Hydrology and vegetation are important components of the landscape structure of freshwater wetlands. Changes in the water and sediment regimes of the Yellow River, along with reduced freshwater input, have impacted waterbird diversity in the Shandong Yellow River Delta National Nature Reserve (hereinafter referred to as the "Nature Reserve"). In response, the Nature Reserve has implemented consecutive years of freshwater wetland ecological water supplement projects, regulating the distribution area of open water and shallow water, and improving plant community composition. However, quantitative research on waterbird diversity and its relationship with wetland landscape patterns following this ecological intervention has been lacking. This study utilizes waterbird survey data, Sentinel-2 satellite remote sensing data, and water level monitoring data collected during field investigations in 2023 and 2024. The aim is to elucidate the composition and numerical changes of waterbird communities in the wetland restoration area and to reveal the quantitative relationships between waterbird diversity and the areal extent of key wetland landscape elements. The results showed that a total of 126 waterbird species belonging to 15 families and 7 orders were recorded in the study area. Waterbird species richness and individual abundance exhibited significant monthly fluctuations, with peaks during migration periods in March and November. During migration seasons, ducks and shorebirds dominated in terms of species proportion, while ducks, cranes, and storks dominated in terms of individual abundance. Within the 10,000-mu wetland restoration area of the Nature Reserve, the areas of shallow water (water depth 0-30 cm) and open water were largest. Specifically, the shallow water area was greatest in winter (1888 m2), while the open water area was relatively larger in spring and autumn (2933 m2). The vegetation area exhibited a trend of "expansion in summer, contraction in winter," increasing by 26% in 2024 compared to 2023. The abundance of geese and ducks showed a unimodal relationship with the proportions of both open water area and vegetation area. Goose abundance peaked when the ratio of water area to vegetation area was approximately 2:1 (n = 44, df = 40, p < 0.01, R2 = 0.14; n = 44, df = 40, p < 0.01, R2 = 0.28). Duck abundance peaked when this ratio was approximately 1.5:1 (n = 118, df = 114, p < 0.01, R2 = 0.02; n = 118, df = 114, p < 0.01, R2 = 0.002). The abundance of shorebirds was significantly positively correlated with the proportion of shallow water area (n = 24, df = 22, p < 0.05, R2 = 0.29) but significantly negatively correlated with the proportion of vegetation area (n = 24, df = 22, p < 0.05, R2 = 0.17).