Wigeons are winter visitors to UK estuaries and coastal wetlands in large numbers. Their welfare depends on access to saltmarsh and intertidal habitat that is threatened by sea level rise, coastal development, and declining eelgrass beds.
Wigeons that cannot access adequate grazing habitat in degraded estuaries must travel greater distances between feeding and roosting sites, increasing energy expenditure in winter when energy balance is critical. Loss of eelgrass beds removes a high-quality food source. Birds displaced from traditional feeding areas into suboptimal habitat face nutritional stress and reduced survival probability.