Change may be coming for people who walk their dogs on Willows Beach.

Oak Bay council has directed municipal staff to examine options to restrict dogs from the southern portion of the beach.

But the move isn’t because they don’t like dogs – council says it's because they want to preserve birds and their habitat.

“This came to council from an Oak Bay resident involved with the migratory bird sanctuary,” said Oak Bay Councillor Hazel Braithwaite. “They asked that we have look at dogs on the beach south of Bowker Creek due to the nesting of birds.”

Councillors said it's their hope that dog owners would not see the removal of a relatively small portion of the beach as restrictive.

The current bylaw permits dogs on Willows Beach from Oct. 1 to April 30. If passed, the revised bylaw would only ban dogs from Bowker Creek to just behind Glenlyon Norfolk School.

Council said it recognizes that the entire shoreline of Oak Bay is a bird sanctuary for year-round resident birds such as the Pacific Great Blue Heron. It has been a bird sanctuary since 1923.

Councillors say any change to the bylaw is very much still in the future.

“It is really just in the discussion stage, staff is going to do a study and bring it back and we will talk about it,” said Braithwaite. “There are a lot of dog owners in Oak Bay, they need a place to walk their dogs, and we have to take that into account as well.”

Brathwaite said it's all about balance, and by having public input, the city will be able to satisfy the people who use the beach to walk their dogs and preserve birds and their habitat. “We just want to protect what is here already," she said.

There is no timeline for when staff may bring a recommendation for a revision of the bylaw to council. When a report from staff does come to council there will be opportunity for public input.