Guest blog by Colum Delaney, RSPB NI Policy Advocacy Officer
We were delighted to welcome Department of Agriculture Environment and Rural Affairs (DAERA) Minister Michelle McIlveen MLA to the newly refurbished West Light Seabird Centre on Rathlin Island yesterday (31 August).
The visit provided an opportunity for the new Minister to view the range of work RSPB NI is involved in on the island to protect and enhance nature.
The first stop was fields overlooking Church Bay to see the work we’ve been doing to attract the elusive corncrake back to the island. Their distinctive ‘crek crek’ call was common on the island until the late 1980s.
In recent years corncrake habitat in Church Bay has been enhanced by planting lots of nettles as early cover. A calling male was heard in 2014 and again this summer, showing the work we’re doing to give nature a home is working.
Next, we visited the scenic cliff tops of Knockans to hear about Northern Ireland’s only pair of chough and the work warden Liam McFaul and his team are doing to help improve their habitat.
Warden Liam McFaul and RSPB NI Director Joanne Sherwood (right) explain our work to the Minister and Richard Weyl (NIEA)
Finally, a trip to the West Light Seabird Centre provided a fantastic opportunity to showcase the newly refurbished visitor building, which was filled with families and individuals keen to get sight of the spectacular cliff stacks which house thousands of noisy seabirds at the height of summer.
For the first time this year, visitors have also been able to explore the unique, yet fully operational ‘upside-down’ lighthouse and learn about its history.
By the end of the 2016 season later this month, we estimate that more than 16,000 visitors will have swooped by for a visit.
Visitor information collected before the major refurbishment showed that around 60% of visitors to the centre come to Rathlin Island specifically because of the RSPB’s presence - demonstrating the value of the natural environment to local tourism and the economy.
We’re confident that this number will rise even further thanks to the recent improvements and the special place Rathlin West now holds on the Great Lighthouses of Ireland trail.
Minister McIlveen left the island with a greater appreciation of RSPB NI’s commitment to nature conservation and our passion for providing an unrivalled visitor experience for our guests.
We will be following up with the Minister on issues such as the opening of Environmental Farming Schemes, ‘Brexit’ and the Programme for Government in the near future.