Daniel Newton had a meeting with the RSPB on Saturday 20th January about the ongoing problems at RSPB WoW reserve and below are the notes from that meeting:
MEETING NOTES – RSPB BELFAST WOW
SATURDAY 20TH JANUARY 2024
Present: Tim McCann Visitor Experience Manger RSPBNI; Daniel Newton NI Birds Group.
Following the fallout from recent acts of vandalism at RSPB Belfast Window on Wildlife, a positive meeting was held between Daniel Newton and Tim McCann on Saturday morning. Along with the issues surrounding the criminal damage, a number of concerns that have been raised by members of the NI Birds group were discussed and addressed.
Recent Vandalism and Access to Hide 2.
Damage to both hides have occurred in recent months. Along with graffiti, windows have been smashed and locks and door handles have been damaged. The cleaning of the former is inconvenient, the costs of the latter are steep. The Harbour Police initially advised the reserve to lock the gate to Hide 2. This was never intended to be a viable long-term solution and was agreed RSPB are doing everything to ensure a solution is reached very soon.
Since Christmas, the gate has remained unlocked. Police have reaffirmed their efforts to include the hides in their regular patrols, which is welcome. The RSPB has looked into placing cameras at both hides and, although the aim is to keep access to Hide 2 available at all hours, the proposal of key or keypad access at the gate has not been ruled out. (Note 1)
Daniel suggested that the contact details for the warden and the local police liaison should be placed in the hides so that any suspicious or criminal behaviour can be reported quickly by visiting birders.
Repair of Hide 1
The RSPB are waiting on the hide manufacturers to replace the locks on the hide doors. Vandals have been gaining access to the hide by smashing the portal window within the door. Daniel and Tim both agreed that this window was unnecessary, (Note 2) and that perhaps the best way forward would be to weld a steel plate over this access point.
RSPB site staff are also considering air-locked (Note 3) gated access to Hide 1, although, to be clear, nothing has been fully agreed or consented to as yet.
Ongoing issues with Viewing Screens
The viewing screens at WOW are sometimes unusable due to condensation (Note 4) whilst the double-glazed nature cause issues for photographers and make scope views blurry. The RSPB are actively seeking solutions from the hide manufacturers for this and are looking at maybe fitting openings into the screens to allow clear unobscured views. They are also looking at adding a viewing platform on top of the existing hide. (Note 5) Nothing has been agreed or promised yet, but the RSPB want to make it clear that they are actively looking at the area around both hides as a priority.
It was noted that birders have been using the bank behind Hide 1 to view over the screens. Daniel and Tim took a walk around the site and, at present, realise the health and safety concerns in doing this and ask birders not to do this. However, the idea of making a small, safe designated path to this point was raised and will be looked into.
Impact of Development D3
The main cause for concern with the D3 development is the track leading to Hide 2. At present, the RSPB only have access over land 1.6m from the fence. The majority of the track and the line of trees belong to D3 and it is unclear what Belfast Harbour Estate want to do with them. We both agreed that it would be a travesty if we were to lose this track and that the current temporary fencing would be an acceptable boundary. The RSPB are currently strongly petitioning the Belfast Harbour Commission to allow the RSPB to manage this area.
State of Track to Hide 2
As per the point above, the RSPB do not own the track to Hide 2. They would like to repair the path but are unable to allocate any of their budget to do so until this issue is resolved.
Water Levels
The management of RSPB Belfast WOW are keenly aware that the issue of water levels is an annual source of conflict, especially during the months of August and September when the requirements of the breeding terns need to be balanced against the desire to drop levels to allow habitat for small waders on Autumn passage. This is a fine balance and one that it is hard to judge. To answer a regular question, the RSPB can remove water using the sluice, but are unable to add water. This leads to the fear that the reserve will completely dry out as it did a few summers ago.
Daniel articulated that NI Birds Group visitors don’t wish to see levels dropped dangerously low, but just hope to see enough exposed mud for small waders such as Little Stints and Sandpipers to feed. RSPBNI staff are willing to listen to members and learn from any mistakes, but also reiterate that they have to stay within agreed site management guidelines. Hopefully we can find that balance between us. (Note 6)
Harbour Meadows
Works are currently suspended on the Harbour Meadows until the next financial year (2025). However, Tim wanted to make clear that RSPBNI site staff have big ambitions for this area, pending approval. Daniel understood that access to this area was necessarily limited but at minimum, due to the height of the hedge, an elevated observation point would be appreciated if possible. Again, this was for consideration but no promises were made.
Summary
The most important thing that Tim wanted to get across was that both himself and Aoife (the warden) represented a new broom for the reserve.
They are willing to listen to ideas for the future of the reserve and to find ways to engage the birding community. During a walk around the reserve Daniel and Tim discussed several areas where work could be done or habitat could be added. Tim wanted to make clear that his door is always open to fair and honest discussion. However, he has been trolled online by at least one member of the NI Birds community who has stepped well over the line and targeted his young daughter. This is completely unacceptable and must not continue.
It was also mentioned that they would love to start getting in birders to give presentations as they did in the distant past. The reserve has already started holding evenings for local history groups and would like members of the NI Birds group to get involved. Daniel said that he felt that there were several birders who might be more than willing to give talks, be it about local birding issues or their own birding holidays. Daniel agreed to sound out the group so, if you are interested, please contact Tim or just talk to Daniel.
Finally, Tim expressed a desire to form a small forum that would involve representatives of the RSPB management and NI Birds group to perhaps meet quarterly to discuss ongoing issues with the reserve and maintain a good dialogue between both parties. Again, Daniel agreed to sound out some local members of the group to see if this could be set up. If anybody would be interested, let him know.
What was most apparent from the meeting is that, despite differences, the RSPB and NI Birds share goals and the best way to achieve this is by a strong line of communication.
Daniel Newton
Notes:
1 Cameras were trialled a couple of years ago however the annual cost for monitoring the cameras was deemed prohibitive by Area Manager when measured against the cost of minor vandalism.
2 The purpose of this window is to permit a visitor to check if others are using the hide in advance of entry to reduce incidences of unnecessary disturbance.
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