Wildlife

Wild Song Thrush Garden Welfare

Song thrushes have declined severely in the UK with garden management practices significantly affecting their welfare and population recovery.

Key Facts

Song thrush populations declined by 68 percent between 1970 and 2010 in the UK
Garden and farmland snail populations are their primary prey in winter and spring
Slug pellet use reduces snail prey abundance and may directly poison thrushes
Thrushes use anvil stones to break snail shells, a distinctive behavior requiring suitable stones
Lawn maintenance and hard landscaping reduces foraging habitat in suburban gardens

Welfare Considerations

Song thrushes in suburban areas with low snail availability suffer nutritional stress during critical breeding periods. Pesticide use that reduces their prey base causes population-level welfare harm.

What You Can Do

Avoid slug pellets to protect snail populations that song thrushes depend on
Provide water features and log piles that attract the invertebrates song thrushes eat
Leave areas of lawn unmowed to maintain invertebrate populations in gardens