Whilst Scilly is famous for its plethora of breeding seabirds, from Manx Shearwaters to Storm Petrels, the Ringed Plover should not be overlooked. These special little waders are struggling nationally, and so we are incredibly lucky that they are finding success on our shores.
Scilly is the last chance for breeding Ringed Plovers in the far south-west. This iconic bird of spring and summer beaches went extinct everywhere else in Cornwall between the 1800s and the 1970s. Nowadays the next closest breeding location is 170 miles away in Dorset. Your support will drive our efforts to make sure they can truly thrive again in Scilly.
Last year we were able to secure funding to support research for one breeding season. With just this we were able to record the number of successful nesting sites, while also recognising the biggest threats that resulted in failed broods.
This year however, we've been hit by funding cuts and so must rely on the generosity of our supporters to continue this crucial work.
Every day, our Conservation Officer is working to check nests across Scilly, review trail camera footage, and set up cordons and signs to protect new nests.
Even with her hard work, we’ve sadly already seen failures of several nests in spring 2025, and faced challenges protected remote nest sites that we can't get to frequently enough. We need your help to encourage everyone to leave the delicate nests undisturbed.
It’s going to take our whole Plover Lover community to rescue our breeding Ringed Plover population. With your help, together we can Protect our Plovers and make sure this familiar shoreline bird doesn’t become a distant summertime memory.
