Presently there are no special protection measures taken to prevent disturbance to feeding and roosting waders.  Peak numbers of birds occur at times of the year when visitor numbers are much reduced.  Main feeding and roost sites are at the outer extremities of the reserve and will therefore receive less visitor pressure.  High tide roosts generally occur during the early or late part of the day, thus avoiding significant human and bird interaction.  This time and spatial zonation is absolutely critical however to the maintenance of an undisturbed roost refuge, and if visitor patterns change then associated disturbances could compromise the value of the site.

At Gibraltar Point NNR, the most frequent disturbance factors to affect feeding waders and wildfowl include walkers, dogs, and birdwatchers; horseriders and bait-diggers have also caused problems and incidents have been recorded on a casual basis.  Once disturbed, waterfowl tend to  move to alternative feeding grounds deeper in the Wash, pending the state of tide.  A certain amount of displacement will result from MOD activity, but surprisingly, the disturbance attributable to civil propeller planes, helicopters and micro-lights is much more significant.  During the mid 1990’s, the volume of such low-flying aircraft and the resulting disturbance to waterfowl was considered unacceptable.  Successful negotiation with the CAA resulted in the designation of a voluntary flight restriction of 1500ft being added to air navigation maps.  This appears to have been well respected with few subsequent incidents.

Of more recent concern, has been the increase in inshore marine traffic.  Recreational craft such as speedboats (often with water skiers) and jet-skis may cause disturbance to wader roosts as well as to common seals on adjacent haul-outs.  It is envisaged that a coastal zone management initiative would address this issue and designate appropriate areas for the various user groups.  The Trust need to work with the local authority over this issue.

Immediately south of the NNR, an area of saltmarsh is used by the Skegness and Wainfleet Wildfowlers.  Wildfowling generally occurs at low-intensity during the season, it is unlikely that bird populations are significantly impacted on through disturbance or shooting through routine activities.  Disturbance becomes an issue when wildfowlers move too close to the shoreline via the saltmarsh creeks.  During prolonged freeze conditions a voluntary wildfowling ban is usually imposed.  Birds feeding on the upper marsh, notably redshank, have usually been hit hardest by cold weather

Surveillance measures are in place to record bird numbers at roost on a monthly basis, although low-tide counts will also be necessary to determine the numbers of certain species such as redshank.  WeBS counts have been carried out on the reserve for some 30 years and give a good index of population change in key species.  The shortfalls associated with this survey are that it is reliant upon volunteer availability and is thus, mostly carried out on a Sunday morning when tidal state may be sub-optimal and disturbance factors may be greater.  Supplementary counts are carried out to gather data on the use of the roost during the highest spring tides of the month. During these critical periods there will be fewer available roost sites and the feeding grounds will remain immersed for longer.  In addition, low tide counts are carried out to gauge numbers of feeding waders, particularly redshank and ringed plover which are sporadic at the roost. Periodically, this information will be reviewed under SPA monitoring procedures to confirm the continuation of site qualification for the key criteria.

The Waterfowl and Human Interaction Study (WHIS) group has been established to oversee potentially conflicting issues in the Wash.  A baseline survey has been undertaken to establish present levels of human use at key points in the Wash where waterfowl numbers are particularly important.  In recent years there has been concern relating to increased disturbance to wader roosts on the North Norfolk coast through increased visitor pressure and new forms of unregulated recreation (Boyd pers comm).  The likelihood of such pressures increasing on the Lincolnshire side are high, particularly from watercraft.  The WHIS remit also includes investigating measures to improve waterbird counting accuracy.

In terms of habitat management, there are no measures taken on the feeding and roosting grounds, which are subject to dynamic coastal processes.  These are deemed non-intervention zones and a natural pattern of development is allowed to occur.  The influences of aggregate dredging and beach nourishment may have a strong bearing on adequate shingle supply and substrate composition on roosting and feeding grounds.  The Trust will continue to liase with EA and EN, encouraging research into these issues and ensuring adequate EIA’s are undertaken.