Every year, billions of birds travel across continents, songbirds, waterfowl, raptors....So many species with different habits, have you ever wondered how they find their way and plan their journeys?In fact, just like backpackers, birds often travel in groups and even use their own version of "Tripadvisor" to choose suitable resting spots.

A flyway refers to the geographic area that migratory birds travel through during their annual cycle, from their breeding grounds to their non-breeding grounds and back again. 

Migration strategies and routes can vary widely among different species, populations, and even individuals. However, migration is exhausting, often covering thousands of kilometers. Most birds cannot complete the journey in one go. They need to stop over at suitable habitats to rest and refuel. Geographical features and weather conditions also influence route selection. Since these environmental factors affect many species in similar ways, birds tend to follow very similar pathways. Therefore, although migratory birds follow their own routes, they ultimately converge into a few major flyways.

Through long-term observation and study, humans have identified some general patterns and found four major flyways: African-eurasian flyway, Central asian flyway, East asian-australasian flyway, and Americas flyway.

Based on the four major flyways mentioned above, more specific routes can be further divided according to research needs.For example, here is one method of subdivision.

In general, you can think of a flyway as a geographical area that encompasses the entire route birds take from their breeding grounds to their wintering grounds and back, including stopover sites where they rest and refuel along the way.

Migration bottlenecks refer to geographical areas along bird migration routes where natural terrain features, such as mountain ranges, straits, or peninsulas, force the migration birds to gather.So, at a bottleneck, you'll see large numbers of birds gathering in a narrow geographic area.

The Red Sea Flyway, also known as The Rift Valley and Red Sea Flyway, is a narrow migratory corridor connecting Eurasia and Africa, and it is the world's second most important bird migration route. This flyway spans multiple countries and regions (such as Djibouti, Egypt, Ethiopia, Jordan, and others). Each year, over 1.2 million raptors and 300,000 storks, 37 species use this route to travel between their breeding grounds in Eastern Europe and Western Asia and their wintering grounds in Africa.

According to the Global Environment Facility (GEF), the key bottlenecks along the Red Sea Flyway are located at:

• Jebel Moussa, in the southern Sinai Peninsula of Egypt, which is one of the highest points in the region.
• Suez, an Egyptian city situated at the southern entrance of the Suez Canal. The canal is a human-made waterway connecting the Mediterranean Sea and the Red Sea, separating Africa from Asia, and serving as one of the world's most crucial shipping hubs.
• Sinai, the Asian territory of Egypt, positioned at the junction of Africa and Asia, bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north and the Red Sea to the south.
• Gebel El Zeit, a mountain along the western coast of Egypt's Red Sea.
• Strait of Bab-el-Mandeb, a critical strait connecting the Red Sea to the Gulf of Aden (Indian Ocean), with Yemen to the north and Djibouti and Eritrea to the south.

Scientists use three main methods to locate bottlenecks along migratory bird routes.

• They attach satellite-trackable transmitters to birds to monitor their migration paths in real time.
• Meanwhile, observation stations conduct on-site monitoring.
• Finally, researchers gather and analyze global data, combining this information with geographic features.

When natural barriers like mountains, straits, or deserts significantly narrow migration corridors, forcing large numbers of birds to concentrate in a small area, a bottleneck is likely to form. If a narrow region is used by many different species of migratory birds, scientists consider it especially important and focus greater research efforts there.

Taking the Egyptian Vulture as an example:In one study, scientists fitted 45 Egyptian Vultures with satellite trackers and collected eight years of data, covering 75 complete migrations across Europe, Asia, and Africa.Using a specialized computer model, researchers converted countless GPS points from each bird’s migration into a probability map. The map divided the landscape into 10 km × 10 km grid cells, calculating the likelihood of each bird appearing in every cell during migration. Areas with higher probabilities were shown in "hotter" colors, indicating where the birds were most likely to pass through.

In this study, two key terms were defined: High-use areas and Migration bottlenecks.

• High-use areas: Places where individual birds spend a lot of time.
• Migration bottlenecks: Locations where birds concentrate heavily during migration.

The study found that less than 5% of the geographical area accounted for over 50% of the migration stopover time, and more than 20% of the migration routes passed through several narrow bottleneck zones.

Buechley, E. R.,et al. (2018). Identifying critical migratory bottlenecks and high-use areas for an endangered migratory soaring bird across three continents. Journal of Avian Biology, DOI: https://doi.org/10.1111/jav.01629

According to this study, the migration bottlenecks for the Egyptian Vulture were identified in:

• The southeastern coast of the Red Sea and the Bab-el-Mandeb Strait (Saudi Arabia, Yemen, Djibouti)
• The Suez Canal region (Egypt)
• The Gulf of İskenderun (Turkey)

Similarly, scientists have been tracking the migration routes of various species over the long term. Through years of research and comparative analysis, the locations mentioned above have been designated.

Each year, over 1.5 million raptors and 300,000 storks travel along this corridor, migrating between their breeding grounds in Europe and West Asia and their wintering grounds in Africa. At least 37 species of soaring birds consistently use this route. Observations of raptors indicate that more than 2 million individuals from around 53 species pass through the Egyptian section of this migration pathway annually.

According to reports by the Egyptian Environmental Affairs Agency and the United Nations Development Programme, Egypt’s strategic location at the crossroads of Europe, Asia, and Africa makes it a critical passage for migratory birds. This includes groups such as raptors, storks, pelicans, ibises, and cranes. Moreover, the bottlenecks along the Red Sea Flyway confirmed by GEF are located within Egyptian territory.The data show that the Red Sea Flyway, and Egypt in particular, plays a important role in global bird migration.

Even wind power is considered an important renewable energy source, surprisingly, new power infrastructure can pose high risks to birds and bird populations, potentially causing thousands of bird deaths in the region annually.

