Teal are Britains smallest dabbling duck, breeding in upland bogs and wintering in large numbers on estuaries and lowland wetlands. Their welfare depends on shallow productive water.
Teal welfare on wintering grounds depends on access to shallow, invertebrate and seed-rich mudflats and marsh. Disturbance by wildfowling and recreational use near feeding flocks depletes energy reserves and prevents efficient feeding during energetically critical cold periods. Wetland drainage on wintering grounds removes key habitat. Maintaining disturbance-free refuges on managed reserves provides welfare benefit to large flocks of wintering teal.