 |
| Irresponsible use of a drone over the rock armour off North Promenade, Cleethorpes, a favourite roosting spot for gulls and other birds |
A COUNCIL has urged drone enthusiasts not to fly their devices over areas of beach and saltmarsh where they may disturb wildlife - particularly birds.
Between next month and March, the stretch of coastline between Cleethorpes and Humberston in northern Lincolnshire will provide feeding and roosting habitat for scores of thousands of shorebirds, such as godwits, plovers and wild geese.
But they can be spooked by drones which they probably deem to be predators.
North East Lincolnshire Council has today issued a statement which reads: "Forcing birds to take flight while they are resting or feeding is very disruptive - it can even affect breeding in the following season.
"Indeed, excessive disturbance can lead to exhaustion and death."
Says NELC's portfolio holder for the environment, Cllr Henry Hudson: "Drones are becoming more and more popular as a means of getting literally a bird’s eye view of an event or a location.
"We have no objection to licensed drone use, but we do urge people to make sure they refrain from causing any unnecessary disturbance to our birds and wildlife., or accidents because of them."
NELC has published an advice leaflet at: NELC-Use-of-Drones.docx
 |
| Drone being flown over the fringes of the pools at Humberston Fitties |
Flying a drone is prohibited in some areas, like critical infrastructure and nature conservation areas, as every drone licence holder should know (it's part of the test to pass to get a drone pilot ID). If a drone pilot don't respect that, either he's not holding a proper licence to fly in public space, and then law enforcement should be called and take action, or the pilot was ignorant of the status of the land he was flying on. There are apps and the official CAA No-Fly-Zone map for drones that they should check before flying. In this case, the nature conservation authority in charge of this area could take proactive steps and request the area to be listed as a no-fly-zone for drones, at least temporarily so it will be considered a criminal offence to contrevent to. Proper signage could be applied in the surroundings too.
ReplyDelete