Wading Bird Welfare and Wetland Conservation

The welfare challenges facing wading birds including curlew, lapwing, and snipe on UK farmland and wetlands, and the habitat management that helps them.

Key Facts

Curlew is now the UK's most threatened breeding bird with fewer than 60,000 pairs
Lapwing populations have declined by 60% since the 1970s due to agricultural change
Wet grassland with shallow pools is critical habitat for most wading bird species
Predator pressure from foxes and corvids is a major cause of nest failure
Agri-environment scheme payments support wading bird habitat on farmland

Welfare Considerations

Wading birds experience welfare challenges from habitat loss, predation, and climate-driven changes to their wintering and breeding grounds. The decline of wet grassland has removed the shallow flooding and soft invertebrate-rich ground that waders need for foraging. Increased predator populations in predator-free agricultural landscapes causes high nest predation rates that stress breeding birds across multiple failed nesting attempts. Climate change is shifting the timing of spring invertebrate emergence relative to wader chick hatching, causing chick starvation. Individual bird welfare and population conservation are closely linked for these species.

What You Can Do

Support agri-environment schemes that fund wading bird habitat management
Advocate for wet grassland protection and restoration in conservation policy
Support organized predator management programs in core wading bird areas
Report breeding wading birds to local wildlife groups for monitoring
Visit managed wading bird reserves to support conservation through responsible wildlife tourism