Welcome!
The oldest local RSPB Local Members’ Group in Northern Ireland, the RSPB Belfast Local Group celebrated its 50th anniversary in 2022/2023! We work to support the Mission of the RSPB in the local community and to involve our members and the wider public in conservation, public affairs, education, fundraising and other activities. Check out our 2023-2024 season–we’d love for you to join us!
What's new?
Please join us for our next indoor meeting on 4 December, where Joe Furphy will take us through the highs and lows of his lifetime in Northern Irish conservation!
Latest news
Belfast Local Group Trip to Dundrum, 10 December 2023
Please join us for our next outing to Dundrum Bay on 10 December, followed by an optional lunch at a local restaurant. Check out our…
Belfast Local Group Meeting: 50 years of conservation work in NI, 4 December 2023
Joe Furphy will take us through the highs and lows of his lifetime in Conservation, both in his day job and as a volunteer with…
Belfast Local Group Trip to Portmore Lough, 18 November 2023
Please join us for our next group outing to the RSPB’s beautiful nature reserve at Portmore Lough on 18 November. Check out our previous visits…
Belfast Local Group Meeting: RSPB NI Campaigns Update, 6 November 2023
Ruby Free (RSPB NI Campaigning Communications Officer) will shine a light on the RSPB’s campaigning efforts and the great work of the RSPB Youth Campaigners…
From the blog
A Bird for All Seasons: What’s Afoot?
(by Robert McDowell, 4 November 2023) A recent spell of fostering a young injured Wood Pigeon set me pondering on the many uses – apart…
RSPB Belfast Local Group Outing to Floodgates Portaferry Road, 21 October 2023
By Moyra McMaster Our autumn visit to Floodgates is always a popular one to see the Canadian pale-bellied brent geese. [See our 2022 and 2021…
A Day on the North Coast
(by Robert McDowell, 7 October 2023) I have never regarded myself as a “twitcher”. Indeed, I have always considered those whom I would so describe…
A Bird for All Seasons: Feathered Ping-pong Balls
(by Robert McDowell) I was on the point of entering my car which I had earlier left in the suburbs of Belfast when a thin,…
Ask your local council to save Swifts
The Swift Brick parliamentary debate in July 2023 garnered an enormous amount of political and public support, as well as media attention and discussion; it also reiterated once more that it’s up to us to pressure our councils locally to require that ‘swift bricks’ be included in all new housing developments. This blog post will provide all the information you need to quickly contact your local council and advocate for our beloved Swifts, as well as three other species of red-listed birds: House Sparrows, Starlings and House Martins!
Avian flu is at an all-time high...
‘All the science indicates that the spread and magnitude of what we are seeing is the result of intensive animal farming, which creates ideal circumstances for diseases to thrive, mutate and spread rapidly. Northern Ireland is a particular UK hotspot for the intensive farming of birds, especially chickens.’