and warm temperatures to assist us with connecting with the following predicted species this month.

  • Red-rumped Swallow. A rare bird which breeds in southern Europe and has been involved in occasional influxes to Britain over the years. Most records for vice-county Durham are of birds found in the month of April therefore making this species a good candidate for the prediction blog. Careful scanning of Hirundine flocks from the Saltholme Pools Hide will probably provide the best opportunity of finding one this month.

  

  Could Red-rumped Swallow be the next rarity to turn up at Saltholme? Thanks to Ian F for the photograph taken at Bowesfield Marsh last year.

  • Coltsfoot. A perennial plant which likes to grow on open ground and is quite common on the reserve. At this time of year it is the bright “dandelion like” flowers which should be searched for as the leaves don’t appear until after flowering. The plants latin name is Tussilago farfara which gives us some indication of its past use in treatments for nasty coughs (tussis is latin for cough).

  

   At present the bright yellow flowers of Coltsfoot certainly stand out in the grassland. I photographed this plant at Haverton Gate.

  • Ladybird. The prolonged winter has meant I have yet to see my first ladybird of the year. Species such as 7-spot ladybird often hibernate in groups and rising temperatures should entice them to emerge leading to the observation of large clusters sun bathing in sheltered areas or on the south facing sides of posts or branches, it is this behaviour which should be searched for during April. By the way the collective noun for a group of ladybirds is unofficially called a loveliness according to the World Wide Web.

  

   Will you find yourself a loveliness of ladybirds this April? Thanks to Ray Scott for this photograph of an Eyed Ladybird.

   

  Flypast

  • Black-winged Stilt. There is only one record of this rare wader in vice-county Durham and that was of a first-summer male at Cowpen Marsh on 23^rd April 1993. The bird stayed in the area until the 4^th May which is a very short period of time in comparison to the UK’s most famous Black-winged Stilt, Sammy, who lived at RSPB Titchwell Marsh in Norfolk for 11 years!

  Cheers,

  Adam

  Posted by Adam Jones

• 5 April 2013

  Saltholme Recent Sightings: 29th March– 4th April 2013

  Hi,

  It was beginning to feel a little bit invariable here on the reserve with much of Saltholme’s wildlife hunkered down whilst the cold easterly winds prevailed, however things started to hot up mid-week leading to what turned out to be a cracking few days here on the reserve.

  No less than fifteen species of duck were recorded with the highlight being a drake Lesser Scaup, a new bird for the reserve, first seen on the Main Lake (3^rd April) and rediscovered on Square Pool the next day. This rare duck originates from North America and seems to be hanging around with a female Tufted Duck. Other quality ducks included a drake Green-winged Teal, 3x Smew (East Saltholme, 3^rd April), 2x Greater Scaup (East Saltholme), 9x Red-Breasted Merganser (2^nd April), 6x Pintail (2^nd April) and 5x Goldeneye (2^nd April).

  This drake Lesser Scaup was first discovered on the 3rd April (Thanks to Ian F for the photograph).

  The female Greater Scaup remained on East Saltholme (Thanks to Toby for the photograph).

  On the 4^th April I assisted with a Water Rail survey on the main reserve and was rewarded with a flyover Bittern at the reserve entrance. During the survey 18x Water Rail were recorded (7 pairs and 4 singles) as well as 21x Common Snipe, 1x Jack Snipe and our first Chiffchaff of the year.

  Other interesting bird sightings this week include, a Scandinavian littoralis Rock Pipit (Haverton Gate, 3^rd and Saltholme Pools Hide, 4^th April), Marsh Harrier (immature bird, 3^rd and 4^th April), Short-Eared Owl (Phil Stead Hide, 30^th March), 2x Avocet (Back Saltholme, 3^rd April), 6x Black-Tailed Godwit (Saltholme Pools Hide, 3^rd April) and Viking Gull (Herring Gull x Glaucous Gull hybrid, Saltholme Pools Hide, 4^th April).

