Agree with those sentiments Bob, I suppose this is where local knowledge comes in handy so you can pick quiet sites.

I will try to answer that question clearly. The law regarding the beaches is as follows - Between October 1st and April 30 dogs and horses can be freely exercised on the beach any time - Dogs can therefore be off lead -
May 1st to Sept. 30 dogs must be on lead between 10.30 and 6pm and horses are not permitted between these hours - this dates from when we had a big tourist industry - certain dog owner whinge mightly about it and I love it as it means I can train and swim without interference.
In 2021 our wildlife laws were updated and one of the benefits that 'we' pushed for was for it to become an offence for birds to be disturbed, interfered with at their rest sites, which can be interpreted as Sanderlings etc feeding in flocks at the waters edge. This law developed in part as a result of the storms of 2012/13 when we had what felt like 13 weeks of storms - it wasn't far off. We had lots of shore birds and waders taking refuge on the Island - many exhausted and certain cretins though it would be appropriate to exercise their dogs among them. The result being a number of birds too tired to fly being shredded to pieces. Very distressing for those of us trying to rescue and help.
Quote:- This is now the Law
(1) It is an offence for a person deliberately to –
(a) take from a breeding site; or
(b) disturb, in a breeding or resting site,
the eggs or dependent offspring of a bird of a species listed in Part 1 of Schedule 5, at any time.
(2) It is an offence for a person deliberately or recklessly to –
(a) take from a breeding site; or
(b) disturb, in a breeding or resting site,
the eggs or dependent offspring of a bird of a species listed in Part 2 of Schedule 5, while that site is in use or is being built.
(3) It is an offence for a person deliberately or recklessly to –
(a) take, damage or destroy any part of the breeding site of a bird of a species listed in Part 1 of Schedule 5; or
(b) obstruct access by such a bird to its breeding site or resting site,
at any time.
(4) It is an offence for a person deliberately to –
(a) take, damage or destroy any part of the breeding site of a bird of a species listed in Part 2 of Schedule 5; or
(b) obstruct access by such a bird to its breeding site,
while a nest on that site is in use or is being built.
(5) For the purposes of paragraphs (2) and (4) a nest is “in use” if a bird is incubating eggs in the nest, or if –
(a) the nest contains eggs or offspring of a bird; or
(b) although the nest does not contain offspring, offspring of a bird remain dependent on the nest as a resting site,
regardless of whether, at the time of any act described in that paragraph, the bird is in the nest.
(6) It is an offence for a person, at any time, deliberately to do an act, or carry out any activity, which has the effect of causing deterioration of a breeding site or resting site of a bird of a species in relation to which this Article applies.
(7) A person does not commit an offence under this Article if the person acts under and in accordance with a licence.
(8) A person guilty of an offence under this Article is liable to the standard penalty.

The net result is that the offence can be reported - it is best to have photographic and video evidence rather than heresay 'he said, she said' It has also resulted in a case when someones dog took an Oystercatcher and they were fined
All wild birds are protected except Carrion Crow, Magpie, Pigeon wood and feral, and Pheasant but you need a license to disturb or remove them.

Germain that sets it out very well, much the same as on UK mainland only more clearly worded and really not much in what could be called grey areas. As a point of interest, just how effective is the ruling and do sny cases end up in court ? I think a stiff fine well publicised is a good deterent for most people. Thanks for posting this.

Thanks. I understand what you meant now. It’s good they updated them to help protect most of the wildlife there better 

The Northumbrian County Council along with other partners have a seasonal scheme called "space for shorebirds " which explains the problem of disturbance caused by walkers and dogs to birds feeding and resting on the shore and the dunes. Not completely relevant to this thread but certainly worth a read. We talked to a couple of their rangers when we were at Boulmer last October and they thought the system was working Try the site  spaceforshorebirds.co.uk 

So far 1 case that I know of Pete, people are becoming a bit more respectful but of course there will always be those that think it doesn't apply to them - like the chap who thought he was entitled to walk through the wetlands area and got soundly told off by the rangers

I think situations like the one you said at that beach and the ones we mentioned defiantly show how important it is to keep dogs on the lead on public footpaths on Nature reserves

I think I know where Ian is coming from on this one - Guide Dogs have a recognised system of training and must meet a specified standard which takes a while and when working are always on lead and harness - it's very clear to see what they are and I would think if their owners were to wish to access a restricted reserve that would be permitted. The issue that starts cause a problem is the disability access and people having what are referred to as ESD (Emotional Support Dogs), there is no minimum standard of training or temperament checking and no legal requirement of the dog to be certified so that anyone a claim their animal is an ESD - this causes a huge amount of conflict and annoyance with guide dogs and medical alert dogs and this could and probably does result in undertrained and poorly behaved dogs with undertrained and poor behaved owners accessing sensitive areas to the discomfort and annoyance of genuine birders. In 2020 2 women claiming their dogs were ESD went to Crufts - the dogs snapped at several people and bit a couple of dogs .... It causes problems everywhere

I have just received some information from the local moorland gamekeepers about putting notices up at access points asking people to keep to established footpaths and tracks, not necessarily rights of way, and keep dogs on a lead. This is because it is the start of nesting season on the moors and birds soon get stressed if disturbed. Under Open Access laws some moorland owners can apply to have dogs banned from all but public rights of way. According to our local keepers most walkers are quite good about this arrangement

Thats good