3.1 Part 1 Descriptive
3.1.1 Introduction
Aberlady Bay Local Nature Reserve is important for three reasons. Firstly, it is situated very close to a centre of population, and it therefore has great potential educationally, both for school teaching and for teaching at a more advanced level. It is suitable for teaching such subjects as physical geography, geology, ecology and general natural history.
Secondly, the Reserve provides a winter refuge for wildfowl. Together with Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve, wildfowl shooting is controlled by permit. Aberlady Bay was the first place in Scotland where any control of wildfowl-ing had been attempted. The following is an extract from a Nature Conservancy report (Wildfowling at Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve, The Nature Conservancy, Edinburgh, second edition, November, 1964): 'Shooting, except by permit, has been prohibited since 1953 and in March, 1955, the validity of Bye-Laws to control shooting on the foreshore was confirmed by the Lord Justice-Clerk. Although permits to shoot were issued before 1957—58, it was not until that season that a formal system of issuing was introduced, requiring a return on birds shot and the number of visits to the Reserve.... Permits are generally issued to shoot wild duck only, although in 1959-60 and 1962- 63 geese, mainly pink-footed, were also permitted to be shot. There are no short period permits, all permits being issued for the whole season which, because the shooting area is entirely below H.W.M.O.S.T., extends from 1st September to 20th February.'
Thirdly, the sand dunes near Jovie's Neuk, in the north of the Reserve, should be considered as an example of one of a series of dunes occurring around the coasts of Scotland. The following extracts are taken from a Nature Conservancy report (General Introduction to Dune Reserves in Scotland, Tentsmuir Point National Nature Reserve Management Plan, Nature Conservancy):
'The main scientific interests of the dune systems are physiographical and botanical, particularly the closely linked processes of sand accretion and plant colonisation. These are controlled to a greater or lesser extent by the following factors which determine the variations of topography and vegetation in each area:
(1) geographical position (including structure of adjacent coastline, aspect, exposure to direction of maximum wave fetch, past changes in sea level);
(2) supply and composition of sand, especially shell content;
(3) climate (especially wind direction and force, and rainfall);
(4) land use (modification of natural habitat by cultivation, afforestation, grazing or military use).
'A broad division can be drawn between the east and west coasts. Much of the east is composed of sedimentary rocks and is low lying where traversed by the firths or estuaries of the main rivers which transport large quantities of sand and other deposits. The most extensive dune systems of Scotland occur here, near the Forth, Tay, Moray and Dornoch Firths and in parts of Aberdeenshire. The west coast, formed of more resistant igneous and metamorphic rocks, is generally more rugged and lacks large estuaries with offshore sandbanks or bars.... Differences in the topography of east and west coast dunes are due mainly to wind factors. With full exposure to the westerlies there is continued movement of sand inland, a complex system of unstable dunes and blow-outs and often high dune ridges. On parts of the east coast where the prevailing west winds oppose the easterly dune- building winds, parallel dune ridges develop, with lower relief, greater stability and more rapid lateral accretion.
' Differences in the vegetation of east and west coast dunes are due mainly to differences in the composition of the sand. The shell-sands of the Western Isles contain more than 50% calcium carbonate, compared with less that 2% in the mineral sands of the east coast. This has little effect on the unstable dunes which in all cases are colonised mainly by Marram (Ammophila arenaria), but inland of these an acid heath rapidly develops on the east coast dunes, in contrast to the rich dune pasture of the Hebrides. Lichens are characteristic of the acid area, giving rise to the "grey" dunes of the east coast where bryophytes are important colonisers....
'Twelve dune systems around the Scottish coast have been chosen to illustrate the range of dune forms and vegetation. The location of these is. ...
1. Aberlady Bay (East Lothian). The Aberlady dunes, rising to 200 feet, are part of a long stretch of sand-dunes formed along the south side of the Firth of Forth. The dunes are higher than those of Tentsmuir in Fife due to exposure to west winds, which are causing some erosion at the seaward edge. There is a sizeable area of salt marsh and hardly any development of parallel dunes and slacks. The landward dune areas have suffered from public pressure and transformation to golf courses.'
It can thus be seen that Aberlady Bay Local Nature Reserve has two characters — education and conservation. The conservation aspect makes the Reserve particularly important in that it is a link between areas managed for wildfowl refuges and for preservation and research on sand dune systems.
3.1.2 General information
The Aberlady Bay Nature Reserve (National Grid Reference NT 455814) is situated on the south shore of the Firth of Forth, in the west of the County of East Lothian. It is approximately fourteen miles east-north- east of Edinburgh, and six miles north- north-west of Haddington.
To the north-west the Reserve is bounded by the Firth of Forth. The southern boundary is a track, near the high water mark of ordinary spring tides, to the north of the Kilspindie Golf Links and Aberlady. To the east, the Reserve is bounded by the Luffness and Gullane Golf Links. The Reserve comprises two sections. The largest, about three quarters of the area, is the Gullane Sands or Aberlady Bay, an area of sand and mud, exposed at low tide, forming the estuary of the Peffer Burn. To the east of this bay is an area of dunes, grassland, freshwater marsh and saltings, which is from one eighth to one third of a mile broad, and just under two miles long. To the south of the bay the foreshore contains many interesting geological exposures.
The Reserve was declared by the East Lothian County Council on 14 July, 1952.
The minutes record'... the Council resolved to make the following declaration to be known as the Aberlady Bay Nature Reserve Declaration:
that the land extending to 1439 acres or thereby at Aberlady Bay in the parishes of Aberlady and Dirleton and County of East Lothian, as described in the appendix to the Principal Minutes, is the subject of agreements entered into in terms of Sections 16 and 21 of the National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, 1949, and is managed as a Nature Reserve in terms of Sections 19 and 21 of the said National Parks and Access to the Countryside Act, 1949.'
The agreements were made with the owners of the land and their tenants. The northern section of the land east of Aberlady Bay is owned by Gullane Golf Club (Secretary: R. L. Balfour- Melville, Esq., Gullane Golf Club, Gullane); and the southern section of this land by Colonel A. J. G. Hope, Luffness Estate Office, Aberlady (Factors: Messrs. Blair, Cadell & Macmillan, W. S., Edinburgh), and the tenants are the Luffness (New) Golf Club. The strip of land to the south of Aberlady Bay is owned by Wemyss Landed Estates Co., Longniddry, and the Kilspindie Golf Club are tenants.
Bye-Laws were confirmed by the Secretary of State on 7 October, 1952. Following a legal dispute arising from the wildfowling interests, two further Bye-Laws were confirmed by the Secretary of State on 12 February, 1954, following a public enquiry at Haddington.
There is no restriction on public access to the Reserve. There is a footbridge over the Peffer Burn (Plate 9) from the A198 about half a mile east of Aberlady (NT 472806). A car park adjacent to this bridge has a maximum capacity of twenty-three cars, and cars are frequently parked on the verge of the A198 when this car park is full. Access to the landward section of the Reserve can also be obtained from the Gullane dunes near the Hummel Rocks (NT 465831); from the Gala Law quarry, with very limited car parking facilities, on the A198 approximately one and a half miles east of Aberlady (NT 476815); and from the Gullane and Luffness Links. Access to the southern side of Aberlady Bay is by a footpath running from Aberlady Green (NT 465802) to Gosford Bay (NT 449789).
