Thriving Bird Life at Teesmouth and Saltholme

Wildlife Flourishes in Sanctuaries Surrounded by Heavy Industry

Feb 5, 2009 Anthony Toole

Teesside, in North-east England, is a major industrial region, consisting of oil refineries, a steel works, a nuclear power station and a large chemicals complex.

Yet co-operation between these industries, Natural Englandand the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds (RSPB) has led to the creation of two of the largest and most important bird sanctuaries in the country.

Teesmouth National Nature Reserve

To the south of Hartlepool Nuclear Power Station are the extensive mud flats of Seal Sands. These can be reached from a car park at Cowpen Marsh, on the A178 road, north of Middlesbrough. A footpath follows the south bank of Greatham Creek, where at low tide, one is likely to see grey and common seals basking on the mud. This is the only regular breeding ground for common seals between Lincolnshire and Lindisfarne.

More than 20 000 water birds visit the Tees estuary during a year. Security fencing around the industries limits disturbance, while lighting enables waders to feed throughout the night. A bird-watching hide at the south-west corner of Seal Sands gives a panoramic view across the mud flats, where large numbers of birds can be seen at any time of the year.

In winter come knot, from the Arctic, teal and shelduck. Spring brings ringed plovers, lapwing, oystercatchers, curlew, redshank and cormorants. Throughout the summer, Sandwich terns come to feed, while raptors, such as merlin and peregrine can often be spotted searching for prey.

To the south of Seal Sands, also watched over by a hide, is a brackish lagoon. This functions by allowing a controlled flow of water through a pipe in the sea wall. Invertebrates, brought in by the tides, attract redshank, curlews, oystercatchers and shelduck.

The sand dunes of North Gare, also part of the nature reserve, are readily accessible from a car park just north of the power station. Skylark and meadow pipit nest here, large flocks of lapwing and curlew stalk the pastures alongside the approach road and short-eared owls hunt the dune grasslands.

In summer, the scene is dominated by flowers, such as lady’s bedstraw, bird’s foot trefoil, vetches and orchids. These attract butterflies and moths, many of them rare, together with several varieties of beetles, spiders and snails.

Saltholme Wildlife Reserve

A little over a mile to the south of Teesmouth is the Saltholme Wildlife Reserve. Opened in January 2009 by the RSPB, this covers 380 hectares of former farm and industrial land, and is therefore larger than its neighbour. In fact it has the largest visitor facilities of any RSPB reserve.

An extensive car park stands next to an adventure playground for children. In the damp fields beyond, one may see flocks of greylag and Canada geese. A large window occupies one wall of the spacious visitor centre and affords a panoramic view across the first of more than a dozen ponds. The first floor café also has a picture window, through which one can continue to observe the birds while taking refreshments. In warm weather, one can move onto an outdoor balcony.

The visitor centre opens onto a series of footpaths and cycle tracks, which lead to several hides and viewpoints that look over the other pools, freshwater scrapes and areas of reed beds. Birds so far recorded include gulls, teal, wigeon, coot, mute swans, great crested grebes, little egrets, gadwall, mergansers, reed warblers and short-eared owls.

Saltholme has a feeling of newness about it at present, but as it matures, it is certain to become one of the most important bird sanctuaries in the North of England.

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