Wild Animals

Wild Migratory Shorebird Welfare and Coastal Habitat

Migratory shorebirds making trans-hemispheric flights depend on staging habitats for refueling; rapid intertidal habitat loss along the East Asian-Australasian Flyway has caused population crashes.

Key Facts

Bar-tailed godwits fly 11,000 km nonstop from Alaska to New Zealand - the longest known non-stop migration
The East Asian-Australasian Flyway has lost 28% of its migratory birds in 20 years
Yellow Sea intertidal habitats critical for refueling have been 35% destroyed by land reclamation
Spoon-billed sandpipers number fewer than 500 individuals and are critically endangered
Staging habitat protection is the most effective conservation intervention for shorebird welfare

Welfare Considerations

Migratory shorebirds arrive at staging areas in critically depleted condition, needing to double their bodyweight before continuing. When staging habitats are destroyed, birds must choose between departing too light for the next leg or dying while searching for alternative food. The welfare harm is both direct - starvation and exhaustion - and indirect through failed breeding seasons.

What You Can Do

Support the East Asian-Australasian Flyway Partnership protecting critical staging habitats
Advocate against coastal development projects that destroy intertidal shorebird habitat
Report shorebird sightings to citizen science databases like eBird to improve monitoring
Support Wetlands International campaigns for Yellow Sea tidal flat protection