Not all nature is the same. Wetland birds often have limited energy reserves, particularly if they have just migrated in. They evolved to take off when they a

Not all nature is the same. Wetland birds often have limited energy reserves, particularly if they have just migrated in. They evolved to take off when they are disturbed. Increase in disturbance can have a real impact on mortality. And the habitats are often very scarce. A single site can be very important to a species and host a significant proportion of a regional population. But the only way to know is to study it. My hunch is that construction will have a lot of effect on birds close to the site (say within a few hundred metres). But actual rocketry will be less of a problem as it is currently so irregular. Also, the presence of tourists may cause a lot of disturbance and closing parts of the beach, and banning dogs (scary to birds) could help a lot. Part of the solution could be making other parts of the reserve better.