Linking Human–Bird Interactions to Restorative Environmental Perception and Mental Health: A Landscape Perception Perspective

Birds, as both wetland ecosystem health indicators and highly perceptible forms of wildlife, provide multi-sensory interaction opportunities shaping human health and well-being. However, most studies simplify birds into static landscape metrics, with limited attention to dynamic human–bird interactions and their mental health benefits. Grounded in landscape perception theory, this study constructs an “interaction–perception–restoration” framework and divides human–bird interactions into sensory, cognitive, and participatory levels based on cognitive resource investment. We collected 321 valid samples from Haizhu National Wetland Park. A mixed analytical strategy was adopted, using structural equation modeling to test the framework and moderated mediation models to examine differential pathways. The results showed the following: (1) Restorative environmental perception (REP) plays a partial mediating role between human–bird interactions and mental health, explaining 46.17% of the total effect. (2) All three interaction levels significantly enhance mental health, with cognitive interaction showing the strongest direct effect (β = 0.347 ***) and sensory interaction the largest indirect effect through REP (β = 0.194 ***). (3) Environmental characteristics directly improve REP (β = 0.51 ***) but do not significantly moderate the relationship between human–bird interactions and REP. This study highlights interaction quality and depth as core drivers of mental health, offering insights for optimizing ecological and recreational services in urban wetland parks.