Disturbance of roosting shorebirds on the Exe estuary: another case where attention to detail is important

Abstract

An application was made during the winter 2014-15 to upgrade the sea defences at Exmouth Pier Head at the mouth of the Exe estuary, UK (Figure 1). No waders occurred in the site. However, waders sometimes roosted at the north-eastern end of the Dawlish Warren Nature Reserve which lies on the opposite side of the estuary’s mouth to Pier Head (Fig. 1). Accordingly, there was concern that the construction activities at Exmouth would disturb roosting waders during the winter months when they may sometimes be hard-pressed to balance their energy budget, as exemplified by the European Oystercatcher Haematopus ostralegus L. on the Exe estuary itself (Goss-Custard et al. 1996) and more widely across its winter range (Goss-Custard & Stillman 2020). Very few birds were thought likely to be disturbed over low tide when the birds were foraging because most of the feeding grounds within the estuary and along the adjacent coast were >1km from Pier Head at which distance the sound would have been greatly attenuated (see below).