Migratory shorebirds depend on key roost sites during long migrations, making protection of these sites critical for the welfare of millions of birds.
Shorebirds displaced from roost sites during critical refueling stopover periods face direct welfare consequences - depleted energy reserves, inability to continue migration, and mortality. The energetic demands of long-distance migration are extreme; birds arrive at stopover sites with minimal fat reserves and must feed intensively. Repeated disturbance preventing feeding can cause birds to fail to accumulate sufficient fuel for the next migration leg. Red knots at Delaware Bay have experienced population collapse following horseshoe crab harvest increases that reduced egg availability - a cascade from prey depletion to bird starvation affecting hundreds of thousands of individuals.