Weather radar stations have the ability to show everything that moves in our skies, including birds. With the help of modern algorithms and powerful computers we are becoming better and better at automatically identifying birds within the weather radar data and can use the information to monitor flyways and flight patterns in real time.

Cecilia Nilsson is a researcher at Lund University studying bird flight behaviour, migration and conservation. She primarily uses radar methods to monitor migration systems, birds’ movements under extreme conditions and conflicts which arise when birds and humans share airspace.