A limited number of permits to shoot duck on a section of the Reserve are issued during the shooting season in accordance with Bye-Law 14. The permits were first discussed at the meeting of the Local Management Committee on 10 January, 1953. It was then decided to recommend that permits to wildfowlers resident in East Lothian should carry the following conditions: (1) only mallard and wigeon to be shot; (2) shooting to be forbidden south of the Peffer Burn and east of a line fifty yards west of the concrete blocks south of the Marl Loch; and (3) shooting to be confined to the hours between sunset and sunrise. At times since 1953, 1959-60 and 1962-63, the shooting of geese has been allowed, but this is now forbidden. In recent years, 26 permits have been issued to residents in East Lothian for the duration of the shooting season. The present conditions under which a permit is issued are: (1) the permit is not transferable; (2) the permit must be produced on demand; (3) shooting is only allowed between sunset and sunrise; (4) shooting is not allowed between the southern boundary of the Reserve and the Peffer Burn and within that part of the Reserve lying east of a line fifty yards to the west of the remaining pillars south of the Marl Loch; (5) shooting by any weapon other than by ordinary smooth bore shot-gun is not allowed; (6) the permit is valid from 1 September to 20 February of the following year; (7) the Management Committee reserves the right to withdraw the permit at any time; and (8) the holder of the permit will inform the Management Committee not later than 15 March of the number of days on which the permit has been used and the number of species of duck shot.
Ordnance Survey Maps
1 inch (Scotland), 7th Series; Sheet 62. 1 inch (Scotland), Popular Edition; Sheets 68 and 74. 2| inch; Sheets NT 47, NT 48. 6 inch; Sheets NT 47 NE & NW, NT 48 SE.
25 inch; Sheets NT 4479, NT4480, NT 4580, NT4680, NT 4681, NT 4682, NT 4683, NT 4780.
Geological Survey Maps
1/4 inch, Geological Survey of Scotland; Sheet 15
Air Photographs
Vertical:
540/801 4303-04 (4.7.52)
OS/62/33 072-77,082-85, 137-39  (1.5.62)
OS/63/233 022-23 (21.9.63)
Oblique: Dr. St. Joseph
RF 57-65
RF 68-74
Maps Accompanying Plan
1. Map of Reserve showing boundaries.
2. Map of Reserve showing proposed revised boundary. Fig. 10.2
3. Map showing main vegetation types.
4. Map showing paths and possible pony riding routes.
Ground Photographs
A collection of black and white photographs is held by the County Council.
3.1.3 Reasons for establishment
Aberlady Bay and a coastal strip of land were first recommended as a Nature Reserve in the final report of the Scottish Wild Life Conservation Committee in 1949 (Command 7814). This Command states:
'NNR 16 Coastal Strip, Aberlady-Gullane, East Lothian
This coastal strip with a small area of salt marsh, dune and raised beach on the southern shore of the Firth of Forth, has a characteristic maritime flora. It is one of the best areas of its kind in South Scotland, and should be protected against any development which would spoil it. The reserve includes the estuary of the Peffer Burn, and Aberlady Bay, which is a fine wintering place for waders and wild fowl.'
The Nature Conservancy decided that the area was more suitable as a Local Nature Reserve, and the Deputy County Clerk of East Lothian was informed of this decision on 30 October, 1951. However, in November of that year, the Nature Conservancy agreed to give scientific advice about the area whilst the County Council were to be responsible for management. The East Lothian County Council announced their intention of establishing a Local Nature Reserve on 24 January, 1952.
Thus the primary reason for establishing the Reserve was conservation of the habitats associated with a stretch of Southern Scottish coastline. It was considered that the habitats at Aberlady, and their associated flora and fauna, were amongst the most important in Southern Scotland. It was also considered to be an essential feature of the County Development Plan then under preparation.
3.1.4 Factors of the locality
1. Topography above H.W.M.O.S.T.
(a) Landward Boundaries: From Aberlady the Reserve boundary follows the northern verge of the A198 to a small track about 550 yards east of the footbridge across the Peffer Burn. The boundary follows this track and the eastern and southern margins of the adjacent mixed woodlands, past a small refuse tip, to a drain, northwards along the drain, across the Peffer Burn, and along the eastern margin of North Plantation, a wood of mixed deciduous tree species. From here the boundary follows westwards along the line of a sunken stone wall to a track about 40 yards from H.W.M.O.S.T. near the northern end of the footbridge.
From here the boundary follows a path to the south of the Marl Loch, along the eastern edge of the Loch, along a path running just east of the fresh- water marshes, to the first of the remaining concrete defence blocks. The boundary follows the line of defence blocks for about three quarters of a mile till they veer westwards. The boundary, undemarcated, crosses from west to east of the metalled track to a short line of defence blocks, and from these it is a straight line, undemarcated on the ground, running out to the centre of the Hummel Rocks.
(b) Relief: The landward area of the Reserve can be divided into five sections, (i) The estuary of the Peffer Burn is flat, with the development of saltings, areas of grassland, just above H.W.M.O.S.T., intersected with pools and gullies mostly nine to twelve inches deep. Near the footbridge there are no clearly defined banks to the Peffer Burn. However, an old bank, about three to four feet high, can be discerned immediately south of the plantation of Scots pine. About 300 yards above the footbridge, and further upstream, the Peffer Burn flows between unstable muddy banks, and in places reed beds have developed. About 800 yards above the footbridge the Peffer Burn is crossed by an iron bridge, but this has fallen into disrepair, and it is now very dangerous, (ii) The remainder of the Reserve east of the footbridge is probably on raised beach. It is rather flat, with a height of 10 to 12 feet above Ordnance Datum (Newlyn Datum). Some sedge swamps and wet meadows occur between the new Scots pine plantation and North Plantation (Plate 10). (iii) The majority of the Reserve lying between the footbridge in the south (Plate 9) and the dunes in the north (Plate 11) is flat, and is either on raised beach or blown sand. Ordnance Survey spot heights on some of the paths show the area to lie between 12 and 16 feet O.D. A slight depression, running approximately north and south, is about 700 yards long and 50 yards broad. To the south of this is the Marl Loch (Plate 12), and the remainder forms the Yellow Mires, a collection of fresh-water marshes, (iv) The dune system is quite well developed, and runs approximately north and south for a distance of about half a mile. There is evidence of the development of parallel dunes, with a small ridge about 20 to 30 feet high, about 250 yards inland from the shore. Some small depressions, which are ponds in winter and mostly dry in summer, represents the partial development of a system of dune slacks. One of these slacks has a luxuriant growth of water plants, and is moist in nearly all summers.
The forward dunes can be divided into three zones. Firstly, just behind the present beach there are small hummocks, one to two feet high and eight to ten feet across, which represent the embryo dunes. Behind these are larger dunes, and the Marram Grass becomes plentiful, together with some Sea Lyme Grass. These rise to a maximum height of 40 or 50 feet. Inland of these other plants become plentiful, bare sand surfaces are infrequent, and the dunes are more or less stable. These dunes have a height of 25 to 30 feet, (v) At the north of the dunes a small valley separates dunes from teschenite rocks and soils derived from these rocks. The rocks give rise to a gently undulating topography, with a few rock faces, particularly near the shore. The height of the outcrops is from about 30 feet near the dunes to 75 feet at the highest point of the Reserve. This point is just to the south of a large clump of Sea Buckthorn, and from here the structure of the sand dune system can be seen clearly. A slightly higher ridge of teschenite runs north- eastwards from the Reserve to the rocks by Maggie's Loup. Near the Hummel rocks a flat area on the teschenite has been cleared, and is used as a football pitch.
