Humber Estuary Low Tide Count Programme 2003-2004 (ENRR656)

The Humber Estuary is ranked as one of the top six sites in the UK for waterfowl. Information on, and management of the bird populations on the estuary rely heavily on data derived from the WeBS Core Counts survey scheme also known as the WeBS High Tide Count programme. The WeBS scheme provides sector-based data for the estuary as part of a co-ordinated national counting scheme. In order to gain a more accurate assessment of low water activity, the WeBS Low Tide Count scheme was initiated in the winter of 1992/3 with the aim to census the main UK estuaries at low water on a seven-year rotational basis. Covering the whole of the Humber from Goole to Spurn Point on the north bank, and past Grimsby and Cleethorpes down the coast as far as Mablethorpe on the south bank, the Low Tide Count programme has involved 45 local birders who individually or in groups, and on a voluntary basis, covered 40 sections along the estuary.