Plovers in Peril

The Plovers in Peril team do a great job helping to protect nesting Ringed Plovers on our beaches. The problem is not so much from predators, as from human pressures. Their nesting grounds are also favoured by walkers, sunbathers, picnickers, and dog walkers, many of whom don’t realise the birds are there – and so eggs and chicks get crushed underfoot unawares, or the parents are kept away for too long and the eggs chill.

Ringed Plovers are in deep decline in Norfolk – numbers had plunged by 77%, but the launch of the Plovers in Peril project has helped arrest the decline and start the recovery. But to continue the good work requires more volunteers.

If you have a few hours to spare between March and August, please consider helping out. To find out more about volunteering on the Plovers in Peril project, please get in touch at pl************@******rg.uk.

Blakeney Point 2025 Breeding Report

2025 was a mixed year for breeding birds. It was disappointing, but not completely unexpected, that no early Black-Headed Gull colony formed on Far Point, despite electric fencing and the use of decoys but for those birds that eventually did decide to settle on the Point it was a pretty good breeding season.

The full report is now available to view and download on the Reports/Breeding page where you can also see reports from previous years and other sites.

New Gillmor Discovery Hide now open

A rectangular building made from grey steel with the lower part clad with wood, with panels opening for seeing out


The Gillmor Discovery Hide replaces a popular wildlife hide previously found along the shingle beach that was destroyed in the big storm of 2013. The new hide has been put on wheels, to protect it from the same fate, allowing site staff to tow it to safety when a major storm is forecast.  The hide is named in tribute to the late Robert Gillmor, the well-known wildlife artist who was a local resident for many years. 

The new hide is located just inland from the shingle beach on the west side of Cley Marshes. It is approximately a 10-minute walk from the beach car park.

For more details, see the NWT press release.