(c) Drainage: The Peffer Burn drains a large area of East Lothian. This area is bounded by Gullane and Dirleton in the north, North Berwick in the north-east East Fortune in the east, and Athelstaneford, Drem and Luffness in the south! This water is sometimes polluted, and is never clear.
Drainage of water from the Gullane Links would appear to be by seepage through the ground. Two open drains flow into the Yellow Mires about 200 yards north of the Marl Loch, but these only carry water in the winter. Presumably, the ground water from the Links feeds the Marl Loch and Yellow Mires. Hence, any attempt to drain the grassland to the east of the Marl Loch would greatly influence the habitats of the fresh-water marshes. During the winter, water flows out of the Yellow Mires by a drain from the south of the Marl Loch.'
The dune slacks are fed by ground water seeping from the dunes. Only one of the slacks is moist all the year round. During the winter, most of the ground between the Marl Loch and the dune slacks is waterlogged, and very little seepage occurs into Aberlady Bay.
2. The Reserve below H.W.M.O.S.T.
The largest area of the Reserve lies below H.W.M.O.S.T., forming the estuary of the Peffer Burn. The Peffer Burn flows westwards for about two miles from the footbridge before discharging into the Firth of Forth. The area south of the Peffer Burn is mainly mud flats, except to the north of the Kilspindie Golf Links, where a number of rocks are exposed. Amongst these rocks, which are submerged at high tide, are The King's Kist and Green Craig, both of which are slightly above H.W.M.O.S.T. Only Green Craig carries any vegetation.
The mud flats are found near the Peffer Burn, particularly in the area from Aberlady to Aberlady Point. Mussel-beds are associated with stretches of the mud flats.
The area north of the Peffer Burn is mostly covered with sand. This is almost flat, but it rises very slightly towards the north, thus creating a sand bar at the entrance to Aberlady Bay. As the tide comes in water follows the course of the Peffer Burn, and then flows northwards and eastwards over the sands, last covering a long spit of sand projecting south-west from the dunes. The sand bar has been enlarging and gradually turning more towards the north during recent years. Part of the sand bar is now a few feet above H.W.M.O.S.T., and this is used by the Terns for nesting. As this process has taken place the salt- marsh south of the bar has filled in with blown sand, and the H.W.M.O.S.T. marked on Ordnance maps has advanced westwards by about 50 yards, and by nearly 120 yards just south of the bar, between 1954 and 1962. Sand is blown off the bar at low tide by south- westerly and westerly winds, and is deposited at the western end of the dunes. The dunes have advanced towards the north-west by nearly 200 yards between 1954 and 1962, and the structure of the beach is thus changing. When the Reserve was declared in 1952, the shore, from Jovie's Neuk to south of where the sand bar now is, was nearly straight. Now, since the west end of the dunes are being built up faster than the east, the coastline is becoming a bay, running from Jovie's Neuk to the sand bar, with a north-westerly aspect.
Drainage in Aberlady Bay is by slight depressions exposed in the sand at low tide. These are continually altering their position. A spring issues from the sand about 700 yards west-south- west of the Marl Loch. This drains south-westwards into the Peffer Burn.
3. Geology.
The geological interest of the Reserve is considerable, but unevenly distributed. The Reserve includes the whole of the Aberlady Bay, and the western half of the Gullane Point-Hummel Rocks, Geological S.S.S.Is., but outside these there is little of significance. The geology of the western section of the Reserve has been described by Dr. P. McL. D. Duff (Edinburgh Geology: An Excursion Guide, Edinburgh Geological Society, 1960)
The oldest rocks seen in the reserve are sediments, belonging to the Calciferous Sandstone Series, which are exposed at the north of the Reserve around ironstone Cove. The sediments are sandstones, shales and fireclays and are bounded by the intrusions which form the eastern fringe of the Hummel Rocks and Gullane Point. Their inland extension is obscured by blown sand, and their relationship with the younger strata to the south totally obscured.
An extensive exposure of sedimentary rocks belonging to the Carboniferous Limestone Series occupies the foreshore from Kilspindie to Long Craig. This section, the most complete in the district, is shown in Table 10.1.
The rocks of this sequence are disposed in two folds with a north- west/southeast trend. An anticline occurs in the west, and is followed by a syncline to the east. On a small scale the structures are complex, there being a number of minor reversals of dip and the beds are cut by three small faults parallel to the trend of the folds. The dip of the strata is nowhere high, and marine erosion has etched the rocks into a scarp and dip slope topography. The hard beds, predominantly of four limestones, form prominent features and tend to build pavements bounded on the seaward margin by cliffs. The softer intervening beds are not so well exposed and have frequently been worn into notches. The false bedded sandstone which occurs between the Skateraw Lower and Long Craig Upper Limestones builds a small stack, known as The King's Kist; the shales which form the base of this stack are noticeably undercut relative to the sandstone.
In places, the limestones are traversed by 'veins' of sandstone along their joints. These have been formed by the injection of still unconsolidated sandy material into fissures opened in the more consolidated limestones by earthquake activity.
A teschenite sill is intruded into the sediments of the Calciferous Sandstone Series at Gullane Point, and another forms the north- eastern part of the Hummel Rocks, just beyond the eastern boundary of the Reserve. The latter sill is the more interesting in that it contains sandstone 'veins' which broaden downwards from its upper surface. It has been suggested that these veins occupy contraction cracks formed during the cooling of the sill. A third group of exposures of teschenite, probably part of another sill, occurs on the foreshore to the north and north-east of Kilspindie Castle. A fourth teschenite sill forms the rock outcrops around Green Craig in the extreme south- west of the Reserve, and has been intruded some feet above the Middle Skateraw Limestone. Although its lower contact can not be seen, baked sediments can be found within a foot or two of its expected position. The contact is not planar, for exposures of teschenite, often in the highly altered form known as white trap, protrude through the sand to the east of the main outcrop of the sill, from which they are separated by exposures of altered sediments. The precise form of the lower contact of the sill can not be determined, but it seems probable that irregular tongues of much-altered teschenite protrude below the lower contact of the sill proper.
The remainder of the Reserve is occupied by superficial deposits of which the oldest is the 25 ft Raised Beach. This is seen from place to place on the landward side of the Reserve from Green Craig to Luffness, and northwards from that point to just beyond the Marl Loch. The remainder of the area is occupied either by blown sand, which obscures both the solid rocks and the Raised Beach, or by the present day beach.
The soils of the County of East Lothian have been surveyed by the Macauley Institute of Soil Sciences but the results are, as yet, unpublished. No intensive soil survey has yet been carried out on the Reserve itself. Most of the soils are 'young', since with sand being blown on to the area characteristic profiles have not developed. The information already collected about the soils is included in Section 6 (Vegetation) of this Chapter.
5. Climate
(a) General: The nearest climatological station is approximately six miles away from the Reserve to the north-east, near North Berwick. Although North Berwick differs somewhat in aspect from Aberlady Bay, the climatological observations at North Berwick can be considered as being reasonably representative of the conditions at the Reserve.
Meteorological Office Stations are situated at Drem and East Fortune, approximately three and six miles east-south-east of the Reserve respectively. As both of these are more inland sites they are probably less representative of conditions at Aberlady Bay than is North Berwick. A general summary of the climate of East Lothian and Berwickshire has been prepared by the Meteorological Office about 1966 (The Climate of East Lothian and North Berwick-shire, Meteorological Office Climatological Services (Met O 3) Climatological Memorandum No. 49).
