Final Report Identification of Wintering Wildfowl High Tide Roosts And
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nhbm Identification of Wintering Wildfowl High Tide Roosts & Recreational Disturbance Impacts on the Taw Torridge Estuary The Skern wader and wildfowl roost gathers on the flooding tide with an angler on Grey Sand Hill ECON Ecological Consultancy Limited Unit 7, The Octagon Business Park, Little Plumstead, Norwich, Norfolk NR13 5FH Registered in England & Wales Company No. 6457758. Director: Dr Martin Perrow BSc, PhD, MIEEM, MIFM, CEnv C0mpany Secretary: Eleanor Skeate BSc Final Report © Natural England Prepared by: Richard Berridge ECON, Ecological Consultancy limited Unit 7, The Octagon Business Park Little Plumstead Norwich NR13 5FH Prepared for: Natural England RSPB North Devon Council Torridge District Council North Devon AONB Project Manager: Clare Guthrie Lead Adviser Devon, Cornwall, Isles of Scilly Area Team Natural England Exeter Version Authors Amendments Checked by Date Draft Richard Berridge 15/03/2019 Incorporation of comments Final Richard Berridge Dr Martin Perrow 10/05/2019 from project partners Contents Page 1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 1 1.1 Study area and project background .......................................................................... 1 Recreation and conservation ................................................................................................ 3 Disturbance of birds .............................................................................................................. 3 1.2 Project aims and overview ....................................................................................... 4 2 Wintering bird populations and their distribution ....................................................... 5 2.1 Aims and methodology ............................................................................................. 5 2.2 Historical population trends ...................................................................................... 5 2.3 Assessing the current situation ................................................................................. 9 Low tide WeBS counts ......................................................................................................... 9 WeBS high tide core counts ............................................................................................... 15 The distribution of birds in the winter of 2018-19 ................................................................ 18 Whole estuary populations ................................................................................................. 21 3 Identification of high tide roosts ................................................................................ 22 3.1 Aims ....................................................................................................................... 22 3.2 Methodology .......................................................................................................... 22 Engagement with WeBS counters ...................................................................................... 22 Structure of sector accounts ............................................................................................... 23 Guidance for interpreting tabulated high tide roost data ...................................................... 23 3.3 Overview of high tide roost results ......................................................................... 24 3.4 Sector accounts ..................................................................................................... 27 Sector 11485 Upstream of Bideford .................................................................................... 27 Iron Bridge high tide roost ................................................................................................... 28 Disturbance at the Iron Bridge high tide roost ..................................................................... 28 Potential management and mitigation for the Iron Bridge high tide roost ............................ 28 Sector 11484 Instow to Bideford ......................................................................................... 28 Northam foreshore high tide roost ...................................................................................... 29 Disturbance at the Northam foreshore high tide roost ......................................................... 30 Potential management and mitigation for the Northam foreshore high tide roost ................ 31 Sector 11486 Skern ............................................................................................................ 31 Skern Bay high tide roost.................................................................................................... 32 Skern Pill high tide roost ..................................................................................................... 33 Disturbance at the Skern high tide roosts ........................................................................... 34 Potential management and mitigation for the Skern high tide roosts ................................... 35 Sector 11490 White House to Airy ...................................................................................... 35 Crow Point Saltmarsh high tide roost .................................................................................. 37 Crow Point beach high tide roost ........................................................................................ 37 Crow Point groynes high tide roost ..................................................................................... 38 Disturbance at the Crow Point high tide roosts ................................................................... 39 Potential management and mitigation for the Crow Point high tide roosts ........................... 41 Sector 11493 Saunton Sands ............................................................................................. 42 Potential management and mitigation at Saunton Sands .................................................... 42 Sector 11496 Braunton Marshes ........................................................................................ 43 Braunton Marsh high tide roost ........................................................................................... 44 Disturbance at the Braunton Marsh high tide roosts ........................................................... 45 Potential management and mitigation for the Braunton Marsh high tide roosts ................... 45 Sector 11497 River Caen and Horsey Island ...................................................................... 45 Horsey Island White House high tide roost ......................................................................... 46 Disturbance at the Horsey Island White House high tide roost ........................................... 47 Potential management and mitigation for the Horsey Island high tide roost ........................ 47 Horsey Island Pills mouth high tide roost ............................................................................ 48 Disturbance at the Horsey Island Pill mouth high tide roost ................................................ 48 Potential management and mitigation for the Horsey Island Pill mouth high tide roost ........ 48 Horsey Island fields high tide roost ..................................................................................... 48 Disturbance at the Horsey Island fields high tide roost ....................................................... 49 Potential management and mitigation for the Horsey Island fields high tide roost ............... 49 Sector 11483 Isley Marsh to Instow .................................................................................... 49 Isley Marsh high tide roost .................................................................................................. 51 Disturbance at the Isley Marsh high tide roost .................................................................... 52 Potential management and mitigation for the Isley Marsh high tide roost ............................ 52 Yelland Roost ..................................................................................................................... 53 Disturbance at the Yelland high tide roost .......................................................................... 54 Potential management and mitigation for the Yelland high tide roost .................................. 54 The Black Ground and Cool Stone high tide roost .............................................................. 55 Disturbance at the Black Ground and Cool Stone high tide roost........................................ 56 Potential management and mitigation for the Black Ground and Cool Stone high tide roost ........................................................................................................................................... 57 Sector 11488 Heanton to Caen .......................................................................................... 57 Chivenor Point high tide roost ............................................................................................. 59 River Caen high tide roost .................................................................................................. 59 Disturbance at the Chivenor high tide roosts ...................................................................... 60 Potential management and mitigation for the Chivenor high tide roosts .............................