Walking through shorebird flocks can have negative impacts on shorebird populations. Understanding human behavior is essential for minimizing disturbance. As such, we used a mixed methods approach consisting of phone interviews and a survey to explore (1) recreationists’ perceived benefits and constraints to voluntarily walking around shorebird flocks; (2) recreationists’ intentions to walk around shorebird flocks; (3) differences in behavioral intention by sociodemographic variables; and (4) differences in norms, benefits, and constraints among recreationists who intend to walk around flocks and recreationists who do not intend to walk around flocks. We found that perceived benefits to walking around flocks were maintaining undisturbed conditions for shorebirds and reducing harm to people and their dogs, whereas perceived constraints related to a lack of knowledge about shorebirds’ needs. The majority of recreationists were willing to walk around flocks, rather than through them. Intention to walk around flocks can vary by sociodemographic groups. Recreationists who intended to walk around flocks had stronger personal and social norms than recreationists who did not intend to walk around flocks. Recreationists who intended to walk around flocks generally agreed more strongly that maintaining undisturbed conditions for shorebirds and reduced harm to people and their dogs were benefits, compared to participants who did not intend to walk around flocks. Recreationists who did not intend to walk around flocks agreed more strongly that a lack of knowledge about shorebirds’ needs was a constraint compared to participants who intended to walk around flocks. Our findings could be used in the strategy development phase of a community-based social marketing campaign (CBSM) aimed at encouraging recreationists to voluntarily walk around shorebird flocks. Using behavior change techniques, benefits uncovered in this study can be emphasized and constraints uncovered in this study can be reduced for the purpose of promoting less disturbance to shorebirds.

中文翻译：

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海滩休闲爱好者认为缺乏对滨鸟需求的了解是在滨鸟群周围行走的限制因素

穿过滨鸟群会对滨鸟种群产生负面影响。了解人类行为对于最大限度地减少干扰至关重要。因此，我们采用了包括电话采访和调查在内的混合方法来探索（1）休闲爱好者对自愿在滨鸟群周围行走的感知好处和限制；(2) 休闲者在滨鸟群周围散步的意图；(3) 社会人口变量的行为意图差异；(4) 打算在羊群周围散步的休闲者和不打算在羊群周围散步的休闲者在规范、利益和限制方面的差异。我们发现，在鸟群周围行走的好处是保持滨鸟不受干扰的环境，并减少对人和狗的伤害，而感知到的限制与缺乏对滨鸟需求的了解有关。大多数休闲爱好者愿意在羊群周围行走，而不是穿过它们。在羊群周围散步的意愿可能因社会人口群体而异。打算在羊群周围散步的休闲者比不打算在羊群周围散步的休闲者有更强的个人和社会规范。与不打算在羊群周围散步的参与者相比，打算在羊群周围散步的休闲主义者普遍更强烈地认为，维持鸻鹬鸟不受干扰的环境以及减少对人和狗的伤害是有益的。不打算在鸟群周围散步的休闲爱好者更强烈地同意，与打算在鸟群周围散步的参与者相比，缺乏对滨鸟需求的了解是一个限制因素。我们的研究结果可用于基于社区的社会营销活动（CBSM）的战略制定阶段，该活动旨在鼓励休闲爱好者自愿在滨鸟群周围散步。使用行为改变技术，可以强调本研究中发现的好处，并可以减少本研究中发现的限制，以减少对滨鸟的干扰。