(b) Temperature: The temperature recorded at North Berwick (118 ft.) is summarised in Table 10.2. The average annual mean temperature at North Berwick during the period 1931-60 was 8- 8°C (48°F). The warmest month is July, but it is only fractionally warmer than August. January is the coldest month, although the extreme minimum temperature was recorded in February.
In an average year an extreme minimum of about —8°C (18°F) and an extreme maximum of about 25 °C (77°F) can be expected. On average, only one or two days per year have a maximum temperature of 0°C or less, and about 45 days have a minimum temperature of 0°C or less. The average period without air frosts extends from about the end of April until about the beginning of November. During the period 1923—64 the average number of days with air 'frost in March was 5-0, in April 1-8, in October 0-3 and in November 3-7. More than ten days, on average, were recorded with air frosts for the months December, January and February, and no air frosts have been recorded during the period May to September inclusive.
(c) Precipitation: The mean monthly rainfall at North Berwick during the period 1916-50 is shown in Table 10.3. The average annual is thus 25-7 inches at North Berwick, though it is possible that it is slightly less than this at Aberlady Bay. Rainfall was relatively evenly distributed throughout the year, but there is a tendency towards dryness in spring when easterly winds prevail. The approximate average annual duration of rainfall during the period 1931—40 was slightly less than 600 hours. The average number of days per month with 0-1 inches or more of rain during the period 1923—64 is given in Table 10.3.
During the period 1923-64 snow fell on an average of 13-8 days in the year, but it only lay for ten days. Most snow fell during January and February (3 • 9 and 3 • 7 days respectively). Hail falls on an average of only 3 • 2 days per year, and thunder is heard on an average of 5-0 days per year, mainly during the months May to September inclusive.
(d) Water Balance: Using average values of potential evaporation, which are probably underestimates, it would appear that potential evaporation exceeds rainfall from April to July inclusive. It also appears that a total potential water deficit, by calendar months, of at least 2- 77 inches occurs during that period. Reckoning by shorter wet and dry periods would give a P.W.D. considerably higher than this.
(e) Wind: The average annual wind speed at 33 feet above ground is about 14 m.p.h., and the number of days with gales during the year averages about seven. The marked preponderance of winds from between west and south-west and, particularly in the spring, from between east and north-east, shows the funnelling effect of the Forth- Clyde gap. The westerlies are stronger on average in the Firth of Forth than elsewhere along the East Coast of Scotland. During severe westerly gales gust speeds of 70 to 75 m.p.h. are not unduly rare in East Lothian. Aberlady Bay is fairly well exposed to the west.
(f) Miscellaneous: Fog, i.e., visibility of 1100 yards or less, occurs on an average of 7.1 days per year. It commonly takes the form of cold, wet sea fog, or haar. Haars begin in March or April, are worst from May to July, and are sometimes frequent in September.
The average annual duration of bright sunshine for the period 1923-50 at North Berwick was 1345 hours, with a mean daily duration of 3-68 hours. This represents slightly more than 30% of the possible.
6. Vegetation
(a) General: There are six main plant communities occurring within the Reserve. The distribution of these is shown in Fig. 10.3, and a complete list of all the plants within the Reserve is given in Appendix III. The communities are:
(1) the mud flats,
(2) the salt marshes,
(3) the fresh-water marshes and the Marl Loch,
(4) the dunes,
(5) the grasslands, and
(6) the woodlands.
Two further sets of plant communities are more localised and are not included in Fig. 10.3. These are the driftline, and the roadside - the area of often disturbed soil just to the north of the A198.
(b) Mudflats: Most of the areas of mud are devoid of communities of higher plants. In one bay south of the Peffer Burn, the eel-grasses (Zostera marina and Z.angustifolid) are abundant. As the mud gives way to sand, species of glasswort (Salicornid) become plentiful. Four species of this genus have so far been found within the Reserve, and it appears that all are abundant. The glasswort never forms a closed canopy over the sand or mud, and is only very rarely found above H.W.M.O.S.T.
(c) Salt Marshes: The Reserve demonstrates salt marsh accretion, with a gradual rise in ground surface and change in vegetation towards the land. Near the sand and mud flats the salt marsh contains a few plants of glasswort, but the sea meadow grass (Puccinella maritima) and sea milkwort (Glaux maritima) are the main colonizers of the sand, though sea sandwort (Honkenya peploides) is locally dominant. Since sand and mud accumulate wherever plants are established the ground level rises, and other species enter the community. The creeping fescue (Festuca rubrd) and thrift (Armeria maritimd) are dominant species, and are associated with an abundance of herbs, such as sea plantain (Plantago maritima), sea aster (Aster tripolium), sea spurrey (Spergularia media), sea arrowgrass (Triglochin maritima), and two species of sedge (Carex extensa and C.distans). Three plants of sea lavender (Limonium vulgare) have recently (1965) colonized this zone of the salt marsh near the footbridge, and it has been suggested that the seeds were either washed up by the tide or brought by birds. The nearest recorded native plants are at Culross, 30 miles up the Firth of Forth, and the Fame Islands, about 60 miles away.
Further inland of this herb-rich zone the conditions become less saline, and there is a rapid transition to grassland communities. However, in some localities, the ground remains brackish, the thrift becomes less abundant, and the mud rush (Juncus gerardif) and narrow blysmus (Blysmus rufus) become locally dominant. These two plants are associated with sections of the salt marsh- grassland transition zone that are moist at all times of the year.
(d) Fresh-water Marshes: Fresh-water vegetation communities have developed in four sections of the Reserve.
(i)THE DUNE SLACKS: Only one of these slacks is moist throughout the year, and hence this is the only one with a typical marsh vegetation. The other slacks tend to be wet in winter, dry in summer, and to contain only remnants of fresh-water plant communities. The most abundant plants in the main slack are amphibious bistort (Polygonum amphibium), water mint (Mentha aquatica) and the water and marsh horsetails (Equisetum fluviatile and E.palustre). The buckbean (Menyanthes trifoliata), which is so abundant near the Marl Loch, is absent from the dune slacks. There are only six species of sedge (Carex spp.) in the slacks, and these are all more abundant in the other marsh areas.
(ii)THE MARL LOCH AND THE YELLOW MIRES: The area of the Marl Loch (Plate 12) and its associated marshes, the Yellow Mires, is botanically one of the most important plant communities in the whole Reserve. The Marl Loch had become covered with a continuous mat of vegetation, mostly sedges, and after the war there was no open water. In late 1963 the concrete defence blocks were removed (see Chapter III, section 8) and, through the co- operation of the contractors, Messrs. Carmichael & Son, vegetation and dead organic matter was removed from the Marl Loch by a drag-line excavator. Since 1963, the natural biological production of the water plants has caused the depth of clear water to decrease. There has been a very rapid growth of stoneworts (Chara spp.) and bladderwort (Utricularia vulgaris), and evidence suggests that open water will only be maintained for a period of eight to ten years. Some sedges (Carex spp.), yellow iris (Iris pseudacorus) and bur-reed (Sparganium erectum) are already colonizing the open water.
The Marl Loch is the most northerly habitat in Britain of the marsh stitchwort (Stellaria palustris). This plant is confined to base rich marshes and fens, and its distribution in Great Britain is decreasing due to drainage of its habitats.
