Twice a year, millions of birds migrate across the world from breeding to wintering grounds. This miracle involves them flying thousands of kilometres, making migratory birds some of the most impressive creatures.

A new report by BirdLife International (State of the World’s Birds) shows that out of over 2000 migratory bird species, 45% are in decline. The steepest decline is of migratory shorebirds – 54%. Heartbreakingly, the migratory slender-billed curlew was officially declared extinct last year. The extinction of the Slender-billed Curlew is sadly not an outlier. Worldwide, 11% of migratory bird species are threatened with extinction and 7 species are confirmed or suspected to have been lost in the last 150 years.

The drivers of these declines are well understood and all man-made – climate change, pollution, and unsustainable development.

Migratory bird populations act as ecosystem regulators, dispersing seeds, controlling insect populations and maintaining the health of ecosystems. Their decline disrupts food webs and ecosystem services like pollination and pest control. This ripple effect can lead to imbalances in ecosystems far beyond the birds’ breeding or migratory routes. Birds are powerful indicators of environmental health and are better studied than any comparable group of organisms. The dwindling populations of migratory birds is proof that nature is in trouble.

Mirgratory birds and wetlands

Most species of migratory birds rely on wetlands to sustain their long and arduous journeys. Coastal wetlands, mudflats, rivers, lakes, and so many others provide food, shelter, and breeding grounds for these birds.

The East Atlantic Flyway — stretching from the Arctic to Africa — sustains millions of migratory birds, including the critically endangered Spoon-billed Sandpiper. The East Asian–Australasian Flyway, spanning 22 countries, is home to 50 million migratory waterbirds of over 210 species. Here, for instance, a single mudflat’s loss in China can mean thousands of Red Knots lose a place to rest, refuel, and raise fledglings. Peatlands across Central Asia and Mongolia are critical for the threatened Siberian Crane during its migration from Siberia to China. 

Wetlands are undervalued and overlooked. Rivers are viewed as pipes for water, lakes as places to be pumped dry and polluted, and other wetlands as ‘wastelands’. This has contributed to the loss of around 22% of the world’s remaining wetlands since 1970. And they continue to be destroyed, drained, dammed, dredged and degraded at an alarming rate. 

Save wetlands, save birds

The pressures facing migratory birds are significant, but fortunately the solutions are well understood. Wetlands International works across multiple flyways restoring degraded wetlands, protecting healthy ones, and importantly, continuously gathering data to inform our science-based approaches:

1. The International Waterbird Census: Every year since 1967, tens of thousands of people have stepped into their local wetlands to take part in the International Waterbird Census (IWC). Coordinated internationally by Wetlands International, the information collected through the IWC guides real conservation action — protecting wetlands and shaping international policy.
2. The Critical Site Network (CSN) Tool: Developed with BirdLife International, CSN is an online resource for the conservation of 312 species of waterbirds and the important sites upon which they depend in Africa and Western Eurasia.
3. The Waterbird Populations Portal (WPP): WPP provides current and historic estimates, trends and 1% thresholds for over 800 waterbird species and 2300 biogeographic populations worldwide. It simplifies obtaining information, providing a comprehensive basis for management and decision making.