article thumbnail

A Birder’s Guide to U.S. Federal Public Lands

10,000 Birds

These lands support countless birds, either year-round, as migratory stopovers, or as breeding grounds. The federal government owns about 46% of the land in these states but only about 4% of the other states (excluding Alaska). There is one gigantic outlier: Alaska. In terms of federal land, Alaska truly stands apart.

article thumbnail

What is the State Bird of Alaska?

10,000 Birds

In 1955 – before Alaska was a state – the Territory’s leaders in charge of drafting a constitution allowed schoolchildren to choose what would eventually become the state bird. The Willow Ptarmigan was officially designated in 1960, when Alaska entered the union.

Alaska 102
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Trending Sources

article thumbnail

Flights of Passage: a book review

10,000 Birds

You can’t say the same about migration: you can’t say that every book about birds is necessarily about migration, for the simple reason that only about 4,000 bird species migrate (with some 1,800 of those traveling long distances). (Well, purely physical attributes play a part, too: they’re pretty good looking.).

Alaska 209
article thumbnail

Savannah Sparrows on Breeding Territory

10,000 Birds

My recent outing with Seth and Mary when we found probable breeding Bobolinks in Queens was no exception, with a couple of pairs of very confiding Savannah Sparrows singing, foraging, and generally posing for the digiscoping rig. It was nice, very nice, as the photos below hopefully demonstrate. … a.

Sparrows 162
article thumbnail

The “Rufa” Red Knot is now protected under the Endangered Species Act

10,000 Birds

Fish and Wildlife Service has listed the “Rufa” population of Red Knot ( Calidris canutus rufa ) as a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act (ESA). The other sub-species, Calidris canutus roselaari , migrates along the Pacific Coast and breeds in Alaska and the Wrangel Island in Russia.

article thumbnail

Grey-tailed Tattlers return to Cable Beach

10,000 Birds

Many different species of shorebirds travel the East-Asian Australasian Flyway to spend the non-breeding cycle of their lives here in Broome. Only this week the extraordinary journey of a Bar-tailed Godwit travelling from Alaska to Tasmania in just eleven days has shown us all just how incredible these shorebirds are.

Turtles 215
article thumbnail

Surfbirds at Humbolt Bay North Jetty During Godwit Days Bird Festival

10,000 Birds

The Surfbird outside of the breeding season can be found along almost the entire Pacific Coast of the Americas, from southeastern Alaska all the way to Tierra del Fuego in southern Chile. In breeding season, Surfbird is found in mountain ranges scattered throughout Alaska and the Yukon Territory 1.

Alaska 171