1. Part-time Warden
The minutes of the Biological Sub-Committee meeting of 21 December,
1959, record that grave disquiet was expressed by members at the
decline in the number of nesting birds and they recommended that a
Warden should be appointed. The Management Committee minutes on 29
March, 1960, record the initial concept of a part-time Warden, to be
appointed for the period 1 May to 15 July, and that an honorarium
should be paid.
During the eight breeding seasons 1960-67, Mr. William Watt, of
Gullane, has acted as part-time Warden. He has worked from 1 May until
the young terns have flown, usually towards the end of July. His
appointment is one factor
helping the tern colony to increase and a
part-time Warden should continue to be
employed.
2. Voluntary Wardens
Members of the Biological Sub-Committee are voluntary Wardens and some
have been issued with official arm-bands by the County Council.
3. Full-time Warden
No full-time Warden has been employed on the Reserve. The voluntary
Wardens can only visit the Reserve in their spare time and the part-
time Warden is on the Reserve for less than three months per year. The
bird life requires special attention during the nesting season. The
plants require protection over the whole of their flowering season
(April to September or October). Of 181 people walking off the Reserve
by the footbridge on the 29 July, 1967, 15 of them were carrying picked
flowers and one had dug up plants. Two boys coming off the Reserve on
the same day had over 80 tadpoles and two newts. The Sea Lavender, so
recently established in the Reserve (see Chapter III, section 6(c)),
has not been able to fully open its flowers in 1967 since all the
flowering spikes have been picked as soon as they showed purple. The
indications are that a section of the public feel that an unsupervised
Nature Reserve is an area where a lot of flowers are growing and where
these can be picked by anyone. It is, therefore, proposed that the Bye-
Laws should be more rigidly enforced.
In this respect, a full-time Warden, aided by a part-time Warden during
the nesting season, would be able to more effectively control the
public. In order to reduce the expense of a full-time Warden, it is
proposed that there should be a reasonable charge for using the car
park. The charges are 2/— at Longniddry and 2/6d at Gullane. About 85
per cent of drivers, entering the car park by the Peffer Burn during
the week-end at the end of July, 1967, said that they would not mind
paying a charge of 2/6d. A yearly average of at least 50 cars using the
park per week-end could be expected and about 150 cars use the park
during summer week-ends.
The proposition is that a Warden/Odd-job-man should be employed. He
could collect charges in the car park on days that this is moderately
to heavily used; he could enforce the Bye-Laws more effectively by
stopping people bringing plants or animals off the Reserve; he could
sell the booklet or leaflet about the Reserve and the possible Nature
Trail; and he could carry out work on the Reserve prescribed in this
Plan, such as control of sea buckthorn, maintenance of paths,
collection of dangerous litter and anti-erosion work in the dune system.
A Warden would require a small shelter in which to keep tools and a
supply of publications on the Reserve. This could probably be sited
with the balancing tank and pumping station of the Aberlady Sewage
scheme just beside the car park.
