Oystercatchers feeding on cockles, mussels, and worms face welfare implications when commercial shellfisheries reduce prey availability, and individual birds develop distinct foraging specialisations.
Oystercatcher welfare is unusually tied to individual foraging specialisation - an oystercatcher that has learned to hammer mussels cannot easily switch to worms if mussel beds are depleted or frozen. This creates individual vulnerability to prey-specific shortfalls that affects welfare at the individual level even when population-level prey is sufficient. Understanding this individual welfare dimension is important when assessing the impact of shellfishery management on oystercatcher populations. Individual birds with restricted foraging repertoires deserve welfare consideration that population-level assessments may miss.