Estuaries host internationally important concentrations of wading birds in winter, but their welfare during cold snaps depends critically on access to invertebrate-rich mudflats that warming and pollution can destroy.
Individual wading bird welfare in estuaries during winter is acutely tied to food access. During cold snaps, frozen mudflat surfaces can lock birds out of their food supply for days. Birds that cannot feed in sufficient quantity to offset heat loss in cold weather deteriorate rapidly, with starvation and hypothermia combining to cause death. Human disturbance of roosting flocks at high tide causes repeated unnecessary energy expenditure in birds with limited reserves. Estuary conservation actions that protect mudflat extent and quality directly prevent individual bird starvation and suffering across millions of animals.