How agricultural practices affect migratory bird populations and welfare, and land management approaches that support migratory species during critical periods.
The welfare impacts of agricultural intensification on migratory birds are both direct and indirect. Direct harm includes pesticide poisoning, collision with farm machinery, and drainage of wetland habitats. Indirect harm arises from food web disruption that reduces energy available during energetically demanding migration. Individual birds that fail to find adequate food at stopover sites may exhaust energy reserves and die before completing migration. Landscape-scale habitat restoration through agri-environment policy offers the most promising pathway to reversing these population-level welfare harms.