Bird Migration Welfare: Hazards, Stopovers, and Conservation

Migratory birds face extraordinary welfare challenges during twice-yearly journeys covering thousands of kilometres. Understanding the hazards they face and what humans can do to support them reveals high-impact welfare interventions.

Key Facts

Around 50 billion birds migrate annually across the globe, making up roughly half of all bird species
Bar-tailed godwits fly non-stop for up to 11,000 kilometres from Alaska to New Zealand — the longest known non-stop bird flight
Mediterranean songbird trapping kills an estimated 25 million birds annually, primarily targeting migrants
Wind turbines kill an estimated 140,000-500,000 birds annually in the UK, with larger numbers in other countries
Stopover habitat — wetlands, coastal scrub, and woodland — is critical for birds to refuel between migration legs
Climate change is altering the timing and routes of migration, creating mismatches with food availability at key points
Glass building strikes kill an estimated 600 million birds annually in the US and millions in Europe
The African-Eurasian Migratory Soaring Birds project coordinates protection across 7,000 km of flyway

Welfare Considerations

Bird migration welfare involves both acute and chronic challenges. Individual birds that exhaust their fat reserves and cannot refuel at degraded stopover habitats starve mid-journey. Those trapped in Mediterranean mist nets or limestick traps experience prolonged capture distress before killing. Window and building strikes cause traumatic injury and death. Exhausted migrants that arrive in gardens during bad weather are particularly vulnerable. Conservation of stopover habitats, reduction of trapping in Mediterranean countries, and building design changes that reduce strike risk are all direct welfare interventions with measurable impact. Supporting monitoring schemes that track migrant welfare through survival analysis and satellite tagging provides the evidence base for further interventions.

What You Can Do

Apply window alert stickers to large glass panels to reduce strike mortality
Maintain feeding stations in gardens especially during spring and autumn migration periods
Support RSPB campaigns against illegal bird trapping in Mediterranean countries
Donate to BirdLife International flyway conservation programmes
Advocate for wildlife-friendly wind turbine siting and operational restrictions during peak migration
Plant native berry-bearing shrubs to provide food for migrant thrushes, warblers, and flycatchers
Participate in BTO ringing and migration monitoring volunteers programmes