Do fences protect birds from human disturbance?

Outdoor recreation and ecotourism are becoming increasingly popular, but such human activities are not entirely benign to birds. One way to manage wildlife habitats is to restrict public access with a fence or some similar barrier, under the assumption that this provides wildlife with a refuge from human activities. We tested this assumption by measuring the responses of 10 species of birds at a site containing a fence with a relatively large number of visitors on only one side. We compared these responses to those at a less-visited, control site. Responses were measured by quantifying flight initiation distance (FID), the distance birds would allow a human to approach before fleeing. Overall, we found birds on the protected side of the fence responded similarly to birds at the low visitation control site, and significantly differently from birds at the high visitation site. Our results suggest that by reducing the number of humans and providing areas of refuge within highly visited habitats, protective barriers allow birds to behave as they would in an undisturbed environment. (C) 2003 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.