Whitethroats are abundant summer visitors that breed in scrubby habitats and face welfare challenges from Sahel drought on their wintering grounds.
Whitethroat welfare illustrates the challenge of multi-site migratory species whose welfare is affected by conditions at distant wintering and migratory stopover sites beyond the reach of local management. Drought on the Sahel wintering grounds causes food scarcity, increased mortality, and reduced body condition that carries over to reduced breeding performance in the UK. During breeding, welfare is linked to scrub habitat quality — dense, thorny vegetation that provides nest protection from predators and invertebrate prey for chick rearing. Scrub clearance that reduces breeding habitat quality directly reduces welfare by increasing predation risk and food availability for nesting pairs.