Migratory Birds in Europe and Central Asia

Migratory birds are some of the most inspiring and impressive groups of birds. This is not only because of the spectacular views they offer as they move across the sky but also because of the incredible distances they cover during their voyages.

Migratory birds mark the seasons leaving their breeding areas before food gets scarce and landing on another continent to build a new life. When we enjoy the presence and behaviour of these migratory birds we hope and even assume that they will return each year. Unfortunately many migratory species, especially the long-distance migrants do not return.

The BirdLife Partnership works to identify, tackle or mitigate the main causes of the decline of migratory birds mainly through international projects and policy work:

Here are some examples of our work:

Projects

Saltpan Recovery Project

BirdLife Partners join forces to save the precious saltpans of Southern Europe and Northern Africa, and the striking birds that rely on them.

Safe Flyways Programme

Every migration is a massacre: illegal trapping and hunting, collision with energy sector infrastructure and loss of key stop-over feeding and resting sites.

Spring Alive

Spring Alive is an international campaign to encourage children’s interest in nature and the conservation of migratory birds. By posting their first sightings of Barn Swallow, White Stork, Common Cuckoo, Common Swift, and European Bee-eater on the www.springalive.net website, children from Europe, Central Asia and Africa create a real-time map of the incredible journeys these birds take every year.

The arid zones of the Sahel Photo: Danae Sheehan

Living on the Edge: improving migratory bird...

Around the world, many migratory bird species are sharply declining in numbers, and these declines are indicative of the threats facing the wider environment.

Northern Bald Ibis rarest bird in Middle East

Northern Bald Ibis Geronticus eremita is classified as Critically Endangered, the highest threat category according to IUCN criteria, with the only remaining wild colonies known in Morocco (100 pairs) and Syria (two pairs).

Wings over Wetlands (WOW)

Bird migration is one of the great wonders of the natural world. Yet each year, fewer birds of many species return to their breeding grounds, because the sites they depend on to rest and refuel while on their long journey from their wintering grounds have been damaged or developed.

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News

The Common Cuckoo prefers to let other birds do hard work © Vladimir Turkenich / Shutterstock

Here’s how 7 iconic migratory bird species spent the spring & summer

Wed, 01/09/2021 - 00:51

Digging metre-long tunnels, luring away predators, stealing other bird’s nests… the breeding season is never dull for these seven bird species, which are now leaving Europe for the warmer climate of Africa.

Worldwide

Black Storks are currently raising their chicks on the Latvian Fund for Nature's nest cam

6 great nest cams you should watch this summer

Fri, 25/06/2021 - 10:58

This year, the topic of our Spring Alive children’s education programme is how to keep birds’ nests safe. Thankfully, nowadays you don’t need to be anywhere near nests to observe the birds that live in them. Web cameras can offer a glimpse into the secret lives of birds wherever you are in the world.

Worldwide Czech Republic Latvia Spain United Kingdom

Ornithography #41: Northern Lapwing, Ibars d’Urgell, Spain © Xavi Bou

Meet the photographer who captures the beauty of birds’ flight paths

Fri, 07/05/2021 - 00:51

Xavi Bou’s stunning art encourages us to see birds, and life, from a different perspective. We interview the Barcelona-based photographer who uses the sky as his canvas to reveal the beauty of flight.

Worldwide Spain

Vets treated Anahita for 13 pellet wounds © SPNL

Shot down but saved: the inspiring story of Anahita the Egyptian vulture

Mon, 03/05/2021 - 00:51

A young Egyptian Vulture’s first migration was brutally cut short. Thankfully, BirdLife Partners were watching over her every step of the way. Through their co-operation, they transformed an illegal hunting casualty into a story of hope.

Worldwide Bulgaria Lebanon Turkey

Gábor Deák with Falco, the anti-poisoning sniffer dog © Szilard Morvai / BirdLife Hungary

Despatches from the bird migration battlefront

Wed, 28/04/2021 - 00:51

With millions of birds illegally killed each year, working to protect them can seem like an overwhelming battle. That’s when inspirational, heart-warming success stories are needed. We hear first-hand accounts from conservation’s ‘frontline’ in Malta, Hungary and Lebanon.

Worldwide Hungary Lebanon Malta

Anti-poaching camps give honey-buzzard sweet taste of success

Mon, 08/04/2019 - 00:01

The European Honey-buzzard is fearless in the face of stinging wasps and hornets - but it has no defence against illegal shooting for sport. In Italy, “anti-poaching camps” sparked an extremely successful movement which has saved thousands of honey-buzzards.

Europe and Central Asia Italy

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Stichting BirdLife Europe gratefully acknowledges financial support from the European Commission. All content and opinions expressed on these pages are solely those of Stichting BirdLife Europe. The European Commission is not responsible for any use that may be made of the information it contains.

Migratory Birds in Europe and Central Asia

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