UK arctic tern welfare in 2026 is assessed through breeding colony monitoring, GPS tracking, and sand eel availability assessment. Recovery from HPAI impacts continues at some colonies.
Individual arctic tern welfare in 2026 reflects both recovery from HPAI impacts and ongoing climate-driven challenges to prey availability. GPS tracking reveals individual variation in foraging success and breeding outcomes, enabling welfare assessment at the individual level alongside population monitoring. The welfare of each individual tern completing its extraordinary annual migration contributes to population viability.