Upton Warren (3 Viewers)

[Phil Andrews]

Sorry Phil but this is ridiculous. The paths may not permit one-way traffic but they are wide enough to allow people to pass with the chance of the virus being passed on in that half a second of passage in the open air being nil. WMBC left their hides open with each hide being risk assessed and the maximum number for each hide ,generally two or three, being posted on the outside ,in other words people were treated like grown-ups and it has worked. This is risk-aversion to the nth degree.

Some paths are wide enough eg the causeway and west track at the Moors, but others such as the boardwalk / track to the Flashes, the final stretch to the Moors Pool east hide or the path along the Salwarpe are not wide enough to permit 2 metre social distancing. Whilst the hides could be assessed for a safe capacity what happens if you reach the hide and it's full; there are no circular walks to take you elsewhere. You can either turn on your heel and retrace your steps or loiter for an indeterminate time until someone leaves. Having been subject to previous insurance claims from reserve users the Trust is naturally/overly cautious in ensuring it provides a Covid safe environment. Perhaps any reduction in social distancing will give the Trust the opportunity to review it's risk assessment.

 

[Kimbo52]

Reserve closure

Unfortunately I can't resist the urge to comment further on the continued closure.
Phil is doing a splendid job of defending what now appears to be the indefensible and presumably adhering to the collective responsibility commitment. It would be interesting to know if he holds the same views personally. I agree with the Harborne Flyer that the continued closure is ridiculous given that most if not all of the other reserves have been open for a while. It is true that Upton is different in that it has several hides but these could be locked and the rest of the reserve i.e. the footpaths could be opened subject to sufficient signs reminding the need for social distancing. This would be a sensible interim half way house measure. I had a long [perfectly amicable] chat with the reserves team leader on 28 May to put the case for re-opening. By this time pretty much all other reserves had opened and I was curious to know how the Trust saw the difference between walking around Trench Wood for example and walking around the north Moors path. Not really sure I got an answer. The overriding point for me boils down to this : If the footpaths were opened and people didn't feel safe visiting - well presumably they wouldn't - it ain't compulsory. The reserves manager suggested that without the opening of the hides there would be little point in visiting. Whilst the hides are there for an obvious reason they aren't the be all and end all. The volunteer work party expends some of its resources creating screens and viewing points by lowering sections of hedge in several different places. This is done in part to take the pressure off the hides. Where Phil refers to the Trusts risk aversion based partly on previous litigation this has been to the best of my knowledge in relation to physical injuries sustained on the reserve in conjunction with inadequate provision [at the time] of warning signs. If catching the virus at Upton was a valid concern [short of the most spectacular irresponsible recklessness I don't see how] how, after the accepted incubation period would anyone be able to prove it. Finally, anyone who was minded to visit when opened, and walk the reserve would also be able to decide for themselves whether to wear a mask and latex gloves as anyone with any sense does when visiting their supermarket.

 

[Kimbo52]

ps - forgot to thank Phil for posting the sightings stats yesterday for the closure period so far. But of course it is a two edged sword. Some will thinks it's great to have the info - others might think its rubbing salt in the wounds. There are at least three birds on the list that I am fairly upset about not being allowed to see.

 

[Phil Andrews]

Interestingly I ran a poll on the West Midlands Birding Facebook page that I co-run regarding this topic following some argy bargy with the recent Broad-billed Sandpiper at Middleton Lakes.

12% said they didn't want to hear such news, 2.1% wanted news published despite of any closures / restrictions and 85.9% still wanted to hear of retrospective news. I would be so bold to suggest the percentages wouldn't vary greatly with the users of Birdforum.

 

[upstarts1979]

for those interested...Paul and myself have literally just had to deal with 4 scallies canoeing on the Moors pool....the police were called but never arrived even though it was 999 call.....so we sorted.. I sometimes wonder why I bother. Hope you can all get back asap....

 

[Julie50]

Hi John,

I hope you have had some good experience as well as rubbish like this!

Cannot wait to get back

Keep up the good work!

 

[Phil Andrews]

Well done John and Paul

 

[Kimbo52]

Hi John - Well done, hopefully no long term impact. Venture to suggest it wouldn't have happened if the reserve was open.

 

[Kimbo52]

Further, I think it is incredibly unfair to expect you and Paul alone to deal with this kind of crap. Even more so as the cops were obviously no help.

 

[the Harborne Flyer]

Some paths are wide enough eg the causeway and west track at the Moors, but others such as the boardwalk / track to the Flashes, the final stretch to the Moors Pool east hide or the path along the Salwarpe are not wide enough to permit 2 metre social distancing. Whilst the hides could be assessed for a safe capacity what happens if you reach the hide and it's full; there are no circular walks to take you elsewhere. You can either turn on your heel and retrace your steps or loiter for an indeterminate time until someone leaves. Having been subject to previous insurance claims from reserve users the Trust is naturally/overly cautious in ensuring it provides a Covid safe environment. Perhaps any reduction in social distancing will give the Trust the opportunity to review it's risk assessment.

This is really the problem with Upton Warren; it's too small. Had the Trust over the years bought some of the adjacent farmland it could have just been left to "rewild" naturally with a trail around it to allow visitors to stretch their legs rather than being funnelled into hide as at present. This would have provided a different range of habitat for birds and insects .A larger and more varied reserve would be a showpiece for the county.