The Marl Loch and Yellow Mires are particularly rich in species of sedges (14 species of the genus Carex, and 6 species in other genera), and of horsetails (3 species of Equisetum). The buckbean (Menyanthes trifoliata) is particularly plentiful, and three types of marsh orchids (Dactylorchis incarnata ssp. incarnata, ssp. coccinea, and D. purpurella) can be recognized by their flesh, red and purple colours. Grasses are almost absent from these marsh communities.
(Hi) THE CURLING POND AND THE PONDS GREAT ED BY EXTRACTION
OF DEFENCE BLOCKS: This set of ponds and marshes are grouped since there is a tendency for the water to be slightly brackish, as shown by the occurrence of the water crowfoot, Ranunculus baudotii, in this group of marshes and not in the marshes previously described. Floristically, they contain fewer species than the marshes associated with the Marl Loch (11 species of Carex and 4 other sedges), but they are nevertheless interesting. The series of ponds left by the removal of the defence blocks has each developed differently, and now some are almost devoid of vegetation, others are covered with floating leaves of bog pondweed (Potamogeton polygonifolius) or amphibious bistort (Polygonum amphibiuni), whilst others are crowded with a number of upright spikes of mare's-tail (Hippuris vulgaris). One area of these marshes contains a large stand of cotton-grass (Eriophorum angustifolium).
The Curling Pond is particularly interesting. This contains many plants of glaucous bulrush (Schoenoplectus tabernaemontani), as well as an abundance of the lesser water-plantain (Baldellia ranunculoides) growing in one of its most northern British habitats. The occurrence of a particularly lush form of shoreweed (Littorella uniflora) is also outstanding. The bladderwort (Utricularia vulgaris), so common in the Marl Loch, is very rare in the Curling Pond, and the stoneworts (Chara spp.) are absent. The brookweed (Samolus valerandi), a plant associated with marshes near the sea, is abundant in this group of marshes.
(iv) THE PEFFER BURN MARSHES: Upstream from the footbridge, a series of water meadows and marshes are associated with the north bank of the Peffer Burn. The water meadows are particularly rich in species, and the meadow sweet (Filipendula ulmaria), ragged robin (Lychnis flos-cuculf) and marsh marigold (Caltha palustris) are abundant.
Beside the Peffer Burn is a narrow belt of reed- beds, with the sea clubrush (Scirpus maritimus) just beside the burn, and the reed (Phragmites communis) being the dominant species. This quickly gives way to a community found nowhere else in the Reserve, an almost pure stand of the great pond sedge (Carex riparia). This sedge grows to a height of about four feet, and hence the few plants that are associated with it tend to be tall. Examples of these are hemlock water- dropwort (Oenanthe crocatd) and valerian (Valeriana officinalis). This marsh community stretches from the reed-beds to the margin of the woodlands.
(e) Dunes: Varying amounts of seaweed and other drifted material along the tideline cause accumulation of sand into embryo dunes, and these are colonized by sand couch-grass (Agropyron junceiforme). The sand composing these dunes was found to have a pH of 8-85 and to contain 10-8% of shell material (July 1967). At about 25 yards from the shore two other grasses occur, the chief being the marram grass (Ammophila arenarid) and the sea lyme grass (Ely-mus arenarius) being less frequent. These three species of grass, together with scattered plants of coltsfoot (Tussilago farfara), creeping thistle (Cirsium arvense) and orache (family Chenopodiaceae), form the community for the first 80 to 120 yards of the dune system. This area of dunes is termed the 'fore- dune'.
As one passes further inland Agropyron junceiforme becomes rare, and one passes through an area of about 100 to 150 yards which can be termed the 'intermediate-dune' or 'grass/moss- dune'. This is characterized by an abundance of marram grass, and the occurrence of a large number of grasses and herbaceous species, such as cock's- foot grass (Dactylis glomerata), false oat-grass (Arrhenatherum elatius), sand sedge (Carex arenaria), daisy (Bellis perennis), dandelion (Taraxacum officinalis) and silverweed (Potentilla anserind). Mosses such as Brachythecium albicans, B. rutabulum and Hypnum cupressiforme are frequent, and the lichen Peltigera canina is abundant.
As the dunes become older, and, due to sand accretion, further away from the sea, rain water washes away the nutrients, which were formerly contained in the shell fragments. The dunes behind the intermediate-dunes, known as the 'grey-dunes' or 'lichen-dunes', contained only 2- 4% shell material in the surface inch of sand, and 5 • 7% shell material at a depth of six inches. The pH of the layers was 6- 85 and 7-80 respectively (July, 1967). There is thus a tendency for the surface of the grey-dune to become slightly acidic, giving rise to plant communities containing a lesser number of plant species. The grey- dunes are characterized by the growth of lichens (grey in colour), and the main species in the Reserve are Cladonia impexa, C.foliacea and Cetraria aculeata. Marram grass is less frequent, and the plants less robust than in the fore- and intermediate-dunes. Bird's-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus) and wild thyme (Thymus drucef) are both abundant.
(f) Grasslands: Two distinct types of grassland occur in the Reserve — those associated with soils derived from teschenite rocks, and those associated with calcareous sandy soils. The sand in the dry grassland east of the Marl Loch contains 4-8% shell material in the surface inch and 13-2% shell material at a depth of six inches. The pH was 6-85 and 7-85 respectively (July, 1967). The Department of Botany, University of Edinburgh, have used these grasslands for teaching purposes, and have collected data on a transect running from teschenite to calcareous grassland. Table 10.4 summarizes some of their data collected in 1966 and 1967.
The classification of a single 'calcareous grassland' is an over- simplification. However, it is locally modified (Plate 13), and contains a diversity of herbaceous species, many of them uncommon as far north as Scotland. Such species as the viper's bugloss (Echium vulgare), hound's tongue (Cynoglossum officinale), musk thistle (Carduus nutans), and centaury (Centaurium erythraed) are all found in the grasslands. With the lack of rabbit grazing pressure the hawthorn (Crataegus monogynd) is becoming established (Plate 14), and, with scattered bushes three to five feet high, the calcareous grassland could eventually become a thicket.
Locally, the grass has been disturbed for turfs for the golf courses. Such areas develop very interesting and specialized floras. Where the sand is dry colonization by perennial plants is slow, and communities of spring-flowering annual plants are to be found. These species are very small, often less than one inch in height, and include the rue- leaved saxifrage (Saxifraga tridactylites), early forget-me-not (Myosotis ramosissimd), lamb's lettuce (Valerianella locusta), whitlow grass (Erophila vernid) and the moss Tortello flavovirens. The first of the perennial plants to colonize these are bird's-foot trefoil (Lotus corniculatus), purple milk vetch (Astragalus danicus) and biting stonecrop (Sedum acre). In the moister areas a continuous plant canopy develops, but it contains many unusual species. These include the lesser clubmoss (Selaginalla selaginoides), variegated horsetail (Equisetum variegatuni) and a dwarf variety of the grass of parnassus (Parnassia palustris var. condensata).
(g) Woodlands: There are three blocks of woodland within the Reserve. A block of 3-1 acres, a young Scots pine plantation, has been planted near the north end of the footbridge. The pine stand is so dense that there is virtually no development of a ground flora.
