An assessment of the Bunduff machair habitat and its utilisation by wintering waders

Recent publications by the National Parks and Wildlife Service and BirdWatch Ireland have expressed concern at the decline of breeding waders and the variable status of wintering waders associated with machair habitats. During the period of October 2012 to January 2013, a winter wader count was conducted at a machair site at Bunduff Lough in Mullaghmore, County Sligo. A survey of human site use was carried out and habitats were mapped and classified. Human related activities were found to be of high occurrence and widely distributed across the site. This resulted in few areas of the site where wintering waders were not subject to disturbance. Recommendations to mitigate against the potential impact of disturbance on waders include the development of an area of restricted recreational access coupled with clearly marked pathways and signage to encourage a managed site use in which the public may play an active role.