Work in progress
Malta Bird Migration Atlas
Developed by the BirdLife Malta Ringing Scheme, this interactive atlas brings together ringing recoveries, bird sightings and tracking data to document bird movements to, from and within the Maltese Islands. It is kept up to date as new data becomes available.
This atlas is still in its early days, with new species accounts and datasets being added progressively.
Latest atlas updates
Explore recently added and updated species accounts.
Explore bird migration and movements in Malta
Ringing & recoveries
Decades of ringing records connect birds encountered in Malta with locations across Europe, Africa and beyond.
Tracking individual birds
Tracking projects reveal individual journeys, from local movements to migration and wintering areas.
Species accounts
Explore migration, seasonality and conservation, with ringing and tracking evidence brought together for each species.
Live tracking
Follow individual birds tracked through our research projects. Open a bird's page to explore its recorded movements. The last recorded location date is shown below; updates depend on the device and transmission schedule.
About the data
The atlas brings together records from the BirdLife Malta Ringing Scheme, international ringing recoveries and species-specific tracking projects. Coverage varies between species as records are digitised, checked and integrated.
How to read the atlas
Ringing recoveries
Ringing links encounters of the same bird at different places and times. Lines connecting ringing and subsequent encounter locations show connectivity and do not necessarily represent the route travelled.
Tracking data
Tracking devices provide more detailed movement records, generally for a smaller sample of birds. These journeys describe the tracked individuals and may not represent the movements of the whole population.
Interpreting the evidence
Patterns are influenced by ringing effort, the likelihood of a bird being encountered and reported, recovery circumstances and the coverage of tracking projects. Gaps in the records do not necessarily mean that birds are absent or do not move through an area.
Support our work
Become a BirdLife Malta member or make a donation to support the atlas and our wider bird research and conservation work.