There are two blocks of deciduous woodland, of 2- 2 and 1 • 7 acres, situated to the north and south of the Peffer Burn in the extreme south- east of the Reserve. These woodlands are composed mainly of oak, wych elm, birches and sycamore, though there are one or two trees of each of the following species: yew, Scots pine, lime, Norway maple, horse chestnut, laburnum, hawthorn, common elm, alder, beech and white poplar. There is a moderately well developed ground flora containing the herbs and ferns usually associated with deciduous woodlands on rich soils. The white bryony (Bryonia dioica), a plant which climbs over bushes and low trees, is abundant, although the species has been introduced into Southern Scotland.
(h) Comparison with Other Areas: Tentsmuir Point National Nature Reserve is an area similar to Aberlady Bay in that it contains both sand dunes and an area for wildfowl roosting and feeding. The list of higher plants for each Reserve contains 349 species, though Aberlady has in addition 2 sub- species. Aberlady Bay does, however, have a particularly fine collection of sedges (Carex spp.); 18 species have been found on the Reserve, whilst only 10 are recorded from Tentsmuir.
One plant that is absent from the dunes in the Reserve is the burnet rose (Rosa spinosissima). This species is frequently associated with dunes, and occurs at Dalmeny about 20 miles up the Firth of Forth.
7. Fauna
The reserve has a diversity of animal habitats, and 54 habitats are specified on the chart (Appendix 6). Most of these habitats are influenced by the maritime nature of the Reserve, except possibly the woodlands and water meadows upstream from the footbridge beside the Peffer Burn. Aberlady Bay compares favourably with the 39 animal habitats specified on the Tentsmuir Point National Nature Reserve.
(a) Vertebrates: The bird life of the Reserve has been studied for a long while, and the preservation of the area where migratory birds feed was initially one of the main features of the Reserve.
(i) BIRDS: The list of birds recorded from the Reserve contains 199 species, five further species of doubtful status, and five additional sub- species (Appendix 7 contains this list). A total of 51 species have nested within the Reserve.
The shore-nesting birds form one of the main conservation interests of the area. A colony of terns nests in the vicinity of the sand bar, and during the 1950s about 30 to 40 pairs nested each year. However, during the 1960s the sand bar has enlarged and become slightly higher, and the part- time Warden has prevented too much disturbance. The tern colony has increased, and, in 1966, 110 pairs nested, of which there were six pairs of little terns. There has always been about 10% arctic terns and the remainder common terns in this colony. From about mid-July, terns begin to roost in the Bay, and gradually they build up to a very large roost in August and September. A count on the 2nd September, 1958 revealed that about 14,000 terns came into the Bay from the west, 4,000 from the east, and about 8,000 were already in the Bay. Normally, however, the flocks number between 3,000 and 7,000 birds, and contain five or six species (common, arctic, little, roseate, sandwich, and a few black tern).
The saltings were formerly used by a large number of waders for breeding. In the 1950s the numbers of each species were higher than in the mid-1960s. The decline is possibly caused by increased disturbance by the public, but mainly by a change in the habitat. Since myxomatosis destroyed the majority of the rabbits, the vegetation has grown up, and the waders are known to prefer nesting in situations where they can see over the top of plants surrounding the nest. The following figures illustrate the decline over the period from the mid 1950s to the mid-19 60s:
The snipe also decreased, but this is thought to be due to the hard winter of 1962—63, and evidence suggests that the number of breeding snipe is now starting to increase. The location of the nesting birds is also changing. The ringed plover nested in the saltings about 200 yards south of the sand bar, but now they nest on the bar with the terns.
The eider and shelduck also nest within the Reserve. The eider nest anywhere in the grasslands, but the number of young reared each year is very few, probably due to dogs and predation by crows, gulls and long-eared owls. The shelduck nest in burrows, and it is not yet ascertained whether they are excavating their own burrows now that the rabbits have become so scarce. They hatch 40 to 60 young per year, but predation by gulls means that only about 20 of them are fledged.
The grasslands also provide breeding grounds for many of the smaller birds. Skylarks and meadow pipits are very numerous, and reed bunting, sedge warbler and whitethroat are frequent. The woodlands provide habitats for many other species of passerines to nest.
The establishment of open water on the Marl Loch has had little effect on the bird life. A pair of mute swans have nested and reared young on the Loch. A coot was seen in the 1967 nesting season, but it apparently did not breed. Garganey have tried to nest on several occasions, but they have never succeeded.
The Bay provides roosting and feeding grounds for ducks, geese and waders. Many rare waders are seen during the migratory period (September to March), and the list includes such birds as the cream- coloured courser, avocet, lesser yellowlegs, Temminck's stint and pectoral sandpiper. 19 species of duck and 8 species of geese have been recorded from the Reserve. The habits of the duck and geese differ, for the ducks feed by night on fields and water meadows, and lie out in the Bay during the day. The geese feed by day on fields often far inland, and fly out to the sand bar at night.
The wildfowl provide sport for a group of 26 licensed people. Geese are not allowed to be shot, and a return on the number of times that a permit has been used and the number and species of duck shot has to be lodged with the County Council.
Table 10.5 is taken from an appendix to 'Wildfowling at Caerlaverock National Nature Reserve: The First Seven Years', the Nature Conservancy, Edinburgh, and also abstracted from the minutes of the Management Committee. The ducks that are shot are mallard (47%), wigeon (42%), teal (10%) and others including scaup and goldeneye (1%).
(ii) MAMMALS: The mammals of the Reserve have not been studied in detail,but yet 16 terrestrial species have been recorded. The grey and common seals are to be seen off Gullane Point and the Hummel Rocks. Many members of the order Cetacea (whales, porpoises, and dolphins) have occurred in the waters of the Firth of Forth near the Reserve, and the occasional corpse has been washed ashore.
The rabbit had the greatest effect on the Reserve. The hill to the east of the Reserve had been a rabbit warren for hundreds of years but, since the myxoma-tosis outbreak, the rabbit has been scarce. The Reserve falls within a rabbit clearance area. The brown hare is said to have become more abundant since the decline of the rabbit but it has not exerted the same grazing pressure on the vegetation as the rabbits. The result has been the growth of vegetation, the spoiling of the breeding grounds of some species of birds, possibly the causing of some herbs to become scarcer due to increased competition with grasses, and the spreading of sea buckthorn and hawthorn.
The mole is common in the Reserve, and has caused damage to the golf greens within and without the Reserve. Trapping is used to eliminate this pest, and no evidence of strychnine has been seen. Foxes have used the sea buckthorn clumps, but no steps appear to have been taken by farmers to eliminate this animal.
(iii) AMPHIBIANS AND REPTILES: Five species of amphibian are found within the Reserve. The three species of newt (common, palmated, and great crested) are found, but they are apparently becoming scarcer. It has been suggested that this is caused by too many children collecting them in the few ponds in which they occur. The common frog is abundant and breeds most frequently in the dune slacks. These areas contain water at the time of spawning, and hence development of the frogs relies upon a wet spring keeping the dune slacks moist. The toad is scarcer and its main area for breeding is the small ponds, created by the extraction of the defence blocks, between the Marl Loch and the Curling Pond. Very few tadpoles are ever observed in the Marl Loch.
No reptiles have been recorded from the Reserve.
(iv) FISH: No survey has been carried out on the fish inhabiting the Peffer Burn, the sand and mud flats, or the rocks either north of Kilspindie or off the Gullane Point and Hummel Rocks, (b) Invertebrates:
(i) MARINE: A survey of the marine invertebrate fauna of Aberlady Bay is included in a thesis from the Geology Department, University of Edinburgh (Some Aspects of the Sediments and Organisms of Aberlady Bay, East Lothian, Norah J. Allman and Frank Simpson, B.Sc. Thesis).
