Human disturbance        

Human disturbance refers to human-related activities that result in disturbance to roosting, foraging and nesting shorebirds.

Boullanger Bay

Fact - In 2001, 8 in 10 Australians (85%) lived within 50km of the coastline (ABS).

Examples of activities include: walking, dog exercise, boating (power, sail, jet boats), bait collection, fishing, off-road vehicles, jogging and picnicking.  

Impacts of human disturbance

At high tide:

• increased energy expenditure affecting the ability of birds to build fat reserves to satisfy their annual cycle (eg. moult, migration, breeding).

At low tide:

• reduced food intake, affecting the ability of birds to fulfil their annual cycle (eg. moult, migration, breeding).

During incubation and chick-rearing:

• nest abandonment
• increased predation of unattended eggs or chicks
• thermal stress to chicks
• increased vigilance among parents resulting in reduced time spent foraging and /or in allocation of less food to chicks

Assessing human disturbance

Before deciding on a management response, it is important to understand:

• What activities are causing the disturbance
• How activities are causing disturbance (ie. the impact on the birds)
• Who is causing the disturbance
• When the disturbance is occurring

Knowing the ‘What, How, Who and When’ will determine which management response(s) are most appropriate.

Monitoring
Monitoring disturbance will allow for before and after comparisons, making it possible to evaluate the success of any management response.

To answer the questions raised above – What, How, Who and When – it advisable to monitor:

• Human activities
• Disturbance
• Beach Users/Visitors

Monitoring human activities
Roebuck Bay Beach Users Form (Broome Bird Observatory)
Cheetham Wetlands Human Use Surveys (BirdsAustralia)
Cheetham Wetlands Sandpad Surveys and Evaluating the use of Sandpads as a Survey Technique (Birds Australia)

Monitoring disturbance
Roebuck Bay Disturbance Form (Broome Bird Observatory)
Stockyard Point Disturbance Form (Bird Observers Club of Australia)

Monitoring Beach Users
Roebuck Bay Shorebird Questionnaire (Broome Bird Observatory)
NW Tasmania Beach Visitor Survey (Fiona Spruzen)

Minimising human disturbance

Depending on the nature of the disturbance - What, How, Who and When – there are a range of options available to trial.

Strategies can be broadly categorised as:

• Education and awareness raising
• Planning and regulation
• On-ground habitat management

Within these strategies, particular activities might include:
Awareness raising: eg. signs, brochures, postcards, media, shorebird site network listing,
Education: eg. talks, guided walks,
Planning and regulations: eg. zoning, by-laws, habitat mapped and incorporated in the local government planning scheme and development assessment processes,
On-ground habitat management: eg. site wardens, fencing, bollards, gates, seasonal/part beach closures, walkways/interpretive trails.