Your Dog’s Safety and Protecting Wildlife

While the coast is a wonderful place to spend some time with your dogs, there are a number of potential dangers you need to be aware of to ensure safety and comfort for both you and your pets.

Additionally, as the birds on our coasts continue to face significant challenges, it’s important to understand what you and your pups can do to ensure there’s space on the shore for birds and pets alike.

Doggy Dangers

Saltmarsh

A dog’s eye site is not well suited to the numerous dips and crevasses on saltmarsh and so it’s very easy for them to injure themselves if allowed to charge through. Additionally, saltmarshes are teeming with wildlife, even if you can’t see it! So it’s always safest for all if you keep your dogs away from saltmarsh.

Drowning

Dogs are at constant risk of drowning or getting stranded when not supervised. Our rangers often have to rescue dogs who are trapped on saltmarsh or mudflats and without their intervention, those dogs would likely have perished.

Every year there are numerous reports of dogs losing their lives on the Essex coast. Please keep your dog supervised and close by to ensure safety.

Bird-Flu

Bird-Flu is still prevalent on the Essex shores and can be transmitted to dogs. It is critical to keep your dogs away from birds to not only allow the birds space to thrive but also to prevent your dog becoming infected.

Poisoning

Each year there are cases of dogs ingesting something nasty on the beach. This can sometimes prove fatal. Between mould, toxins, animal carcases and sea pollutions the risks are numerous. It’s always best to have your dog under close control to avoid them munching anything that could do them harm.

Protecting the Birds

Vital Energy

Approximately 15% of a bird’s daily energy is consumed each time they are disturbed and have to take off. This means that if they’re disturbed multiple times in a day, their chances of survival are significantly diminished.

The Tide is Your Guide

Use the tide to help you walk without disturbing birds. During winter months – You’ll want to be as far from the tide as possible to give winter waders plenty of space and time to feed. During the summer months, you’ll want to walk closer to the tide to avoid trampling on nests or disturbing nesting birds.

Beach Nests

Some of our coastal birds lay their nests right on the beach in little scrapes. These nests are well camouflaged so it’s very easy to step on them. Try to avoid walking directly on shingle between March to September to avoid crushing any eggs and take note if you notice birds pay you close attention and make a lot of noise.

Follow Signage Requests

We and our partners place signage in strategic locations on sites throughout the year. Each of these signs are meaningfully placed in order to provide guidance on how you can help the birds. Please pay close attention to any signs you see as each sign is there for a reason.

Keeping your Dogs and Wildlife Safe