Words by Blyth Brentnall
Belfast is famous for its flocks of starlings. Crowds gather to watch and photograph the birds swooping and diving in their thousands around where they roost, on Albert Bridge.
But over time, the starlings have stopped roosting under the bridge. Conservationists suspect that this is because of development in the area, in particular, bright lighting.
Now there’s hope that the starlings will return, after the city took action against light pollution.
What a relief! How did they do it?
The city authorities reduced lighting under Albert Bridge, installed blackout screens on the street lights above, and added red filters to lights on the side of the bridge.
Conservationists who advised authorities, hope the adjustments will be enough to draw back thousands of starlings.
"Hopefully that is sufficient to say… we will begin to see larger groups back here and get the murmuration back up to the size that it was before," said Conor McKinney, a conservationist at sustainable development company Arup.
"But we can only watch and wait.”
Charity check-in
At Smiley Movement, we like to elevate the work of charities across the world. Here are three charities whose causes align with the themes in this article.
RSPCA. This is the leading animal welfare charity in the UK, and they specialise in animal rescue & furthering the welfare cause for all animals. Find out more here.
Four Paws UK. This charity is an animal welfare organisation, working globally to help animals in need. Learn more here.
Born Free. This is a wildlife conservation charity that’s passionate about wild animal welfare and Compassionate Conservation. Find out more here.
