East Atlantic Flyway

The East Atlantic Flyway is a migration route used by about 90 million birds annually, passing from their breeding areas in United States Canada, Greenland, Iceland, Siberia and northern Europe to wintering areas in western Europe and on to southern Africa.^[1][2] It is one of the eight major flyways used by waders and shorebirds.^[3] The migrants follow a great circle route, which is shorter although more challenging.^[4]

Wetlands International has identified key sites on the flyway in the project Wings Over Wetlands.^[5]

Important key sites on the flyway include:

• Lake Ladoga (St. Petersburg, Russia)
• Haapsalu, Matsalu (Estonia)
• Nemunas Delta (Lithuanian demonstration site)
• Wadden Sea (Netherlands, Germany, Denmark)
• Vendée Reserve (France)
• Doñana National Park (Spain)
• Merja Zerga (Morocco)
• Banc d'Arguin National Park (Mauritania)
• Diawling-Djoudj (Senegal, Mauritania)
• Saloum-Niumi (Senegal, Gambia)
• Archipel Bijagos (Guinea-Bissau)

The flyway attracted attention in the 2000s when birds using the route were found to have been carrying H5n1 (bird flu).^[6]

Footnotes

1. Carrell, Severin (2003-10-12). "Naturalists set up 'air traffic control' network to save birds". The Independent (London). Retrieved 2008-12-21.
2. Gerard Boere, Colin A. Galbraith, David Stroud, L. K. Bridge (2006). Waterbirds Around the World. The Stationery Office. ISBN 978-0-11-497333-9.
3. "Waterbirds around the World" (PDF). Joint Nature Conservation Committee. Retrieved 2008-12-21.
4. "Bird Navigation--Computing Orthodromes" (PDF). University of Zurich Institute of Zoology. Retrieved 2009-01-17.
5. "Report on the Exchange Programme Planning Workshop". Wetlands International. Retrieved 2009-01-11.
6. Gray, Richard (2006-02-19). "UK experts try to plot flight path for bird flu". The Scotsman (Edinburgh). Retrieved 2008-12-21.