Arctic Refuge Virtual Bird Fest

Arctic Birds on the Fly

The awe and obstacles of migratory birds from Arctic Refuge

Migration is an amazing feat.

Caribou 📷 Danielle Brigida/USFWS; Shorebird flock 📷 Carla Stanley/USFWS

Migration can be a dangerous feat.

A small brown and white shorebird stands on tundra with one wing pointing into the air.
A semipalmated sandpiper lifts a wing in a breeding display in the Arctic. 📷 Peter Pearsall/USFWS

Coastal Plain

Yellow tundra grass and calm ponds with a cloudy sky
Wetlands dot a flat expanse of tundra on the Arctic coastal plain. 📷 Lisa Hupp/USFWS

Subalpine and Brooks Mountain Range

Mountains on either side of a river valley.
Jagged peaks lift up from the foothills and lead into the Brooks Mountain Range. 📷 Lisa Hupp/USFWS

Boreal Forest

A river curves through a forest of spruce trees.
A river winds through spruce boreal forest in Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. 📷 Callie Gesmundo/USFWS

Wilson’s Warbler

Collage of three images: a small yellow songbird with black cap, a map of North America with red, yellow, and blue to show summer, migration, and wintering abundance, and a bank of windows with reflective designs and birds outside.
Wilson’s warbler 📷 Zak Pohlen/USFWS, migration map by eBird, window mural 📷 HungLiu/Flickr Creative Commons

Smith’s Longspur

Collage of images: a tan, black and white songbird on grassy tundra, a map of North America with red, yellow, and blue to show summer, migration, and wintering abundance, and a logo with a ladybug and text that reads: Pesticide Free Zone.”
Smith’s Longspur 📷 Lisa Hupp/USFWS, migration map by eBird, sign by Seattle Parks and Recreation/Flickr Creative Commons

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Collage of images: a black, white, and yellow songbird in a spruce tree, a map of North America with red, yellow, and blue to show summer, migration, and wintering abundance, and a cat with a blue leash.
Yellow-rumped warbler 📷 Zak Pohlen/USFWS, migration map by eBird, kitty (Milo) on a leash 📷 David DeHetre/Flickr Creative Commons

Blackpoll Warbler

Collage of images: a black and white songbird on a branch, a map of North America with red, yellow, and blue to show summer, migration, and wintering abundance, and a landscaped yard with native plants.
Blackpoll Warbler 📷 Zak Pohlen/USFWS, migration map by eBird, garden 📷 USEPA

Black-bellied Plover

Collage of images: a white and specked shorebird on a beach with litter, a map of North America with red, yellow, and blue to show summer, migration, and wintering abundance, and a beach with a lot of plastic trash covering the sand.
Black-bellied plover during southerly migration 📷 Zak Pohlen/WCS, migration map by eBird, beach by📷 Callie Gesmundo/WCS

Swainson’s Thrush

Collage of images: a tan, black and white songbird on a branch, a map of North America with red, yellow, and blue to show summer, migration, and wintering abundance, and a cup of coffee with coffee beans.
Swainson’s thrush 📷 Zak Pohlen/USFWS, migration map by eBird, coffee by📷 Marco Verch/Flickr Creative Commons

Gray-headed Chickadee

Collage of images: a tan, black and white songbird on a stump, a map of North America with red, yellow, and blue to show summer, migration, and wintering abundance, and a group of people looking through scopes and binoculars.
Gray-headed chickadee 📷 Francesco Veronesi/Flickr Creative Commons, basemap by eBird with range sourced from Booms et al. 2020, bird watchers 📷 Lisa Hupp/USFWS

Let’s go the way of the duck.

Left: 2015/2016 Federal Duck Stamp Winner. Federal Duck Stamps are conservation revenue stamps that directly contribute to the conservation of waterfowl and wetland habitats. Right: Waterfowl conservation graphic: 35 million waterfowl gained thanks to conservation efforts, courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
A graph showing a brigh yellow line steeply declining to show the loss of 3 billion birds since 1970. The background graphic is a map of the U.S. and Canada with bird shapes. Text reads 2.7 billion birds gone since 1970.
Graphic showing the steep decline of bird populations since 1970. Courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.
A dead white throated sparrow on a brick sidewalk.
White-throated sparrow. 📷 John Donges/Flickr Creative Commons
View looking up at a bald eagle soaring
The bald eagle, one of the first species to receive protections under the precursor to the Endangered Species Act in 1967, has been removed from the Federal List of Endangered and Threatened Wildlife and Plants. 📷 Lisa Hupp/USFWS

Fortunately, there is still hope and ways each of us can help our feathered friends.

Graphic image with a bird photo and 7 graphic icons, with text of 7 Simple Things. The icons depict the text for each tip, listed in the image caption.
Graphic displaying 7 Simple Actions to Help Birds: drink shade grown coffee, reduce plastic use, do citizen science, make windows safe, keep cats indoors, use native plants, avoid pesticides. Courtesy of the Cornell Lab of Ornithology.

Learn more:

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