It’s more important than ever to give space to shorebirds
01 Nov 2024
The status of familiar shorebird species that can be found on the Northumberland coast has just been re-classified by scientists who are looking into global bird declines.
The International Union for the Conservation of Nature (IUCN) are the authors of the international red list of species threatened with extinction and they have recently announced that turnstones and dunlins are considered to be “near threatened” with extinction, joining curlew and oystercatcher in this unfortunate status.
This is a change from their previous status of ‘least concern’, that has been brought about due to global declines of 20-30% since the start of the century.
Space for Shorebirds, the council’s coastal wildlife ranger service, has a special role protecting wildlife by helping beach users to be aware of the birds that share our coastline.
Senior Wildlife Ranger, Richard Willis, said: “These are birds that come to Northumberland in the autumn and spend the winter and early spring here, before migrating thousands of miles north to breed.
“It’s easy to consider them commonplace on our beaches and forget the pressure that they are under to survive through the winter. The turnstone population here is internationally important so we have a big responsibility to ensure that they can feed and rest peacefully on our rocky shores.
Councillor Colin Horncastle, Cabinet member for Looking after our Environment, said: “The council is committed to ensuring that people have the homes they need and that the tourism industry can thrive, but at the same time we are determined to ensure that important wildlife is protected, which is often a reason why people love Northumberland.
“It is with local action, such as the work being done by Space for Shorebirds, that globally threatened bird species can be protected. Having taken on an extra ranger recently shows how seriously the council takes this responsibly.”
To help shorebirds during the autumn and winter beach users are asked to look out for groups of shorebirds and give them space.
Richard explains: “If a bird is disturbed many times during a day, it wastes valuable energy which it doesn’t have time to replace, harming its chances of survival.
“So while these declines are very concerning, people can help by giving the birds 40-50m of space so that they can feed and rest without being disturbed. Another great tip is when space is limited at high tide to consider using the Northumberland coast path instead of the beach.
“We talk to beachgoers every day, and find that both residents and visitors are keen to learn about the shorebirds they see and extraordinary lives they lead – some breed in places where there are more polar bears than people.”
Heightened concern about grey plovers and curlew sandpipers has also led the IUCN to change their status to “vulnerable” to extinction. While these species are less frequent than turnstone or dunlin, they can both be seen on the Northumberland coast.
If you want to learn about Northumberland’s shorebirds visit www.spaceforshorebirds.co.uk or join rangers on a Shorebird for Beginners guided walk.