Wild Animals

Wild Wading Bird Coastal Wetlands

Coastal wetlands support internationally important populations of wading birds, and their welfare depends on the maintenance of intertidal mudflat habitats threatened by sea level rise and development.

Key Facts

The Wash in eastern England supports 400,000+ wading birds in winter including knot and dunlin
Managed retreat of coastal defences creates new intertidal habitat to replace lost mudflats
Knot form enormous aerial flocks (murmurations) at high tide as an anti-predator response
Cordgrass invasion of estuaries reduces invertebrate prey availability for waders

Welfare Considerations

Wading birds unable to access mudflat prey during high tide roost communally with elevated metabolic costs. Disturbance of high tide roosts forces repeated flight responses that deplete energy reserves critical for winter survival and spring migration. Invertebrate prey depletion through sedimentation, pollution or cordgrass invasion forces birds to travel further for food, increasing energy expenditure.

What You Can Do

Visit Estuaries Care and similar organisations volunteering to manage coastal wetlands
Support managed coastal realignment projects that create replacement intertidal habitat
Avoid disturbing wader roosts by keeping dogs on leads on coastal mudflats in winter
Participate in the Wetland Bird Survey (WeBS) to contribute to wader population monitoring