Dear All
I am just curious to see if anyone else on Birdforum has encountered the same problem when birding in the North Cliffe area of East Yorkshire.
I was birding from the car (specifically about half way along the length of the minor road running between the A163 and North Cliffe village) this last Sunday (2nd January) whilst on my way between North Duffield Carr and North Cave YWT reserve. It’s a journey I have done many times in the past, stopping along the way to bird watch, and have encountered no previous problems.
I had been parked there no more than three minutes or so when I was approached by a young lady in a grey BMW 4x4. She completely blocked my vehicle in, even thought it was parked safely and legally, rendering me temporarily unable to move from my parking spot. As far as I am aware this stretch of road is not private and there are no highway signs indicating “no stopping”, so I wasn’t aware of breaking any laws whatsoever- I was only carrying out my usual weekend hobby of bird watching.
The young lady demanded to know what I was doing, so I explained I was a bird watching, a member of York Ornithological Club and on my way to North Cave wetlands. She informed me that there had been a number of burglaries in the area (I’m not sure if this particular individual thought I was a member of the criminal fraternity- who knows what other people think?). She asked me to move on, so I immediately moved my vehicle as requested and was practically escorted off the remaining stretch of road back to North Cliffe, even though it’s a public highway.
Although I can thoroughly appreciate that rural crime is a very serious and very real issue for residents in country areas, this whole incident has left me somewhat shaken.
I gained the distinct impression from this incident that bird watching, or for that matter even stopping your vehicle for even the shortest length of time, in the North Cliffe area is not welcome.
It will certainly make me consider very carefully whether to bird watch or even drive my vehicle at all in that particular part of East Yorkshire again.
Humberside Police and several of the appropriate authorities have been informed in writing about the incident and my concerns, so I am awaiting their response. However, I’m very interested to see if anyone else on the forum has encountered any similar problems in that particular area.
Let’s hope that this is just a one off incident- I wouldn't like to think it was the shape of things to come in rural areas….
Kind regards
Anne
I am just curious to see if anyone else on Birdforum has encountered the same problem when birding in the North Cliffe area of East Yorkshire.
I was birding from the car (specifically about half way along the length of the minor road running between the A163 and North Cliffe village) this last Sunday (2nd January) whilst on my way between North Duffield Carr and North Cave YWT reserve. It’s a journey I have done many times in the past, stopping along the way to bird watch, and have encountered no previous problems.
I had been parked there no more than three minutes or so when I was approached by a young lady in a grey BMW 4x4. She completely blocked my vehicle in, even thought it was parked safely and legally, rendering me temporarily unable to move from my parking spot. As far as I am aware this stretch of road is not private and there are no highway signs indicating “no stopping”, so I wasn’t aware of breaking any laws whatsoever- I was only carrying out my usual weekend hobby of bird watching.
The young lady demanded to know what I was doing, so I explained I was a bird watching, a member of York Ornithological Club and on my way to North Cave wetlands. She informed me that there had been a number of burglaries in the area (I’m not sure if this particular individual thought I was a member of the criminal fraternity- who knows what other people think?). She asked me to move on, so I immediately moved my vehicle as requested and was practically escorted off the remaining stretch of road back to North Cliffe, even though it’s a public highway.
Although I can thoroughly appreciate that rural crime is a very serious and very real issue for residents in country areas, this whole incident has left me somewhat shaken.
I gained the distinct impression from this incident that bird watching, or for that matter even stopping your vehicle for even the shortest length of time, in the North Cliffe area is not welcome.
It will certainly make me consider very carefully whether to bird watch or even drive my vehicle at all in that particular part of East Yorkshire again.
Humberside Police and several of the appropriate authorities have been informed in writing about the incident and my concerns, so I am awaiting their response. However, I’m very interested to see if anyone else on the forum has encountered any similar problems in that particular area.
Let’s hope that this is just a one off incident- I wouldn't like to think it was the shape of things to come in rural areas….
Kind regards
Anne