RECENTLY my wife and I paid a return visit to the RSPB nature reserve at Saltholme on Teesside. It now seems to be described as more of a wildlife reserve and discovery park than a bird sanctuary, but it is an astonishing place. It is now believed to be one of the best bird sanctuaries and nature reserves in this country despite being surrounded by industry. One reminder of that is the distinctive outline of Middlesbrough’s Transporter Bridge that almost overlooks this site and yet nature and the work of man seem to exist happily side by side.

Saltholme lies north of Middlesbrough in the Port Clarence area, and is easily accessible from the A178 road from Middlesbrough to Seaton Carew and Hartlepool.

We used the A19 heading north but visitors from the north could also use the A19 to head south and leave it on the approach to Bíllingham, then follow the A1185 until it joins the A178 near Saltholme.

I am also told you can hop onto the No 1 bus from Middlesbrough and perhaps one amazing fact is that entrance is free (at least it was when we were there) but we paid a small fee to park our car.

Saltholme can be instantly recognised by the lakes that surround it, some of these being the legacy of salt extraction at this location.

Standing within the site is the main building which houses an excellent café overlooking one of the lakes.

Snacks large and small can be enjoyed here while spotting birds and other creatures. There is also a shop selling everything you need from reference books to binoculars along with notices around the corridors explaining some of the sights you might find.

Outside in the expansive grounds is plenty of carparking space, benches and hides from where you can observe nature at its best.

One of the nicest features is that the hides are usually hosted by knowledgeable and helpful volunteers from the RSPB.

Their knowledge is astonishing and when we visited, we were amazed at the uncanny ability of one of the guides who was able to spot birds that we would never have seen. Not only that, he knew what sort they were and he had a telescope that he allowed us to use in lieu of our rather ordinary binoculars. I think it is fair to say that we learned more in quarter of an hour than we would have learned in weeks without his aid.

People of all ages are catered for, with children being especially encouraged to enjoy this spectacle. But there is no demand that visitors should possess an expert knowledge of birds. Far from it – here you can learn at your own pace to identify the amazing number of species that can be seen, always with experts on hand to keep you correctly informed. Literally, it is a splendid day out for all the family.

I am sure that the officials based at Saltholme could provide a list of every species of bird seen here, some being very rare and others merely passing through, but within a very short period, we spotted at least 27 varieties.

The following is a list of most types seen at the time of our visit (although we did not see them all): blacktailed godwit, bittern, smew, snipe, wigeon, teal, golden eye, curlew, little egret, redbreasted merganser, pochard, scaup, stock dove, redshank, goldfinch, tree sparrow, starlings, reed bunting, lapwings, blackheaded gulls, great crested grebe, little grebe (sometimes called dabchick), oyster catcher and pied wagtail.

We also spotted a fox that pays regular visits to the centre, usually picking up titbits dropped by birds at the feeders, and I believe that some interesting birds of prey have also been seen on the site.

Saltholme is also host to one of the largest colonies of breeding common terns, and is one of the places you will spot chiff-chaffs very soon after their arrival in the UK for their annual spring and summer holiday. When summer arrives, dragonflies may also to be seen whizzing around the waterways and then, of course, there will be a whole range of visiting new birds to seek.

I wonder if golden orioles and hoopoes ever venture this far north?

N OW that British Summer Time has been with us for almost a fortnight, I was reminded of the chore of re-setting the clocks. Perhaps the simplest to re-set among our various clocks is my grandfather clock that dates from 1790 and which continues to show the passing time.

This then reminded me of a friend who, almost 50 years ago, set himself the task of locating every long-case clock (the formal name of these old grandads) manufactured by either Hugh Pannell (1721-88) or Joshua Pannell (1757-1803). That friend is Dr David F Severs of Northallerton who discovered that Hugh Pannell was a distant ancestor and that he and his offspring had made long-case clocks in Northallerton.

David, then a colleague of mine in the police service, began to research the life of the clock-making Pannells and after discovering 67 Pannell clocks (and some from other makers working locally), he wrote and published Northallerton Clockmakers: Hugh Pannell and his Successors. This led to an increasing interest in all clockmakers in Northallerton, eventually including Stokesley, Bedale and Ripon.

His research at Northallerton in particular led eventually to another book called A Concise Guide to the Clockmakers of Northallerton and Their Clocks, published in 2008.

Even though David is always researching clock-making in those towns (not necessarily those made by the Pannells), he continues his search for more Pannell clocks. From the 67 he had discovered up to 1990, that total has now risen to 117, with Pannell clocks being recently found at Osmotherley, Glaisdale (my home village), Leyburn, Kirkbymoorside, Whitby and Marske-by-the-Sea. What is now intriguing is that more Pannell clocks are turning up in places as far apart as Denmark, Florida, San Francisco, Iowa, New Orleans and Montreal.

One surprise is that these ancient and much-loved clocks are now being found through Google via our computers. David is always interested to learn of any such clockmakers who operated in Northallerton, Stokesley, Bedale and Ripon whether or not their products are the work of the Pannells.

He tells me he is busy with a book about Ripon clockmakers and adds that, always aware of the need for crime prevention, he never discloses the precise whereabouts of a particular clock.

These wonderful old locally built clocks are very much part of our local history and heritage.

If anyone knows of any such long-case clock or its maker in any of those towns that might have escaped David’s notice, he can be contacted on dsevers@btinternet.com or tel 01609-771867.