Priorities....

I'm not the confrontational type, so let me make it plain at the start: I only offer a few musings about how my local RSPB reserves prioritise their activities: I'm NOT criticising any of the wonderful full-time and voluntary wardens, who probably play only a tiny part in strategic planning.

During my nearly daily walks around Strumpshaw & Buckenham, I frequently meet new visitors to the twin reserves. Almost always, these express disappointment at the low numbers of bird species they have seen. Few are fortunate enough to glimpse a Bittern, Kingfisher, Water Rail or Hobby, the only dependable species being Marsh Harrier. The most frequent adverse comments are these:
1) The hide at Buckenham is far too far from the scrape to be of any value except to shelter from the rain
2) Water levels are too high to encourage passage waders
3) Weekends are often crowded: weekdays there always seem to be working parties cutting scrub or reeds
4) The vast expanses of reed beds and hidden channels are inaccessible and could be dripping with Kingfishers / Bearded Tits / Savi's Warblers / Penduline Tits  (and Bitterns!) but the casual visitor would be very lucky indeed to see any of these.

As a 52-week regular, I know how good the reserve is: if I go a week without seeing anything special, I can generally assume I'll make up for this with something crippling sooner or later (I've seen Savi's, Red-backed Shrike, Honey Buzzard, Montagu's, a flock of 70+ Black Terns, Caspian Tern, numerous Ospreys etc etc)
But it's my belief that the majority of visiting birders (as opposed to walkers, family groups and so on) go away slightly disapponted.

Wouldn't the money apparently ear-marked for a new two-tier Fen Hide be better spent on a wader scrape with a water level maintained at a depth that would encourage passage & breeding waders and Egrets? Or on a bridge and new hide at Lackford Run? Remember: the RSPB is a charity: we members pay a lot towards the rental, administration and maintenance of the reserves. Perhaps we might be consulted at local meetings?