Twitching With Disappointment
No not facial ticks but birdwatching..
RANT WARNING - DISCOMBOBULATED OLD CURMUDGEON POST
I have had our local RSPB reserve on my Artist’s Dates list since I started my list 18 months ago. Finally I did it, took my binoculars and went birdwatching on Saturday. Something I used to do regularly before John was diagnosed with and died from terminal cancer 6 years ago. Artist’s dates are one of Julia Cameron’s Artist Way tools for writers. If I am honest it was the first thing crossed one off my list which has just sat on my desk - failed again. Unfortunately any birdwatching creativity gained dissipated the following morning.
Why you may ask? I was really pleased both with having achieved my first artist’s date and returning to Rye Meads. I left saying to the lovely RSPB woman I would return. What an idiot, the crunch came on on Sunday morning. An email arrived from my local RSPB group outlining the results of an RSPB review, it said:
Our local RSPB reserve [Rye Meads] is affected and the RSPB will cease operations there within 12 months whilst trying to find an alternative organisation to take on its management.
I googled, sorry
, to check what was going on. The Guardian and other sources comfirmed over the next 12 months the RSPB will dump Rye Meads. I was not surprised. The reserve looked tired and the visitor centre particularly had an air of decay.Why do I think Rye Meads is worth the RSPB retaining?
The RSPB describes the reserve as:
This delightful wetland reserve beside the River Lee is a firm favourite with walkers, birdwatchers, families, photographers and schools thanks to its many trails and hides.
Here are a few my own reasons:
It is near a train station that takes only 24 minutes to Tottenham Hale and the London Underground Victoria Line. Liverpool Street Station at the heart of the City of London is only 40 minutes away.
It is set on the edge a housing estate
As you mindfully watch bird you can hear the traffic from the A10 rumbling past. Surprisingly mindful sound…
As well as the road noise every so often the noise rises from the go kart track across the road from the visitor’s centre. Formerly Rye House Speedway.
At least 2 massive pylons sit within the boundaries of this small reserve
Rye House Gate House a historic grade 1 listed building sits on the edge of the reserve.
On the other side from the railway is an industrial complex.
It is smallish and easy to visit all the hides with very different habitats - 133 acres
Ok, I am not painting an idyllic picture of a bird reserve by the sea, like Titchwell and Minsmete, two of the RSPB’s ‘flagship’ reserves in East Anglia. I am painting a picture of a reserve bang slap in the middle of human life with all its destructive forces. BUT:
On to the birds - on Saturday I saw 3 Snipe, countless shovellers, gadwalls, a female golden eye, 4 egrets, tufted ducks, teal, two herons flying overhead within 10 metres, gulls, little grebe, smew and much more. Kingfishers are often be seen, but hid on Saturday.
My highlight was my all time favourite birds - a small flock of lapwing. When I first started visiting Rye Meads thirty years ago it was not so much of a thrill. Lapwings were common in this area, particularly in winter. A big flock even regularly roosted on a field next to the A10/M25 junction and were regular visitors to the fields near our home, nesting in summer. Those flocks have all gone and now if I see a solitary lapwing on the ground I know it is likely to be injured and will not survive.
I am a realist I spent my life in the voluntary sector, as a volunteer, paid worker and trustee. I know the fight for survival is hard but and it is a big BUT it should not all be about glamour, flagship projects, glossy magazines, corporate donors and the BIG campaigns. The RSPB can try to get others to take the reserve over, however it will be a struggle, local authorities have other priorities - social care, children in care, education, housing, the list is endless. Local charities don’t have the same fundraising clout as the RSPB.
Rye Meads is easily accessible from London providing opportunities for people, and schools from North London Boroughs and local people, easy access to see birds they could never see anywhere else. Plus a chance to understand that birds, like snipe, can coexist with industry, railways and human nests. Seeing the work of the RSPB in action helps make the work of the RSPB, relevant to so many more people. The sounds, smells, atmosphere even in damp weather are all important. Minsmere and Titchwell maybe flagships but are inaccessible for the majority of people.
Education & RSPB
The review also details changes to education:
We are developing a new approach to education that we believe, over time, will reach even more children and allow them to connect with nature in a much deeper way. We will be able to share more details about what this means for the way we continue to welcome schools onto our reserves in 2025.
How is closing a reserve accessible to many schools in London going to help achieve this objective? If schools aren't coming at the moment why not? Have they been asked? We are forever complaining that young people are using computers, social media too much, surely access to live birdlife at a reserve is essential, rather than just on a computer screen. Teachers are already under extreme pressure.
On the main RSPB website is written:
We have the capacity and expertise to make a difference on a global scale.
How patronising can you be? Hand in heart can we tell other countries how to keep their biodiversity healthy and protect their endangered species when one of our largest and most powerful environmental charities is prepared to allow a small reserve to decline and ultimately dump it because it is not worth the bother. Whether we like it or not we are destroying our own nature, birds are delining here are a terrifying rate, in our own back yard.
That statement also implies that the RSPB is no longer interested in small local projects/reserves. If the RSPB becomes too big and glossy will it become irrelevant to most people?
The statement goes on to say:
Our work provides clear proof that – with the right help – nature, birds and other wildlife can bounce back.
Rye Meads will not save lapwings, teal nor snipe on its own. Nonetheless it has its part to play in showing their importance to so many people from diverse communities and how nature and humans can coexist. Rather than dumping Rye Meads, look at what’s wrong, address the issues, and help the countless and dedicated volunteers who have kept the reserve open for so many years turn it round.
Prompts
Do you have a favourite bird? Describe the bird and why it is your favourite?
Do you have a peaceful place you can escape to in your memory? Describe it?
What is your mindful activity?
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That seems such a shame. Surely there must be a way to tie in regularly with schools and other children's groups to bring the place back to life. I bought The Artist's Way recently, but have yet to get beyond the introduction 🤦♀️
Excellent rant! But I was particularly delighted by the names of the birds. I had never heard of snipes, lapwings, gadwalls (oh this name really amused me) or smews!!