The grey plover is a solitary, territorial wader of British estuaries that breeds on the Russian and Siberian Arctic tundra, with its welfare linked to both the quality of intertidal mudflat habitats in winter and the condition of Arctic breeding grounds in summer.
Grey plover welfare on British estuaries depends on undisturbed intertidal mudflat with abundant Nereis worm populations. Estuarine reclamation eliminates feeding territories that individual birds defend through the winter. The territorial nature of grey plover means habitat loss forces displacement to less productive areas where competition is higher. Permafrost thaw in Russian breeding areas under climate change may alter the vegetation structure of breeding habitat, with poorly understood consequences for breeding productivity.