 

[Phil Andrews]

I wouldn't disagree HF but "we are where we are", we need to work with what we have got whatever it's limitations

 

[rollingthunder]

It seems that good old common sense and the fact that, hides apart, people do not generally approach less than a ‘yard and 3 inches’, is being relegated to a thing of the past by the Nanny State. People can riot and chuck public property in the river but law-abiders cannot go for a B or access a bird reserve:C

Keep the hides closed if the Trust are still puckering up and allow access elsewhere - i can carry a light set of steps to see onto the mud without causing any disturbance.

If 2 people can be given access then 20+ can imho...

Good birding -

Laurie:t:

 

[Phil Andrews]

This isn't some sort of jolly - Paul and John are undertaking a vital role in safeguarding the reserve (as per John's message of tackling 4 individuals a third of his age (plus a dog) canoeing in the Moors Pool. Talk of creating other viewing areas is inappropriate - we have sensitive Schedule 1 species nesting and disturbance is not welcome. There is no real way of controlling numbers on the reserve given its popularity.

I feel after 9400 posts on this thread that my involvement has come to a natural conclusion. I will continue to post and relay bird news via Twitter until I find another suitable platform to showcase this wonderful reserve.

 

[rollingthunder]

Sorry if i caused you to prickle Phil - i was not implying that it was a jolly. I am merely stating that maybe the time has come to allow members to bird from the pathways. There are a number of vantage points for general birding iirc that would cause no disturbance to birds scheduled or otherwise. A slight increase on site might prove beneficial particularly with Aztec opening up?

I am sure that a large % of regular users of UW, of a certain age, will still not visit if the hides remain closed to general visitors but a few would pop in and be around to listen, look, and possibly be of assistance via mobile phones in situ?

Laurie:t:

 

[Kimbo52]

Closure

Surely not the time to throw your teddy out of the pram - yet, Phil. You have had a sort of apology from the author of the post that you have reacted to. On the other hand if you can't take what you perceive as a bit of heat maybe it is time to get out of the kitchen. The use of the forum has declined massively in favour of twitter recently anyway, which for those of who choose to abstain from the baser forms of social media, is a shame. I don't think for a minute anybody is on a jolly but the comments on both sides of the argument reinforce my point that John and Paul should not have been asked, or agreed, to police the reserve on their own.
This growing vexation that has been caused is down to the Trust and only the Trust in singling out Upton for continued closure added to by disclosures of what is happening to the place in the absence of regular accredited visitors.
Perhaps there is some hidden agenda that those of us outside the loop have missed - e.g. pandering to the residents of Lakeside Court ?

 

[Julie50]

Hi Phil,

I do not do twitter, for a number of reasons. Please do not stop with this thread, I for one value your input and you have helped me greatly over the last few years with IDs and info.

Julie50

Can I also add, that it may be that the Worcester WT have only not opened UW, but there are other WT reserves still closed for a variety of reasons, we need to be sensible here I think!

 

[Adrian k]

On the hides being closed

It's simple if it's not safe for everyone then don't open them.

Many thanks John & Paul for doing a great job.

 

[Julie50]

Phil I sent you a pm - but your box is full - so you did not get it

 

[wheatearlp]

To those complaining about the continued closure of the reserve, there is little point in venting your spleen on this forum, other than perhaps as a way to get things off your collective chests.

The decision as to whether or not to re-open the reserve rests with the Trust. Not John. Not Paul. Not Phil... nor any of you lot.

John & Paul have been asked to visit to carry out certain tasks, including turning away hopeful visitors or those abusing the reserve. This they agreed to do, in no small part due to their own concerns as to what may be happening on the reserve with no-one visiting. This concern was, I understand, echoed by some of the residents at the Moors. So, far from using the current circumstances to try and restrict visitors, they'd welcome the presence of people as it keeps 'undesirables' away. Not something we, or they, had perhaps considered likely?

If anyone continues to have an issue with the reserve being closed I suggest they take it up with the Trust & not with those doing a difficult job in the circumstances in which they find themselves. Nor with someone who has spent a considerable amount of time keeping this thread going.

 

[rollingthunder]

I class it as constructive criticism - not moaning or bitching.

Everybody has their own opinion on how this has been handled but it is fairly obvious to me that we are playing catch-up. Perhaps Bozza’s ‘brush with death’ is clouding his own judgement? I am no expert and have not studied Classics at Oxbridge but i would not have gone around hugging people.....i don’t - infected or otherwise

People, everybody i talk to, are fed up with being treated like children. Everybody has their own ‘personal space’ - a metre is not a bad average. I do not sit on a bus or a train next to somebody nor do i use a urinal without a gap between users. I cycle to bird and people well ahead back off or move to one side. All this is done down at places like UW and well before the ‘Chy-nah Virus’. Based on what people’s normal MO is and what is happening elsewhere the Trust need to pull their finger out imo.....

I know a good few birders that only subscribe to the Trust in order to use UW. Most work full-time and particularly at this time of year a weekly fix down at The Goldfish Bowl is the highlight of that week. Birders are an understanding lot and nobody would ask for a partial refund but there are not many services, if any, at the moment that you would fund and not allow it to be used.

Trust staff read this - indeed it will generate a response from them i am sure. I hope so because they are all working from home so they are supposed to still be gainfully employed or have they been furloughed with Bozza picking up the tab? I sent an email several weeks ago with regard to some background information about the little-known, or visited Chance Wood near Kinver, i got an automated response and nothing else since.

As for Phil, i hope it wasn’t my comments that upset him as it was certainly not my intention - i have enough bad press on this thread as it is. His input and specialised interests as resident ‘Statman’ is invaluable:t: Phil is also very diplomatic in his postings and i am hoping he might actually say hello to me when we next pass at UW

Good birding -

Laurie:t: