Well, after some talk about this a while back, restrictions ahve now been imposed on kite-surfers at West Kirby.

The restrictions are seasonal based on bird breeding times I preume, and are intended to stop people kite-surfing on the righthand side of an imaginary line from the car park to Little Eye.

Check this for a twitchers-eye view on the situation.

and this for a map of the current area where kite-surfers go and how it affects the birds roosting area, along with the new proposed kiting area.

I haven't managed to find an official statement about the restriction from the BKSA yet.

What are your views. Do the kitesurfers REALLY affect the birds? Are the restrictions sensible and enforceable? Should other alternatives be discussed?

The local kite-surfers seem to think they have been poorly treated and weren't consulted about the restrictions.

Al.

I have to admit I get a bit scared if theres someone buzzing a kite around over my head and they don't look in proper control.

Theres no people out there, seriously its one of the most deserted places you can find.

some pumped up twitcher has decided

1:Kites look like birds of prey & scare the roosting birds.

2:kite surfers & buggys have been scaring them.

well, I know for a fact no one from the Land yacht club has gone with in a mile of that area on the beach for ages cause its just not worth the hassle of getting ear ache from the wardens, wehave 12 square miles to play on FFS, what the point of pissing people of. Also you can actualy buggy next to a flock of birds with out them flying away. Its only if you get out of the buggy or get within 10-15 feet of the flock do they take any notice. kitesurfers dont tend to get that far down the beach. & any way surely the tides in while there out ?

more council driven B*^^$*

First post here from a newbie flyer. I'm not a kite surfer, land boarder or buggyman. BIG question - are there any restrictions when the tide is out on flying a quad line somewhere in between Hilbre and the beach ie in line with the bottom of Lingdale or Riversdale eg where the grassy bit starts. Although I'm a newbie I fly a big kite on rather a large yacht!

A bit of a PS to my original reply I've been on the Wirral MBC site and can't find anything about any restrictions whatsoever!

Hi Offshore... and welcome to Forces-of-Nature.

As far as I know, there will be a total ban on flying 2 and 4 line kites within a buoyed area of the main beach at West Kirby during the summer. However, this ban only applies at low tide, to prevent any kite flying where the general public congregate. I'm not 100% sure where this bouyed area is in relation to the area you mention though, but this info may help answer your questions.

Kitesurfers can fly within this area once the tide is in, provided that they stay 200m from the waterline.

Al.

I was at West Kirby at Easter and the yellow bouys were there. Go down last Sunday evening before giving the kids their tea and lo and behold no bouys. I also popped my head round the lake warden's hut to see what wind speed they had and mentioned I was going to fly the kite. He didn't say anything about any restrictions. As I say I'm not a surfer so question is there a restriction on me flying my kite when the tide is out and no one is there???

Another PS I have spoken to the Warden and if you kite without a surfboard or buggy yo can fly your kite as long as you stay at least 200m from the walk line to Hilbre. Nuff said eh!!

I'm originally from the Wirral and now live in Perth Western Australia and on the main beaches in Perth that enjoy the company of thousands of sand gropers every weekend i've seen paragliders and hand-gliders cruising up and down the coast above peoples heads on the beach and the main coast road. Everyone loves it and passers by point it out to there kids so they can take i all in and enjoy the sight and get a bit of thrill. The kitesurfers are even less dangerous because they are in the ocean, so where's the problem? I don't kite surf i surf but i think people should enjoy other peoples sport and not get freaked by something the don't really understand..........

Typical! ......next thing you know they will put a ban on shooting bird watchers!

All info on bird restrictions can be obtained from senior ranger jo henik at leasow lighthouse.The impression he gave me is no kites in restricted zones at all,as anything above a bird is a threat.If bird numbers decline at little eye kites will be banned alltogether.Wirral council is really pro and suportive of kite activity if you chat with jo he is a real nice guy and it is only fair that as responsible kiters we respect other beach users and groups.Two reasons i abide by the zones is A- if everyone follows guidelines if number of roosting birds fall the council have no reasons to impose more restriction and need to look for other reasons as to why those numbers are falling,the info is not from a few twitchers it is a compiled scientific study B-even tho i have no interested in birds i would not like to think my activity has caused harm to the population of some of the rarest roosting birds in europe.
If we act responsibly we can keep a great sailing buggying and landboarding area as free from restriction as possible.So far the only thing the council as is stay away from bird zones,Keep landboarding to Meols,and for buggying register with land yaght club.Which if you go to many beaches where restrictions and permit situations are crazy we have it real good.........so come on guys lets keep it that way it is not worth the aggro.......trust me i started at ainsdale look at that place now.........any quieries call jo henik senior ranger he will fill u in on the reasons why.