Fieldfares arrive in the UK each winter from Scandinavia to feed on berried hedgerows and windfalls, with welfare depending on berry crop availability.
Fieldfare winter welfare depends on berry availability across the landscape, which can fail in years of drought or poor berry production. When natural food is exhausted, cold weather compounds welfare harm through increased energy demand at the same time as food becomes scarcer. Maintaining berry-bearing hedgerows and providing windfalls in gardens during cold spells makes a measurable difference to individual fieldfare welfare.