Kestrels have declined significantly in the UK as agricultural intensification has reduced their small mammal and invertebrate prey across farmland landscapes.
Individual kestrel welfare is directly linked to prey availability in their hunting territories. Territories with insufficient small mammal prey force kestrels into extended foraging flights and nutritional stress. Failed breeding attempts where chicks starve due to insufficient prey delivery represent welfare losses for both adults experiencing reproductive failure and chicks dying of hunger. Kestrels that cannot maintain condition during winter in poor territories face cold-weather mortality risk. The restoration of rough grass habitat on farmland, particularly uncut grass margins along field edges and road verges, directly improves individual kestrel welfare by restoring the hunting habitat and small mammal prey populations that the species depends on.