This year’s Arctic National Wildlife Refuge Bird Festival is being held virtually November 14-20. The event brings together nature lovers, ornithologists and experts to celebrate the more than 200 species of birds in the Arctic Refuge. This year’s event centers around the theme Listen: New Songs, New Sounds, New Voices, where activities highlight why the Refuge is so special to birds and people around the world, and how the Refuge’s birds connect people around the world.
One of the festival’s featured species is the Whimbrel Curlew (Numenius phaeopus). Wednesday, November 17 was dedicated to this incredible bird that each year after breeding in the Arctic, sets off on fantastic journeys south in search of better weather and plenty of food.
As part of the celebration, Manomet, the WHSRN Executive Office, Audubon Alaska, and United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) Alaska joined forces to share with the world the journey of two curlews who traveled from the Arctic Refuge to Mexico and Suriname to seek refuge during the northern winter. The journey is chronicled in the Story Map: A Tale of Two Whimbrels.
Another protagonist of the event is the Buff-breasted Sandpiper (Calidris subruficollis), which, like many other shorebird species, finds in the Arctic Refuge the ideal place for breeding and then embarks on its epic journey south each year to return to the Refuge the following spring. To learn about the different places this species visits along the Mid-continental Flyway and some of the heroes who promote its conservation along the approximately 2896 km (1800 miles) it travels, you can follow its journey in A Journey of Epic Proportions.
The Arctic Refuge’s celebration of birds extends beyond Alaska’s borders, because bird migration connects all corners of the globe. Let’s all join in this celebration in support of the conservation of this pristine and magnificent place.
To learn more about the event visit www.arcticbirdfest.com or follow #ArcticBirdFest on social media.
Cover Photo: Whimbrel in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. Photo: Shiloh Schulte.