                                                                                               

  The Scandinavian littoralis Rock Pipit has been flighty and elusive but occasionaly sat still enough to show the subtle features of this race. (Thanks to Garry Harrer for the photograph).

  Finally, with increasing temperatures and a change to a more south easterly wind direction predicted in the next week we should expect to see the first big push of spring migrants into Britain. For Saltholme this could include more Little-Ringed Plovers after our first sighting of the year on the 30^th March.

  

  Our first Little Ringed Plover of the year was found on the 30th March (Thanks to Ian F for the photograph).

  Cheers,

  Adam

  Posted by Adam Jones

• 28 March 2013

  Saltholme Recent Sightings: 15th – 28th March 2013

  Hi,

  Easterly winds dominated throughout this period preventing the northward progression of our summer migrants. This meant we had to rely on our winter migrants and resident species to keep us entertained.

  A Whooper Swan paid a brief visit to Saltholme West (20^th), a Short-Eared Owl was out hunting on Haverton Meadow (21^st) and the long staying drake Scaup was accompanied by a female (21^st).

  Daily scanning of the shallow puddles next to Haverton Gate was finally rewarded with Water Pipit early doors on the 21^st. The same area also attracted a handful of Pied Wagtail and 10+ Meadow Pipit.

  Water Pipit (Thanks to Ian F for the photograph).

  It was pretty quiet on the wader front however 14x Dunlin and a Black-Tailed Godwit were notable (25^th). Avocet numbers continued to build at Greatham Creek, peaking at 36 birds on the 24^th.

  Avocet (Thanks to Ray Scott for the photograph).

  Finally, a walk along the Haverton cycleway was very productive on the 21^st with Goldcrest, Long-tailed Tit, 2x Lesser Redpoll and 2x Bullfinch seen flicking around in the path side trees.

  Lesser Redpoll (Thanks to Klipdok 2 for the photograph).

  Cheers,

  Adam 

  Posted by Adam Jones

• 16 March 2013

  Saltholme Recent Sightings: 8th – 14th March 2013

  Hi,

  On Sunday 10^th our WeBS team journeyed into the snow showers to count all the wetland birds present on the reserve. Some quality birds were found including 3x Bittern, 2x Smew and a Jack Snipe. The survey also highlighted the huge quantity of birds on the reserve for example 1654x Wigeon, 346x Teal, 15x Goldeneye and 745x Curlew.

  A large flock of whistling Wigeon is one of the best sounds heard at Saltholme during the winter (Many Thanks to Renton Charman for the photograph).

  Breeding birds continued to arrive with 6x Oystercatcher, 15x Redshank, 6x Great Crested Grebe and 3x Little Grebe. In fact the Little Grebes are very vocal at this time of year. Their song, a high pitched trill, can be heard from most of our reedbed habitat. Whilst I’m on the topic of sounds, it’s worth a mention that many of our winter visitors and their noise will soon disappear so make the most of them whilst they are still here. In particular listen out for large whistling flocks of Wigeon, one of my favourite winter sounds.

  Ever wondered what this noise was when strolling around Saltholme? Well now you know it's a Little Grebe (Many Thanks to Ray Scott for the photograph).

  Other interesting bird sightings this week include 18 x Red-Breasted Merganser, Scaup (East Saltholme Pool), a mixed flock of Pied Wagtail and Meadow Pipit (Haverton Gate) and Mediterranean Gull (Back Saltholme).

  There has been a small flock of Pied Wagtail around Haverton Gate recently (Many Thanks to T.Horne for the photograph).

  Finally, one of the most talked about wildlife encounters this week was the fox fight in front of the Visitor Centre Viewing Gallery.  Sticking with mammals I’ve had some great views of hare along the pedestrian pathway that runs parallel to the Phil Stead Hide.

  Cheers,

  Adam

  Posted by Adam Jones