CPP | Meet The Team

Meet The Team

Mick Hill
Chairman

Hi, I'm Mick Hill & have been lucky enough to be part of the Cromer watcpoint team since the very first watchpoint in 2019 following my early retirement.

Having previously been employed in the office equipment industry I rarely had time for nature & birding so holidays were generally spent in exotic locations such as Florida, Costa Rica, St Lucia, Malaysia, New York in order to enjoy nature & birds in particular but I shan't dwell on this. Suffice to say that from that first season I was totally hooked & spent many very early mornings in the company of Chris & Kim photographing these magnificent birds who we all now regard as family.

Chris Skipper
Media/Content Producer

Hiya I'm Chris, Professional photographer by trade. My love of peregrines comes from when I first saw a DVD about them at Derby back in 2009. A few years later in 2011 we had a pair turn up at Norwich Cathedral, I went to photograph them and was hooked. I started to document them throughout the year and soon became a regular at the Cathedral, running a Facebook and Twitter account dedicated to the Norwich peregrines.

When I heard Cromer had a pair of peregrines on the Church I paid a visit and witnessed them mating. I was invited to take part in the initial visit to the top of the Church tower to investigate the possibilites of installing a nesting platform and camera. After the peregrines started to visit the newly installed platform we established the Cromer Peregrine Project. After a successful first season I updated the cameras and we now stream the live images online for the enjoyment of thousands of people from all over the planet.

I have installed peregrine cameras all over the UK as well as giving advice on the set up and running of CCTV systems for all sorts of birds, the success of the Cromer set up has led to a glut of copycat installs, I like to think I have taken the world of bird nest monitoring to the next level and I am proud of my achievements in this sector.

Together with my wife Kim we run the Cromer peregrines social media accounts as well as visiting Cromer regularly to take pictures of these amazing birds. The love shown to these birds by the townsfolk of Cromer never fails to amaze me and they always draw a crowd, especially when the juveniles first take flight, they fan out onto the local buildings which can offer excellent views of the young peregrines.

We also run the hugely successful Skipper Photography business, through this business we donate pictures to be used on various items of merchandise which all raises money for the Cromer Peregrine Project.

Ann Cleall

Secretary and NENBC Liaison

I have been interested in wildlife all my life and birds in particular. It was one of the things that brought me to Norfolk 25 years ago. Since living here I spent over 10 years as a volunteer for the Hawk and Owl Trust at Sculthorpe Moor where I was heavily involved with the Norwich Peregrine Project during the first couple of years as the Volunteer Co-ordinator. I have also assisted in collecting data of bird records for the Cley Bird Club when it looked as if it would have to close down, and I have been involved with the Cromer Peregrine Project from the start – first of all as volunteer Co-ordinator, a role I handed over last year to Mike Harmer - and now as Secretary.

I am a mother and grandmother and have tried to pass on my passion and experience to my family – which seems to be succeeding. And in my working life I have been a secretary/PA and an Education Social Worker. Consequently, I like working with people and enjoy sharing my knowledge.

Kim Skipper
HR and H&S co-ordinator

Eddie Anderson
Community co-ordinator

I was raised in an outgoing family of writers, artists, naturalists and adventurers. My great aunt married the ill-fated Captain Robert Falcon Scott, and their son Peter, who was my godfather, introduced me to the importance of understanding evolution and valuing the beauty of all wildlife.

My first job was feeding ducks at his Wildfowl Trust in Slimbridge. Later working in the original Cromer zoo, then 10 years as a gamekeeper in Scotland and in Norfolk on the Holkham Estate where I soon branched into wildlife cinematography for RSPB and BBC and training birds for TV and cinema films. Followed by 30 years as screen-writer and producer at ITV Anglia and BBC in Norwich, and since then making films and writing for conservation groups.

Meanwhile I have managed the wooded Templewood Estate in Northrepps dealing with Forestry Commission, DEFRA, Norfolk Rivers Trust, CLA and Mun Valley Farmland Cluster.

As a young teenager my first enthusiasm for raptors and owls coincided precisely with the catastrophic decline in the Peregrine Falcon populations in UK and USA due agricultural chemical poisoning. Hence, my acute awareness of the Peregrine’s vulnerability at the top of the food chain, and therefore as indicators of ecological imbalances.

Currently I promote better management methods for wildlife on Norfolk farmland, the Cromer Green Spaces and of course the protecton of Cromer’s beautiful Peregrines.

I always aim to encourage wildlife education and networking of enthusiasts and conservationists, whatever their specialisation.

Mike Harmer
Vice chair & volunteer coordinator

My name is Mike Harmer and I have a passion for all wildlife. I have been involved with raptor conservation for the last 30 years. Unfortunately, my day job is nothing to do with wildlife so most of my free time (which isn't very much nowadays) is taken up with fantastic local initiatives supporting the biodiversity of not just Norfolk and the UK but across the globe.

I have been fortunate enough to be involved with CPP since the very beginning and it has been a pleasure to work with such amazing people. The amount of knowledge, talent and dedication from everyone involved in CPP is inspiring.

As volunteer coordinator, one of my responsibilities is the fantastic Watchpoint stationed outside Cromer Museum, between April and July. I can honestly say that there is very little that can beat engaging with residents and visitors alike on a sunny day. Surrounded by amazing colleagues and friends. All topped off with peregrines flying overhead. Cromer is definitely my happy place.