Council's appeal to Cleethorpes watersports enthusiasts: please show a bit of respect for wildlife

Too close for comfort - shorebirds take the skies after being disturbed at high tide in Cleethorpes earlier this week

A PLEA to watersports enthusiasts to stay away from Cleethorpes saltmarsh and sandbanks has been sounded by North East Lincolnshire Council.

It has been issued to coincide with today's  (May 11) World Migratory Day, the purpose of which is to encourage respect for wildlife - particularly birds, some of which fly to our shores from as far away as the Arctic or south of the Sahara Desert.

Whether the NELC appeal will have the desired impact remains to be seen.

Just hours before it was issued, paddleboarders were spotted disturbing thousands of shorebirds, such as knot, sanderling and plovers, that had been resting or feeding on the outer beach in readiness for their long flight to breeding grounds in the Arctic.

The council does not seek to be killjoys, spoiling the fun of watersports enthusiasts - it just wants them to stay away from flocks of birds which need both to feed and to conserve energy in advance of the arduous migration flights that await.

"Cleethorpes and the Humber Estuary are designated Special Protection Area for wildlife,"says a NELC spokesperson. 

"Preventing SPA birds from feeding or roosting and causing them to take flight is a criminal offence and offenders can be prosecuted."

Birds use up precious energy as they flee the approach of watersports enthusiasts

 

Paddleboarders coasting through  a creek in the saltmarsh mean no harm but they often inadvertently frighten roosting or feeding redshank, curlew and other wetland birds