MONITORING DISTURBANCE OF SHOREBIRDS AND SEABIRDS AT BUCKLEY'S HOLE SANDSPIT IN NORTHERN MORETON BAY

摘要

Human disturbance of roosting shorebirds and seabirds was examined daily for a lunar month (March 2009) at a popular recreation beach in Moreton Bay, eastern Australia. The number of birds roosting at the site varied with tide height. On tides > 2 m, up to 580 birds of 36 species used the site. Birds were disturbed over three times more often during weekend high tides (0.80 ± 0.20 vs 0.23 ± 0.05 disturbances.h~1 ± s.e.). The most common causes of disturbance were people walking alone or with pets (49.3 ± 0.6 %). Birds took flight in response to close approach by people. Flight initiation distances were low for the most common causes of disturbance (29.7 ± 1.8 m) and similar to those found in studies of other highly disturbed coastal areas. There was no detectable difference in flight initiation distances among bird species. The strength of the bird reaction varied among causes of disturbance and with speed of approach. Birds took flight or left the site on all disturbances by high speed threats such as jet skis, running pets or planes. Flight times following disturbance were mostly short (< 3 min) and appear to be below thresholds when flight costs become a concern. The results suggest that shorebirds and seabirds can adapt to short periods of intense disturbance through becoming conditioned to the activities and having a network of alternate roosts available.