The main impacts of power lines on birds include:

• Collision Deaths or Injuries: Birds collide with wires or power towers during flight.
• Electrocution: Death caused by contact with live electrical components.
• Disturbance and Barrier Effects: Power lines can disrupt birds' migration routes or hinder access to suitable habitats and feeding areas.
• Habitat Impacts: They contribute to landscape-level habitat fragmentation.

The specific impacts depend on the species. For instance, birds such as raptors, owls, and other birds that perch on power lines face higher risks of electrocution. Meanwhile, larger birds that fly faster and are more danger to collisions.

Egypt is developing wind power by harnessing strong winds along the Gulf of Suez and the Red Sea coast. This push is largely driven by the country's energy shortages, and these coastal areas offer ideal conditions for wind energy generation.

However, these areas also happen to be a critical migration corridor for birds. Therefore, the biggest challenge lies in protecting the millions of migratory birds that use the Red Sea Flyway while rapidly expanding wind power infrastructure.

In 2017, Egypt launched the Protection of Migratory Soaring Birds project, which focuses on safeguarding bird flight paths. The project has introduced several preventive measures, including a “turbine shutdown on demand” system. It means temporarily halting all or part of the wind turbines during periods of bird migration.

Recognized as the best solution for protecting migration corridors, this approach has significantly reduced energy loss due to bird protection over the past five years, from an annual rate of 9% down to just 0.03%. Compared to traditional fixed-time shutdown methods, the “turbine shutdown on demand” system, aided by advanced radar monitoring technology, has saved approximately 8.97% of total power generation capacity.

Although large-scale, institution-led efforts may seem like the only way to protect flyways, to help these birds complete their incredible journeys safely, we all have a role to play. It starts with awareness: understanding why soaring birds matter to our ecosystems, supporting laws that ban illegal hunting, and reducing human-made disturbances along their flight paths.

If you live in North America, you can begin by exploring the four major flyways: the Atlantic Flyway, the Mississippi Flyway, the Central Flyway, and the Pacific Flyway.

The Atlantic Flyway stretches along the eastern coast of the United States, covering key areas such as the Chesapeake Bay, the Florida Everglades, and the Caribbean islands. To its east lies the Atlantic Ocean, while its western boundary roughly follows the Appalachian Mountains. Some birds fly directly over the ocean, while others may cross paths with the Mississippi Flyway to the west during their journey.

Many birds using the Mississippi Flyway winter in South and Central America before flying north across the Gulf of Mexico and migrating along the Mississippi, Missouri, and Ohio River basins. The region's vast prairies, wetlands, forests, and dense network of rivers and lakes make it an ideal route for waterfowl migration. The flat terrain also allows birds to fly without frequently adjusting their altitude or direction to avoid obstacles.

The Central Flyway connects the Arctic to the Gulf of Mexico, traversing the Rocky Mountains, the deserts of the Southwest, the Great Plains, and numerous wetland, grassland, and plateau ecosystems. It serves as the first station into the United States for many migratory birds heading north in the spring. The complex terrain and variable climate force birds to take detours to avoid harsh environments.

The Pacific Flyway extends from Alaska and the Aleutian Islands in the north to Patagonia in South America. Bordered by the Pacific Ocean to the west and the Rocky Mountains to the east, it passes through regions such as Alaska, Washington, Oregon, California, and Hawaii, supporting over a billion migratory birds across diverse landscapes including rainforests, coastal marshes, scrublands, deserts, and mountains. The extensive network of state and federal protected areas within this region provides rich habitats for wildlife.

1. Provide nutritious food at bird feeders, especially during spring and fall. This helps migratory birds replenish energy for their long journeys.
2. Clean bird feeders and water baths regularly. Cleanliness helps minimize the risk of disease
3. Avoid feeding waterfowl in parks or similar areas. Artificial feeding can lead to unnatural gatherings, cause dependence on human food or even taming, and increase contact between wild waterfowl and domestic or non-migratory birds, which may carry diseases not present in wild populations.
4. Be a responsible pet owner. Migratory birds are often stressed in unfamiliar environments and may have reduced ability to avoid predators. Keeping cats indoors not only protects the cats themselves but also significantly reduces their threat to migratory birds.
5. Participate in local bird observation and counting activities to provide data support for migration research.

• https://www.birdlife.org/globalflyways/
• https://flyway.waddensea-worldheritage.org/flyway-conservation
• https://datazone.birdlife.org/about-our-science/flyways
• https://www.undp.org/egypt/migratory-birds-egypt
• https://www.thegef.org/sites/default/files/documents/2022-11/GEF_GPB_MENA_Africa_Birds_2022_11_1.pdf
• https://erc.undp.org/evaluation/documents/download/22640
• https://www.eeaa.gov.eg/Uploads/Project/Files/20221206112352474.pdf
• https://www.cms.int/sites/default/files/publication/Rift%20Valley%20Flyway%20-%20factsheet%20Power%20Line%20Developer%20new%20logo%20PR.pdf
• https://www.thebiodiversityconsultancy.com/projects/several-on-shore-wind-energy-projects-along-the-red-sea-coast-of-the-gulf-of-suez-egypt/
• https://wildlifecenter.org/news-events/news/2022/atlantic-flyway-brings-migratory-birds-wildlife-center-virginia
• https://www.researchgate.net/publication/324696623_Identifying_critical_migratory_bottlenecks_and_high-use_areas_for_an_endangered_migratory_soaring_bird_across_three_continents
• https://abcbirds.org/news/four-flyways-of-north-america/
• https://erc.undp.org/evaluation/documents/download/22640 
• https://www.eeaa.gov.eg/Uploads/Project/Files/20221206112352474.pdf
• https://www.undp.org/egypt/migratory-birds-egypt