EHRENBURG A & HOOTSMANS MJM (2007) Breeding birds and outdoor recreation in a Dutch coastal dune reserve: partners or problem?. LIMOSA 80 (1): 18-25.

In the Netherlands outdoor recreation has strongly increased since the 1960s. Waternet, manager of the AmsterdamWatersupply Dunes, needs to know whether this increasing recreation is still compatible with its responsibility for nature conservation in its dunes. We investigated whether 16 characteristic breeding bird specieswere affected by recreation pressure, by comparing trends in density over the period 1986-1996 between highly, moderately and less often visited census plots in three types of dune landscape (woodland, shrub and open dunes). The national trends of the 16 species were also taken into account. The annual number of visits to the reserve increased from c. 500,000 to 700,000 over this period.Within species and habitats, no significant effects were found, but when landscapes were pooled and species used as replicates, linear trends in breeding densities were significantly more positive in the plots least visited by leisuremakers. Also, in open dunes, breeding densities where highest in the least visited plots already at the start of the study, possibly due to recreation effects occurring before 1986.With recreation pressure still increasing, we should be aware of possibly stronger effects in the future. Therefore we will continue tomonitor breeding birds and study recreational effects.

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