Flyways are the major routes followed repeatedly and consistently by migrating birds between their breeding and non-breeding areas. Although there is a lot of variation between species and populations, flyways are the main migration routes that the majority of birds use. The Flyways approach provides a useful framework for coordinated intergovernmental action and has successfully led to partnerships to collaboratively address major land-based threats for species and sites.
Many seabirds undertake incredible migrations including from pole-to-pole or circumnavigating the globe. Such immense journeys make their conservation challenging. Using a vast amount of tracking data from long-distance migratory seabirds, BirdLife International have identified six Marine Flyways globally, demonstrating connectivity at an ocean basin scale and the need for coordinated and cooperative action to address seabird declines.
Marine flyways are the major routes migratory seabirds regularly use to travel between their breeding and non-breeding areas.
Albatrosses
Large Petrels &
Gadfly
Storm
Skuas
Gulls
Terns
Tropicbirds
Arctic Tern (Least Concern) is known for its remarkable migration, travelling from pole to pole.
They breed in the Arctic and subarctic regions of Europe, Asia, and North America and migrate south to the Southern Ocean during non-breeding.
Arctic Terns are sensitive to the impacts of climate via changes to their preferred food – small pelagic fish such as sand eels. Arctic Terns can be affected by invasive mammals, such as rats and mink, at colonies.
South Polar Skua (Least Concern) breed throughout the Antarctic coast and islands and are a predatory seabird that often steals food from other seabirds.
After breeding they fly north via the east coast of the Americas to the North Atlantic.
Many forage in the North Atlantic Current and Evlanov Seabasin Marine Protected Area (NACES MPA) before returning south through the central or west African coastal waters.
Grey-headed Albatross are Endangered and bycatch in longline fisheries is a major threat. Approximately half of its global population breed on South Georgia.
During non-breeding, birds range widely across the cold subantarctic and Antarctic waters.
Some birds make one or more circumpolar trips (all the way round the Southern Ocean Flyway) during a single non-breeding period with the fastest recorded in just 46 days!
Barau’s Petrel (Endangered) is an endemic gadfly petrel to Réunion Island in the west Indian Ocean.
After breeding, they migrate longitudinally along the East Indian Ocean Flyway in an anti-clockwise route, spending their non-breeding season in the High Seas towards Indonesia.
They can travel up to 600km per day when migrating, and mostly feed on fish and squid at the surface.
Antipodean Albatross (Endangered) is endemic to Aotearoa New Zealand. Birds forage for fish and cephalopods over seamounts and shelf breaks, including around the Tasman Sea.
Many birds also migrate east to the waters off Chile, flying the southern part of the Pacific Ocean flyway below 25°S.
Bycatch in longline fisheries is a major threat to this species and has been driving worrying population declines.
Buller’s Shearwater (Vulnerable) is an endemic species to Aotearoa New Zealand.
During non-breeding birds fly north via the central Pacific Ocean to the Emperor Seamounts in the Northwest Pacific, returning south via a figure of 8 pattern.
They are at risk of bycatch in fisheries throughout their range. Invasive species eradications at colonies have had a positive impact on population numbers.
