HOW CLEETHORPES' MIGRANT SHOREBIRDS HAVE LOST OUT TO ANGLERS AND JET-SKIERS

Territory grab - sea anglers have taken over at the birds' favourite roosting location 

SPARE a thought for those shorebirds for which the rock groyne at the north end of Cleethorpes Promenade  was formerly a disturbance-free place where they could roost at high tide.

They have now been displaced after losing out to human recreation.

It is at this same location - at high tide -  that jet-skiers now launch and land their machines from the beach.

More recently, the end of the groyne has become a favoured location for sea anglers fishing for flounders and what ever else might bite.

Shorebirds that used to roost on the rocks here include gulls, of at least four species, turnstone, knot, redshank, dunlin and occasionally rare purple sandpipers.

This weekend, a statement was released by North East Lincolnshire Council, which has a duty to safeguard the Cleethorpes and Grimsby habitats of shorebirds - many of which breed in northern Scandinavia or Greenland and spend autumn and winter in Cleethorpes where it is warmer.

The statement reads: "Cleethorpes plays a vital role in one of the largest mass migrations on the planet.

 "Hundreds of thousands of wetland birds arrive on our coast at this time of year after an exhausting journey from the Arctic Circle.

"They are here to feed and rest - and if they are disturbed it can mean they don’t make it back to their breeding grounds in spring.

"Beach visitors and water sports enthusiasts can help them over winter  by keeping dogs under control and staying away from areas populated by shorebirds, including the saltmarsh and sandbanks.

"There are very few places in Britain where people can see these birds so closely as at Cleethorpes." 

Cllr Stewart Swinburn, NELC's portfolio holder for the Environment, adds "Anything that spooks the birds, such as a dog running loose or a speeding jet ski, causes them to take flight and waste valuable energy reserves.

"This means they might not make it back to the Arctic in the Spring and puts their numbers at risk."

He added: "Preventing birds from feeding or roosting and causing them to take flight is a criminal offence."

Redshank have lost a place where they could snooze undisturbed

Signage is routinely disregarded

Jet-skiers and speedboats have frightened away the birds

* Find out more about the role Cleethorpes plays in the East Atlantic Flyway by watching the Humber Nature Partnership’s Wild Humber video at www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5rxQMkUftU