Ringed Plover (Charadrius hiaticula)
Key Details
| Taxonomic Groups: | Vertebrate > bird > Bird |
| Red List Status: | Near Threatened (Breeding) / Vulnerable (Non-breeding) [NT(br) VU(nbr)] |
| D5 Status: | Included in the baseline Red List Index for England (Wilkins, Wilson & Brown, 2022) |
| Section 41 Status: | (not listed) |
| Taxa Included Synonym: | (none) |
| UKSI Recommended Name: | Charadrius hiaticula |
| UKSI Recommended Authority: | Linnaeus, 1758 |
| UKSI Recommended Qualifier: | (none specified) |
| Red List Citation: | Stanbury et al., 2021 |
| Notes on taxonomy/listing: | (none) |
Criteria
| Question 1: | Does species need conservation or recovery in England? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | No Eng breeding trend. Eng WeBS trends (25 yr -58%, 10 yr -17%) |
| Question 2: | Does recovery/ conservation depend on species-specific actions? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Disturbance/predation issues need addressing. |
| Question 3: | At a landscape scale, would the species benefit from untargeted habitat management to increase habitat mosaics, structural diversity, or particular successional stages? |
| Response: | Yes |
| Justification: | Island and scrape creation at inland converted mineral extraction/wetland sites. |
Species Assessment
| Current step on the Species Recovery Curve (SRC): | 6. Recovery solutions trialled |
| Recovery potential/expectation: | Medium-high |
| National Monitoring Resource: | Combination - insufficient |
| Species Comments: |
Key Actions
Key Action 1
Proposed Action: Implement beach nesting bird schemes at the most important sites to provide nest protection and reduce predation and disturbance issues and ensure regular monitoring.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Pressure mitigation
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 50 sites
High priority sites: Norfolk Coast, Cumbria, Northumberland, Humber
Comments:
Key Action 2
Proposed Action: Trial solutions to reduce impacts of predation and disturbance on selected sites including social research.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Scientific research
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites:
Comments:
Key Action 3
Proposed Action: Provide new safe nesting areas for ringed plovers and associated species through habitat creation and consider and, as appropriate, implement the recommendations of SPA Reviews for this species. This should include both outstanding actions from the 2001 SPA Review and additional recommendations from the 2016 SPA Review. Up to date evidence is also required.
Action targets: 6. Recovery solutions trialled
Action type: Habitat creation
Duration: >10 years
Scale of Implementation: ≤ 10 sites
High priority sites:
Comments: Habitat will support other coastal breeding species, e.g., Oystercatcher, Little Tern.
Acknowledgment:
Data used on this website are adapted from Threatened species recovery actions 2025 baseline (JP065): Technical report and spreadsheet user guide (Natural England, 2025). Available here.