Two species of mollusc, Hydrobia ulvae and Littorina littorea, are particularly abundant in the Bay. To the south of the Peffer Burn and on the old midget submarines, where a firm substratum is available, the barnacle, Balanus balanoides, becomes established. Near the Peffer Burn, there are colonies of the mussel (Mytilus edulis), and amongst these fronds of the seaweed (Fucus spp.), barnacles, L. littorea, and valves of Cardium edule and Scrobicularia plana.
The coiled castings of the lug-worm (Arenicola marina) can be seen at low tide in areas of the Bay that are sandy and the occurrence of this species indicates sediments that are rich in organic matter. Two other polychaetes are found in the Bay -these are Nereis diversicolor and Pectenaria koreni. The estuarine amphipod Corophium volutator, which makes small U-shaped burrows about 5 cm. deep, is also abundant. A number of burrowing lamellibranchs are also found, the most frequent being Macoma baltica in the sands and Scrobicularia plana near the Peffer Burn.
Two distinct animal communities are recognized, the epifauna and the infauna. The epifauna are animals attached to rocks, seaweed or other animals, and occur in exposed places. These animals tend to be transported after death and this group contains such species as Mytilus edulis and Littorina littorea, that have probably moved into the Bay from adjacent rocky coasts. The infauna are animals living in sheltered areas or on the soft sea-floor, and, since these tend to be deposition sites, the animals remain in situ after death. Arenicola marine, Pectenaria koreni and Cardium edule belong to the infaunal community. A few species are intermediate in character between the two communities, and an example of this is Hydrobia ulvae.
(ii) TERRESTRIAL: No full-scale survey has been carried out on any group of terrestrial invertebrates. A certain amount of collecting of insects and spiders has been undertaken by Mr. E. Pelham-Clinton (Royal Scottish Museum) and Dr. Crowson (University of Glasgow). Mr. R. Waterston (Royal Scottish: Museum) has collected fresh-water molluscs.
No list of insects has been prepared but it would undoubtedly be very long. An estimate of the number of species of beetles would be about 1500, and there I is also a large number of flies and moths. The Reserve is particularly noted for j the number of Southern species which are occurring towards the northern limit! of their distribution, although some of them also occur on warm coastal areas to I the north such as Tentsmuir, St. Cyrus and Findhorn. Particularly prominent is the cinnabar moth (Callimorpha jacobaeae) which feeds on the ragwort (Senecio jacobaea). The red and black moths and the yellow and black striped caterpillars are obvious features of the Reserve. In some years the larvae are so abundant that all the ragwort is eaten and skeletal plants can be found on the Reserve.
The flies of the Reserve are also of particular interest. There is a number of rare species associated with the dunes. One species of fly, Spilogona compuncta (family Muscidae), is only known to occur in Great Britain at Aberlady and possibly on Arran (although its locality there is unknown). As previously mentioned, the beetles are very numerous but one weevil, Cleonus piger, is very rare in Great Britain, but occurs frequently in the dunes. Its larva burrows into thistle stems.
Despite the general scarcity of butterflies in recent years, Aberlady still has a very large population. The most frequent are the meadow brown (Maniola jurtina), small heath (Coenonympha pamphilus), common blue (Polyommatus icarus), small tortoiseshell (Aglais urticae) and green- veined white (Pieris napi). At least two other species always breed in the Reserve, the dark green fritillary (Argynnis aglaia) and small copper (Lycaena phlaeas); and others, mostly migratory, visit the Reserve and possibly breed during suitable seasons, the red admiral (Vanessa atalanta), painted lady (Vanessa cardui), small white (Pieris rapae) and large white (Pieris brassicae). The Microlepidoptera (rather small moths) are peculiar on the East Lothian coast in that they occur as smaller, darker forms. The most interesting species which occur within the Reserve are of the genus Crambus.
Thus, the insect life of the Reserve is extremely rich. It has been suggested that if lists of insects in selected habitats on the East Coast of Scotland were compiled then the list from Aberlady would be the longest.
8. History.
(a) General: The history of the area has been studied by Mr. N. Tranter, who has written much of it into a series of articles entitled 'Footbridge to Enchantment'. However, the aim of this section is not to survey the characters concerned but rather to review the land use of the area prior to its declaration as a Nature Reserve.
The hill to the east of the Reserve always seems to have been associated with rabbits and the area just north of the Peffer Bum with sports. The north end of the Reserve contained ironstone and, in this connection, the name of Jehova Gray has been handed down in the name Jovey's Neuk, Jovie's Neuk or Jova's Neuk. Jehova Gray lived in a small two- roomed cottage by Gullane Point, used water from a small fresh-water spring that is still running to- day and delivered the ironstone that he mined to ships which were beached, presumably in Jovie's Neuk. The ironstone went up the Forth to the Carron Iron Works and was used for making carronades.
The area just north of the footbridge was laid out as a golf course in the 1860s after the laird to the west of the Bay, the Earl of Wemyss, had used the Aberlady course at Kilspindie for a shooting-range. The course on the Reserve was used for 20 or 30 years till the inhabitants of Aberlady once again established a course to the west of the Bay. Then, in 1926, a guide book to the Aberlady district advertised two grass tennis courts, a curling pond, a pleasure ground and a golf club-house (stone-built). None of these, with the exception of the curling pond, can be seen to- day.
The wartime saw considerable change to the Bay. In 1940, about 800 concrete defence blocks were erected. These are 4' x 4' square, and are about 4' above ground and 1' below and are either corrugated or smooth according as iron or wood shuttering was used. Irish labourers were employed and, during construction, they went on strike for more pay; it was estimated by Aberlady inhabitants at the time that each block cost £5 to build. A track was built to bring trucks on to the area with aggregate and stone chips and sand which was taken from Gullane. The blocks were covered with turfs which were dug from around the bases of the blocks. Most of the blocks, which were known locally as 'Hitler's Stepping Stones', were removed in 1963, by the County Council, for the sea-wall round a power station being built at Cockenzie.
Poles, sections of tree trunks, were set in concrete and erected all over the Bay to prevent enemy aircraft landing. These poles are about three to four feet long and are still visible in many parts of the Bay. Out on the sand bar, one defence block was built and two Japanese midget submarines were beached. These were used for practice bombing attacks from the air.
Grazing of the Reserve grasslands has been continuous until recent times. It is probable that the Heritors of Gullane have common rights to graze cattle over the area now owned by the Gullane Golf Links. Not long before the war one lady in Gullane grazed a cow on the golf course. During the war and until just before the Reserve was declared in 1952, the butcher in Gullane grazed sheep over the whole area. Since declaration, no grazing by domestic animals has taken place.
(b) Bye-Laws and Court Cases: The initial factors in the declaration of a Nature Reserve on 14 July, 1952, have been detailed in Chapter II of this Plan.
The Bye-Laws were confirmed by the Secretary of State on 8 August, 1953, without a Public Enquiry, and the first meeting of a Local Management Committee took place on 10 January, 1953. They met to consider, inter alia, the issue of licences to shoot wildfowl, and on 6 March of that year they recommended to the County Council that the shooting of all birds at all times within the Reserve should be prohibited. This was rejected by the County Council on 12 May, 1953. On 12 and 13 August, two wildfowlers were charged with shooting without a permit but these charges were subsequently dropped.
