© Marcel Burkhardt
Migrants
Observing migrating birds and researching migration has a long tradition for our volunteer collaborators as well as for the Swiss Ornithological Institute. Our goal is to document migration, identify changes and make data available to support conservation efforts. To achieve this, various sections of the Swiss Ornithological Institute, but also ringing teams and work groups are involved in projects that are often long-term. Birds that are stopping over or in active migration make up just under half of all records submitted by volunteers on ornitho.ch and entered into the Swiss Ornithological Institute’s database. Thanks to these efforts, migration and the occurrence of passage migrants in Switzerland are better documented than ever before.
Projects
Further analyses
When and where a migratory species occurs in Switzerland in the course of the year is indicated in our online database Birds of Switzerland.
The presence index per species and year 1990–2022 accounts for the increase in observer activity and allows for comparisons between years.
Publications
- The current list of bird species in Switzerland and their systematic order according to the “Handbook of the Birds of the World” can be downloaded here (including an Excel version).
- The ID bulletins provided by the information service (in German and French) and the Chronique ornithologique romande published by Nos Oiseaux (in French) offer syntheses of migration activity.
- Occurrences of rare and unusual species in Switzerland are summarised in the annual reports of the Swiss RC.
Internet links
- Our recording platform www.ornitho.ch provides information on the occurrence of migrants and their duration of stay in Switzerland and neighbouring regions.
- The related app “NaturaList” (for Android devices) is available in the Google Play Store and in the App Store. Instructions can be found here.
- Bird migration in Europe can be tracked via EuroBirdPortal. The Migration Mapping Tool also visualises migration movements of birds, based on ringing data.
- www.migraction.net and www.trektellen.nl give the results from places where actively migrating birds are being counted.
- Find out more about the situation and occurrence of migrants in Europe and worldwide at BirdLife International.
- An overview of all species found in Switzerland and their species categories is available here: www.vogelwarte.ch/id (available in German, French or Italian). Find more on recording at: www.ornitho.ch/instructions.