Wildlife

Wild Chough Cliffside Welfare

The chough is one of the UK's rarest corvids, restricted to coastal cliffs in Wales, Scotland, and Ireland, with welfare shaped by food availability and disturbance.

Key Facts

Choughs feed primarily on soil invertebrates using their curved red bills
Short-grazed coastal grassland provides essential feeding habitat
UK chough populations are restricted to Wales, Islay, Colonsay, and parts of Ireland
Disturbance at cliff nest sites causes breeding failure
Livestock grazing management creating short coastal turf is essential for feeding

Welfare Considerations

Choughs that cannot find adequate invertebrate-rich feeding habitat near their nesting cliffs face food stress and breeding failure. Grazing management of coastal grassland is essential for maintaining the feeding habitat that supports chough welfare. Nest disturbance during incubation causes direct welfare harm through egg chilling.

What You Can Do

Support coastal grassland management benefiting choughs
Maintain distances from cliff nesting sites in chough areas
Donate to organisations monitoring and protecting chough populations