Overview

Sporting and leisure activities are common at the Northern Irish sea loughs. Human-related disturbances to foraging or resting waterbirds can come from a range of sources, from people on foot or using machines or vehicles, and from industrial or recreational activities. Such disturbances may cause birds to fly away to alternate areas or cause non-fleeing responses like increased vigilance. 

This pilot project builds on the findings of an analysis of within-site wintering waterbird trends, and provides a more targeted field-based study that directly assesses the potential responses of waterbirds to disturbance. A particular focus of the work is disturbance associated with intertidal aquaculture activities at sites across Northern Ireland, and the report seeks to set these in the context of disturbance events caused by other activities.