2 - Migratory route

The map in front of you shows a vast region of the planet; a region that occupies from the Arctic Circle to sub-Saharan Africa. Every year, millions of birds fly between Europe and Africa through a large migratory route called the East Atlantic Flyway. In autumn, birds that breed in Greenland or the British Isles join others coming from Scandinavia or the Baltic countries on this migration corridor.

As they approach the Iberian Peninsula, these birds meet two large geographical barriers: the Bay of Biscay and the Pyrenees. Such barriers create a migratory bottleneck that forces birds to enter the Peninsula through the Basque Country. In this context, Basque wetlands play a key role as resting and feeding grounds for these migrants.

After crossing the Iberian Peninsula, many of these birds will fly over the Sahara desert to settle on their wintering areas on the West African coast, such as the Banc d’Arguin in Mauritania, the Senegal River Deltas or the Niger River. The long distance migrants will travel as far as South Africa, many thousands of kilometres away from their breeding areas.

The points highlighted on the map represent the main wetlands where water birds stop over to rest and feed during their migration. Their names are shown on the right; and the size of each one varies according to its significance. Each and every one of these wetlands is vital to migratory birds. Without them, they would be unable to reach their wintering areas and on the next year, return to their breeding areas, as they have been doing year after year for thousands of years.

We must highlight to two places which are geographically on opposite sides: the coast of the Wadden Sea, from where most of the waterfowl depart in autumn, and the Banc d’Arguin on the coast of Mauritania, where they spend the winter. Most migratory flows of the East Atlantic Flyway take place between these two points.

On the sides of the large panel, you can find photographs of some of the most emblematic species that can be seen at the Urdaibai Biosphere Reserve.