Are the RSPB being disingenuous with their claims about their Geltsdale reserve? The charity have been busy this week, promoting their ‘bold new vision’ for making the area a ‘Pennines paradise for nature’ amid an ‘epic restoration’. “Our new vision for RSPB Geltsdale builds on the ongoing success of conservation efforts on the nature reserve,” they claim, with plans to create a thriving natural sanctuary which will support hen harriers, black grouse, and otters.
What the charity choose not to recognise publicly, but their staff members on the ground acknowledge, is the fact that a main reason why Geltsdale can claim its successful conservation efforts is due to the fact that this RSPB reserve is an island surrounded by moorland managed by gamekeepers.
Other RSPB reserves struggle to protect their birdlife – like RSPB Burton Mere where their avocets are being wiped out by badgers. Or at Lake Vyrnwy where numbers of golden plover, lapwing, curlew, red grouse and black grouse have plummeted since the RSPB took over. In fact, Lake Vyrnwy was famous for its upland birds when the charity took control nearly 40 years ago, and was an historic black grouse stronghold. Under the RSPB’s 'hugely successful' stewardship, black grouse have virtually disappeared.
At Geltsdale however, things are going better. The RSPB claim that 2022 survey found 94 breeding bird species, including 73 Curlew territories, nine Merlin nests and 25 pairs of Short-eared Owl. In 2023 the first Nightjar was recorded and in 2024 eight Hen Harrier chicks fledged from two successful nests, the highest number for 20 years.
What the RSPB don’t want to mention is why these birds are thriving here, but facing eradiation on other RSPB-managed reserves. The answer is because all the land surrounding Geltsdale is managed moorland, enabling wildlife – including many rare species of ground-nesting birds – to thrive both on the managed moors, and the RSPB island in the centre.
The truth about the management at Geltsdale is slightly different; the area which they have now bought was, we understand, already under RSPB management, meaning that this purchase will make no difference to the management regime.
What the purchase does mean, however, is that along with the ‘good news’ announcement, the RSPB can make yet another call for money. “We need your support to make this vision a reality, which is why we have launched a fundraising appeal. Could you help with a donation?”, they ask. If only the vast amounts of money they have received in the past had actually made any positive difference to the birds they claim to protect.