Twelve months of migration on one map

Follow the birds.

Plan birding trips around the world's great flyways: where to go, when to go, and what you will see when you get there.

Read the flyways as a list

Pacific Americas: Shorebirds and hummingbirds follow the Pacific coast from Alaska to Peru and Chile. Signature birds: Western Sandpiper, Rufous Hummingbird. Peak: Apr–May and Aug–Sep.
Central Americas: The Great Plains funnel cranes to the Platte River and millions of hawks through Veracruz and Panama. Signature birds: Swainson's Hawk, Sandhill Crane. Peak: Mar (cranes), Sep–Oct (raptors).
Atlantic Americas: Red Knots fly from Tierra del Fuego to the Arctic, refuelling on horseshoe-crab eggs in Delaware Bay. Signature birds: Red Knot, Blackpoll Warbler. Peak: May and Sep–Oct.
East Atlantic: Arctic breeders stage in the Wadden Sea and winter on the coasts of West Africa. Signature birds: Red Knot, Pink-footed Goose, Bar-tailed Godwit. Peak: Apr–May and Aug–Oct.
Black Sea / Mediterranean: Soaring birds avoid the open sea, crossing at the Bosphorus and Gibraltar and following the Rift Valley south. Signature birds: White Stork, European Honey-buzzard. Peak: Mar–May and Aug–Oct.
East Asia / East Africa: Amur Falcons roost in their hundreds of thousands in Nagaland, then cross the Arabian Sea to Africa. Signature birds: Amur Falcon. Peak: Oct–Nov.
Central Asian: Cranes and geese cross the Himalaya and Hindu Kush to winter in India. Signature birds: Demoiselle Crane, Bar-headed Goose. Peak: Sep–Oct and Mar.
East Asian–Australasian: Siberian shorebirds depend on the tidal flats of the Yellow Sea on the way to Australia. Signature birds: Spoon-billed Sandpiper, Great Knot, Far Eastern Curlew. Peak: Mar–May and Aug–Oct.
West Pacific: Bar-tailed Godwits fly non-stop from Alaska to New Zealand, and return north via the Yellow Sea. Signature birds: Bar-tailed Godwit. Peak: Sep–Oct.
Marine: Atlantic to Southern Ocean: Arctic Terns travel from the Arctic to the Antarctic and back every year: the longest migration of any animal. Signature birds: Arctic Tern, Wandering Albatross. Peak: Year-round at sea.

01Plan

Where to go in October

All destinations this month

Australia Cairns and the Daintree Wet tropics rainforest and Great Barrier Reef coast in one trip.

JJanuary: Poor or no data
FFebruary: Poor or no data
MMarch: Poor or no data
AApril: Poor or no data
MMay: Good
JJune: Best
JJuly: Best
AAugust: Best
SSeptember: Best
OOctober: Best
NNovember: Best
DDecember: Good

Ethiopia Bale Mountains National Park Africa's largest Afro-alpine plateau with Ethiopian endemics and wolves.

JJanuary: Best
FFebruary: Best
MMarch: Best
AApril: Good
MMay: Poor or no data
JJune: Poor or no data
JJuly: Poor or no data
AAugust: Poor or no data
SSeptember: Poor or no data
OOctober: Best
NNovember: Best
DDecember: Best

Mexico Veracruz River of Raptors Millions of hawks and vultures funnel between mountains and sea each autumn.

JJanuary: Poor or no data
FFebruary: Poor or no data
MMarch: Good
AApril: Good
MMay: Poor or no data
JJune: Poor or no data
JJuly: Poor or no data
AAugust: Poor or no data
SSeptember: Best
OOctober: Best
NNovember: Good
DDecember: Poor or no data

United States Cape May North America's most famous migration hotspot on a funnel-shaped peninsula.

JJanuary: Poor or no data
FFebruary: Poor or no data
MMarch: Poor or no data
AApril: Poor or no data
MMay: Good
JJune: Poor or no data
JJuly: Poor or no data
AAugust: Poor or no data
SSeptember: Best
OOctober: Best
NNovember: Good
DDecember: Poor or no data

02Explore

Seven continents, one field notebook

03Found nowhere else

Endemic birds: one country, one chance

Explore endemics by country

Thousands of species live in a single country or on a single island. They are the birds that make a trip unforgettable.

Strong-billed Honeyeater Melithreptus validirostris Endemic to Australia

Scarlet-collared Flowerpecker Dicaeum retrocinctum Endemic to Philippines

Band-tailed Antwren Myrmotherula urosticta Endemic to Brazil

Weebill Smicrornis brevirostris Endemic to Australia

Philippine Oriole Oriolus steerii Endemic to Philippines

Pink-billed Parrotfinch Erythrura kleinschmidti Endemic to Fiji

04Bird of the month

Black Sicklebill

Epimachus fastosus

The black sicklebill (Epimachus fastosus) is a large member of the birds of paradise family, Paradisaeidae. This species is found throughout most of central New Guinea and the Vogelkop region to the northwest in montane forests at altitudes from 1,800…

LCLeast Concern Photo: JJ Harrison · CC BY-SA 4.0

05Learn