The sighting of painted storks, a migratory bird, in Kaziranga after nearly four years is indicative of a resurgence in wetland health in the World Heritage Site. Wildlife experts say that recording and monitoring of indicator species like painted storks is crucial for assessing the ecological health of a habitat of migratory birds from the perspective of conservation of globally important bird species along its entire flyway. Kaziranga National Park and Tiger Reserve is an important halt for migratory birds taking the Central Asian Flyway, with the park, world famous for one-horned rhino, hosting more migratory bird species than resident species. The 6th Kaziranga Waterbird Count conducted in January this year, covering 189 wetlands and river sites, recorded 1.12 lakh individual birds belonging to 1,244 species, including 74 migratory species and 50 resident species. These estimates highlight the critical role of these habitats in sustaining such a vibrant avian diversity that contributes to making the national park a globally important biodiversity site and also reflect conservation initiatives by the park authorities. There is, however, no room for any complacency, as grassland ecosystems like that of Kaziranga are fragile and vulnerable to anthropogenic and natural disturbances. The challenge of conserving the habitat of migratory birds in the state varies depending on the location of floodplain wetlands and other habitats like grasslands and swamps and the status of their buffer zones. Addressing the location-sensitive conservation challenges has no one-size-fits-all solutions. The celebration over the return of flagship species to a specific habitat is important, but encroachment and fragmentation of important habitats such as Deepor Beel, posing an existential threat to the critical habitat of migratory birds, also deserve equal attention. The challenges of ecosystem conservation in habitats in peri-urban areas are much greater, as anthropogenic pressures on the buffer areas of these are growing alarmingly. Preservation of water quality is vital to conservation of wetland integrity for sustaining fish and other aquatic species, as it provides the critical food source for migratory and resident species. Runoff of contaminated water and industrial effluents to wetland floodplains have emerged as the gravest threat to the maintenance of water quality of the wetlands. While wetlands in cities like Guwahati serve as natural reservoirs of rainwater runoff, drastic changes in land use with rapid expansion of the city and industrial growth have given rise to contamination of the rainwater runoff and unchecked release of industrial effluent due to a lack of effluent and sewage treatment facilities. If polluted water is discharged to urban wetlands, the water quality of these habitats of migratory and resident species deteriorates fast, making it unsuitable for fish and other aquatic species to survive, which, in turn, disrupts the food chain for the bird species. Apart from such manmade factors, drastic change in seasonal rainfall patterns on account of climate change impact is also changing the wetland hydrology and compounding the challenges posed by pollution and land-use change in buffer zones. The impact of shifting rainfall on wetlands in natural and protected environments is also profound, and a dynamic response is necessary to conserve wetland hydrology to protect their importance as safe habitat for migratory and resident species. Such challenges demand adaptive conservation strategies which are based on advanced scientific studies and continuous monitoring of indicator species and water quality. Raising the bar of such scientific research calls for adequate funding support to the wetland authorities by the central and state governments. As the wetlands in the state sustaining migratory species play a crucial role in the conservation of many globally threatened bird species, international conservation organisations also have a responsibility to bolster such research and monitoring activities. As important habitats of migratory species, the wetlands in the state also have rich untapped potential to sustain nature-based tourism and environmental education and research. This provides an opportunity to channel some amount of funds for tourism projects targeting these sites towards wetland conservation and research efforts so that preservation of the ecological integrity of the wetlands also ensures long-term sustainability of nature-based tourism projects around the migratory bird habitats. In the case of habitats in a protected area, the primary responsibility lies with the designated authorities of the protected landscape, while for habitats of migratory and resident bird species surrounded by human settlements, the communities play the most crucial role in the conservation of the habitats and survival of bird species and maintenance of avian diversity in their area. Building awareness among the people living in the vicinity of the wetlands and other habitats of migratory species about the seasonal winged visitors is pivotal to ensuring meaningful community participation in the conservation of these habitats. Organising birdwatching events and grooming birders in the settlements near these habitats will go a long way in strengthening community-led monitoring of migratory species, water quality, and natural and man-made changes. Assam needs a comprehensive roadmap and strategic planning for the sustainability of migratory bird habitat conservation.