On the influence of military shooting ranges on the birds of the Wadden Sea

The Wadden Sea of the North Sea which are home to high concentrations of wa terfowl and shorebirds, especially during the migratory seasons are also th e sires of several air-re-ground shooting ranges and ammunition test areas. Investigations were carried out in Konigshafen (island of Sylt) and in Mel dorf Bay to find out if and in which way the military shooting causes distu rbances to the birds and how negative effects can be minimized. The reactio ns of the birds to bombing and shooting air-to-ground missiles and machine guns from low flying planes covered a wide range from continuing feeding ov er alert behaviour to spontaneous flight. Reaction intensity depended on th e sequence in which the weapons were fired (habituation if the shouting sta rted with low noise level weapons) and particularly on the ride. A strong c orrelation between the birds' reactions and the ride were also observed in Meldorf Bay (Figs. 1-5). The most intensive reactions were observed when am munition tests were conducted while shorebirds were sitting closely togethe r in large flocks on their high tide roosts. Based on the results of the in vestigations, an attempt is made to provide a survey of the main parameters influencing the behaviour of a single bird (Fig. 6). Whether shooting or a ny other disturbance causes the bird to fly away or not depends on which on e of the factors of the complex system that regulates the bird's behaviour has the strongest influence at that very moment.