A change in the Bye-Laws was proposed and a Public Enquiry was held at Haddington from 9 to 11 November, 1953. The new Bye- Laws were confirmed by the Secretary of State on 12 February, 1954. Late in the summer of 1954, Mr. Barclay was again charged with shooting and the dispute centred around whether foreshore shooting rights are inter regalia majora, and thereby held inalienably by the Crown on behalf of the Public. Sheriff Middleton, in court at Haddington, held '. . . that the Public had in law a general right to use the foreshore in any part of the kingdom for the purpose of recreation and that this right was under the protection of the Crown and was superior to the right of any private proprietor in the foreshore.'.
However, the County Council appealed and the Lord Justice Clerk, Lord Thomson, together with Lord Patrick and Lord Birnam, said 'The Crown has power to consent to the public right of resorting to the foreshore for recreation or wildfowling being prohibited or restricted in appropriate places or circumstances, so that nature reserves which include foreshore may effect their statutory purpose of preserving the wild life of the country.'.
Since 1955, there have been no further Bye-Laws, no further legal disputes, and wildfowling has been controlled by issuing permits to about 26 people.
9. Public Use
(a) General: There are two aspects of public use that have to be established. Firstly, the people who are using the Reserve at the moment have reasons for coming into the area and these should be determined. Any trends in the pattern of usage over the last few years help to make management prescriptions simpler to formulate. Secondly, the future development of the whole of the coastal zone of East Lothian should be considered and it should be an aim of this Plan to demonstrate how the Reserve can become an integral part of the attractions of this coastline.
(b) Present Use: Surveys of people using the Reserve, entering and leaving by the footbridge, were carried out over the weekend 29 and 30 July, 1967. The weather on the Saturday was changeable, mostly cloudy with some sunny periods and two short showers. On Sunday, the weather was sunny and this was reflected in the greater number of people using the Reserve.
The times when people and cars entered the Reserve, and the times of people leaving the Reserve, are illustrated in the histograms in Fig. 10.4. These show the pattern on Saturday but the Sunday pattern was very similar except that more people came during the lunch period. Due to the warmer weather on Sunday activity on the Reserve continued later into the evening than on Saturday.
The people using the Reserve can be divided into four groups. Firstly, there are those who come because of the natural history aspects of the Reserve. These include both the really interested people - counting the birds, Natural History Society members, etc. - and people who are casually interested, often describing themselves as taking a 'nature walk'. Secondfy, there are people who use the whole stretch of the Reserve, walking out to the dunes or Gullane Point. These people tend to be either making for the beach or taking a dog for a walk. Thirdly, there are those people who just want to stroll, they cross the footbridge, and either sit down or walk no further than the Marl Loch. Lastly, there is a group of people who just use the car park. Many of these people picnic in or by their cars and they tend to be families with more than two children. After about 1800 hours a number of young couples use the car park but never leave their cars. The results of an analysis of people using the Reserve on the two days of the survey are given in Table 10.6.
Pooling the data collected on the two days, the following facts emerged. About 60% of visitors to the Reserve come from Edinburgh and about 20% from the County of East Lothian. Of the remaining 20% about 16% are from other parts of Scotland and 4% from England and Wales. About 15% of the people interviewed were on holiday in the Lothians. The frequency with which people visit the Reserve was also determined.
There is, therefore, a substantial number of people who regularly visit the Reserve and their opinions are more important than those of the casual visitors. Nearly all of the regular visitors walk further into the Reserve than the Marl Loch and many of them (c. 70%) welcomed the idea of having a small informative booklet or leaflet on sale. No one disagreed with the idea. Also, most of the regular users of the car park said that they would not object to paying a small charge for the use of the park. Many comments on the area such as 'quietness', 'quiet scenery', and 'solitariness' were expressed and many people came back because of this quiet nature of the Bay. A similar sentiment was expressed by Robert Louis Stevenson when, in Catriona, he referred to the area as: 'Few parts of the coast are lonelier ... such a shining of sun and sea, such a stir of wind in the bent-grass and such a bustle of down-popping rabbits and up-flying gulls, that the desert seemed to me like a place alive' (quotation taken from Nigel Tranter's 'Footbridge to Enchantment').
(c) The East Lothian Coast: The Nature Reserve should be considered in relation to the Development Plan for the East Lothian. This section of the Management Plan is based on the 'County of East Lothian Development Plan: Tourist Development Proposals', which was approved by the County Council on 12th April, 1965, and by the Secretary of State on 6th April, 1966.
Paragraphs 78 and 79 of the "Coastal Survey 1961', which is included as an appendix to the above mentioned Plan, sets the scene for action affecting Aberlady Bay Nature Reserve. The paragraphs state:
'78. First, that the coastline has great variety and wealth of features. It is the current planning policy to preserve and maintain this variety, keeping some areas "remote", protected and undeveloped, while providing positive facilities in others and this policy should be re- affirmed.
'79. Second, that the dune and beaches along the A198 Longniddry, Gullane and North Berwick are suffering from severe erosion and have reached the limit of their capacity. Any vast increase can but result in the complete breakdown of the coastal dunes as is occurring at Gullane and so access rights to alternative beaches must be obtained.'
Paragraphs 27 and 28 of the Coastal Survey 1961 are, in some ways, a first approximation to a Management Plan. The only difference between the outline in the Survey and the prescriptions of the Plan is that this Plan does not envisage the provision of a second car park for the Reserve. This Plan underlines the threat to the Reserve mentioned in the last sentence of Paragraph 28: 'There is also the need for some measures to control the incursion into the Nature Reserve of a large number of the holiday crowds that arrive at Gullane Bents.'
In accordance with Paragraph 78, quoted above, Aberlady Bay must be one of the areas to be kept 'remote', whilst the adjacent beaches and dunes of Longniddry and Gullane are developed as recreational areas.
(d) The Future: The previous sections of this chapter have highlighted two features of the public usage of Aberlady Bay Nature Reserve. Firstly, there is the natural history of the area and survey shows that about a quarter of the people visiting the Reserve are interested in natural history. Public usage does and will exploit the natural history aspects of the Reserve and hence conservation projects will be required to ensure that none of the habitats are destroyed by over use. On the other hand many of the visitors to the Reserve come here because of its loneliness and quietness. This character of the Reserve must also be conserved and its very nature implies that it will be destroyed if too many people endeavour to use it.
3.1.5 Aims of management
The first attempt to define the aims of Management are contained in the minutes of the meeting of the Biological Sub-Committee on 9 January, 1964 (see appendix to minutes of the Management Committee meeting on 14 April, 1964). These record:
'The Management Plan would state the objectives of the Reserve. The Sub-Committee consider that the Reserve serves primarily as a winter refuge for wildfowl but is also an area of great biological and geological interest with increasing educational and recreational uses. The Plan would, therefore, make prescriptions for integrating wildlife conservation and public use.'
The main object of management stems both from this initial suggestion and from the results of a survey of people visiting and using the Reserve. It can be stated as: 1: To conserve the fauna, flora and habitats of the Reserve in order to provide an area of high educational value.
One has, therefore, to steer a course between encouraging people to use the Reserve and to understand what is in it, while yet not making it too popular. This is necessary so that both the natural history and the sense of 'space, quietness, and loneliness' are conserved. The prescriptions of Chapter V aim at establishing a form of'biological open-air museum' and maintaining the sense of quietness and sky which is so highly valued by its visitors. The aim of Management can be broken down into the following trajectories:
Wildlife conservation
Education
Recreation
Research
Miscellaneous