The identification of the onset of prenuptial migration is fundamental in defining the closing date of the hunting season in compliance with the EU Birds Directive. Here, we describe the process and country‐by‐country approach currently followed by the European Commission to define the onset of prenuptial migration for each huntable bird species and Member State, highlighting the resulting discrepancies and inconsistencies in the starting dates of prenuptial migration between neighbouring countries. To overcome these issues, we propose the adoption of a flyway approach with a shared, analytically and biologically sound method for defining the onset of migration.