Flyway conservation

The UK sits in a key position on the East Atlantic Flyway, a bird migration superhighway stretching from the Arctic to South Africa, used by millions of migratory birds every year. From the wetlands of Iceland to the wooded savannahs of Ghana, we’re working with our partners to protect and restore vital habitats for migratory birds.

Their epic journeys see migratory birds travel across countries and even continents. So if we want to protect them, our conservation work also has to cross borders. This means working internationally in collaboration with our partners to deliver conservation impact on the ground, raise public awareness, and influence governments to take action.

But all along the flyway, threats such as habitat destruction and degradation, poorly-planned infrastructure development, and climate change threaten the future of some of the most important sites. Losing these special places would have a huge impact on the migrating birds which rely on them to breed, rest and refuel.   

It's vital that birds have a network of well-protected sites they can use along their migratory journeys. With the support of the Ecological Restoration Fund, we are working alongside BirdLife International on a project to protect and restore key habitats for migratory birds right along the flyway. This involves working with our local partners in places as diverse as the lowland wetlands of Iceland, the wooded savannahs of northern Ghana, and South Africa's Berg River Estuary.

We also identify and protect sites along the flyway that are threatened by development, and support partner NGOs through the BirdLife partnership of conservation organisations.

Every year, the wooded savannahs of northern Ghana see the arrival of migratory birds that have travelled south from Europe at the end of their breeding seasons. The area is particualrly important for migratory passerines such as Wood Warbler, Garden Warbler, Yellow Wagtail and Pied Flycatcher. Here we are collaborating with local communities alongside Ghana Wildlife Society to create community-managed conservation areas so that birds and other wildlife can move safely beyond the boundaries of the Mole National Park.

In Iceland, we're working with BirdLife partner Fuglavernd to restore degraded wetland habitat for migratory wading birds including Black-tailed Godwit, Redshank and Whimbrel. A key part of this work is blocking and filling in ditches, which have previously been used to drain the land, so raising the water table to restore the pools interspersed with grassy areas that provide vital breeding habitat for a range of species.

In South Africa, we work with BirdLife South Africa on the Berg River estuary. The estuary regularly plays host to more than 20,000 waterbirds, including Curlew Sandpiper and Little Stint. However, a mixture of drought, over extraction, reduced water quality and development puts the estuary under enormous pressure. So we’re supporting BirdLife South Africa in their conservation efforts here – creating a formally protected area, developing stewardship agreements with local landowners, and restoring degraded habitat.

Along the flyway, there are key areas that are vital for migratory birds on their journeys. Sometimes these can be a bird’s final destination, but often they are the ‘service stations’ along the route where they can rest and refuel.

Unfortunately, many of these key sites face threats from human activity, including building of roads, ports, and other infrastructure. That’s why we work closely with BirdLife International, and our partners along the flyway, to identify threatened sites and and make every effort to protect them from damaging development.

We co-ordinated efforts across the BirdLife partnership in Europe to support the work of Portuguese partner SPEA (Sociedade Portuguesa para o Estudo das Aves) in stopping the building of an airport near the Tagus Estuary in Lisbon, an important site along the flyway, used by thousands of migratory birds. We also produced a report, used in the court proceedings, demonstrating the huge international importance of Tagus. It is connected to sites in at least 30 other countries by the journeys of migratory birds.

We are always on the lookout to identify new threats to key sites, and work closely with other BirdLife partners to co-ordinate responses. To find out more about our work to protect important sites for nature around the world, click here.

Wherever we work along the flyway, we support BirdLife partners to build their capacity as conservation organisations. This is both through knowledge exchange and other forms of support.

In Senegal, we work to support the capacity of the BirdLife partner, Nature-Communautés-Développement (NCD). In addition, we’re supporting the development and delivery of a new Master’s level course in Ornithology. This is the only one of its kind in the whole of French-speaking West Africa.

We also work to support partners in Ireland (BirdWatch Ireland), Nigeria (Nigeria Conservation Foundation), and elsewhere along the flyway, strengthening them to deliver leadership required nationally.