DOC REED
Well-known member
Is that a LEO?
Yes! Orange eyes rather than yellow of SEO.
Is that a LEO?
Yes! Orange eyes rather than yellow of SEO.
Going back to yesterday's trip over to Blacktoft, I'm glad to see that the RSPB have money to waste. For some reason they've put a gate at the end of the dirt path to Ousefleet hide, if some one has trespassed so far into the reserve a gate there is NOT going to stop them accessing the hide. They've also put gate where the path to Ousefleet hide goes through the hedge line close to Marshland hide and across the main entrance to the reserve just by the feeding station. Again what was the point?
Now been given permission to post these, sorry, unable to disclose sites.
Thankyou to person that put me on to them!!
Superb shots here, well done. Just out of interest, what time was it when you took these LEO shots?
Dave.
I did ask about the new gates last week. There have been several recent cases of local 'youths' driving on to the reserve in the evenings & taking potshots at the visitor centre & hides with air rifles. There's also the possibility they may ram stolen cars into the visitor centre/& or hides. It's just an attempt to minimize this form of disturbance. I'm sure they'd rather not have spent their/your money on this, but they didn't have much option the way a minority of teenagers are behaving these days.....
I did ask about the new gates last week. There have been several recent cases of local 'youths' driving on to the reserve in the evenings & taking potshots at the visitor centre & hides with air rifles. There's also the possibility they may ram stolen cars into the visitor centre/& or hides. It's just an attempt to minimize this form of disturbance. I'm sure they'd rather not have spent their/your money on this, but they didn't have much option the way a minority of teenagers are behaving these days.....
Sorry to be a soft touch guardianista but I think that its attitudes like this that drive people away from appreciation of conservation. It is unlikely that those from a poor socio-economic background are going to appreciate birdwatching but education and openess help rather than the threat of violence or imprisonment (I'm talking petty crime not violent etc etc). Im not really sure its a new thing either as I remember hides being burnt down perennially all over the country. Safety & security measures seem like sensible precautions to prevent something like the recurring situation at Lin Dyke (which is next door to pit communities with high unemployment and low prospects). It is usually boredom and frustration that cause acts like this to be carried out. What needs to happen is a social empowerment structure (not nanny stating or handing out benefits). Easier said than done. I dont like nature reserves getting messed up as much as the next person but aside from revenge - what would violence solve/cause? I suggest it would lead to further recriminations and more burnt hides and reserves being used as scrambler tracks.
James
Not the same owl as your's Dave?