BirdForum is the net's largest birding community dedicated to wild birds and birding, and is absolutely FREE!

Register for an account to take part in lively discussions in the forum, post your pictures in the gallery and more.

Reply to thread

Message: <blockquote data-quote="winkle" data-source="post: 1846353" data-attributes="member: 620">[QUOTE I remember talking to the warden who argued that any disturbance to the terns was way outbalanced by the presence of humans preventing predation by things like big gulls.  Whether this is true or not, the ultimate price we have to pay for keeping the Farnes open may be incidents like this.</blockquote>I remember reading something about this.  I seem to remember that breeding success for the Terns is higher on the Farnes than elsewhere and this is put down to the fact that the visitors keep the Gulls away.Having managed nature reserves in the past, the thing I would have liked to do the most is whack up 10 foot fences and Keep Out signs round the place.  Although great for the wildlife, would not help with getting the a value of wildlife conservation across to the wider public and this should be one of the major roles of any nature reserve.At times I thought I was managing more for people than wildlife.Yes, there will always be a price to pay for openning reserves up to the public, but suggest it is price that must be paid in the short term to accomplish the long term goals.I would also add I have probably seen as much unacceptable behaviour on reserves by birders or other 'nature lovers' as trippers.  If fact trippers, in my experience, tend to be more respectful in keeping to marked footpaths, trails and 'Please Do Not Go Beyond This Point' signage.[/QUOTE]