Yahoo News Newcastle birdlife scheme hits fundraising goal ahead of target
A wave of support for a bid to establish a Tyneside nesting colony for birds arriving from their African wintering grounds means that the scheme will now go ahead.
A crowdfunding appeal to pay for the building of a sand martin nesting bank where the Ouseburn meets the Tyne in Newcastle has reached its £6,000 target in double quick time. Work will now start early next year by a specialist conservation company at an approved site after the birds used crevices in a sandstone wall for nine nests between the Free Trade Inn and the Newcastle Quayside cycling hub.
The appeal was launched by Ouseburn-based Wild Intrigue on October 30 and has hit its target with 18 days still to go, with the Aviva Community Fund doubling donations up to £250. Encouraged by the response, Wild Intrigue, a community interest company which hosts events and projects to celebrate, conserve and restore local wildlife, has added a “stretch” goal of another £2,500 to pay for added features.
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“The level of support has been incredible and we can’t believe how quickly we have reached the original target. It is people saying we want wildlife in the city and we want more of it,” said Wild Intrigue co-director Heather Devey.
Newcastle-Gateshead already has the world’s furthest inland kittiwake nesting colony. “It all shows that although the city is built up and heavily engineered, wildlife will find a way and will thrive if we provide the opportunities,” said Heather.
“This year the birds delighted visitors and residents along the Quayside and Ouseburn who watched their captivating flights and family moments from the footpath,” said Wild Intrigue co-director Cain Scrimgeour.
The bank will include 48 artificial nesting chambers for the birds, which make a journey of more than 2,500 miles to reach the Tyne as early as March, plus a green roof and a solar powered sand martin call system to attract prospecting birds. There will be a locked, rear access to enable licensed ringing and monitoring by the Northumbrian Ringing Group, along with winter cleaning and maintenance.
If the stretch target is reached, this would provide a solar-powered 4G camera to help monitor the colony and support for the Northumbria Ringing Group through the purchase of a 20-foot mist net and rings. Another benefit would be a public exhibition of sand martin ecology and migration and creative writing and photography activities in response to the sand martin colony.
Licensed bird ringer Andy Rickeard said: "An artificial nest site for sand martins at the mouth of the Ouseburn represents an excellent opportunity to extend and increase the colony that has established itself in the sandstone wall.
“If successfully occupied, it could be monitored in a number of different ways and ringing birds at the colony would allow them to be identified as individuals. A ringing project could establish the origins of any birds previously ringed elsewhere, as well as allowing the study of site fidelity if adult birds returned year on year. “
Sand martins search for vertical banks of sand to create their nest burrows, a traditionally have used riverbanks and sea cliffs. But due to the channelisation and modern engineering of waterways, natural nesting opportunities for sand martins have become increasingly limited.
