 |
In This Issue
|
Birdathon Champions: Team All For Knot!
|
|
|
|
Team Swift begrudgingly hands over last year's first place trophy and accepts the second place Rubber Chicken Award.
|
|
2017 Birdathon results are in:
Team All For Knot: 93 species
Team Swift: 86 species
Team Just Wingin' It: 63 species
This year's Birdathon was a huge success! We all came back from our birding adventures with exciting stories of trials, triumphs, rare bird finds, first-time sightings, mammal encounters, and more. While raising money for birds makes us all feel like winners, there can only be one true champion, and this year that title belongs to Team All For Knot. Congratulations to Nils Warnock and Eric Myers! See the final bird lists here.
It's not too late to support our Birdathon!
|
|
|
|
|
Photo: Dave Shaw
|
|
Trump Budget Proposes Drilling in the Arctic Refuge
Ever since last fall's election, we have anticipated that Congress might use the 2018 budget process to open the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge to oil drilling. Now, the new Trump budget proposes to do just that. The fight to protect the Arctic Refuge has started anew.
Each spring, birds like Tundra Swans, Snow Geese, Pacific Brant, and Smith's Longspurs, leave their wintering habitat in the Lower 48 and head to the lush coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge. Here on the fertile tundra landscape, these and other birds nest and raise their chicks under the midnight sun.
Birds rely on the Arctic Refuge and its coastal plain. We must speak for birds and oppose drilling in the Refuge.
|
Secretarial Order on the Arctic: Bad for Birds, Bad for Balance
This week, Secretary of the Interior Ryan Zinke signed a Secretarial Order reopening a planning process for oil and gas leasing in the National Petroleum Reserve - Alaska (NPRA), and calling for a review of the petroleum geology in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge coastal plain, announcing that Alaska is "open for business."
Secretary Zinke's order disregards the fact that a balanced management plan in the NPRA already exists. The existing plan, which went into effect in 2013, allows for oil and gas development in certain areas while also protecting globally significant areas for birds and wildlife such as Teshekpuk Lake.
|
|
|
|
Photo: USFWS
|
Pacific Walrus Map
Pacific walrus haul out of the water in groups ranging from less than 100 to more than 10,000. These haulouts have historically been on the pack ice edge along the coast, but as the temperature in the Arctic continues to rise, pack ice has become scarce, forcing Pacific walruses to haul out instead on land, increasing the potential for human disturbance.
|
Our new hats feature the 2017 Bird of the Year, the Horned Puffin. Now you can keep the sun out of your eyes as you scan for that rare bird and support Audubon Alaska at the same time! Our classic hats are available, as well as a *new* mesh trucker hat. All proceeds support bird conservation in Alaska.
|
|
|
|
|
Galápagos Flycatcher. Photo: Andrew Turner.
|
|
Join Audubon Alaska in the Galápagos
The Galápagos Islands are known the world over as a top destination for studying endemic species, biodiversity, and natural history. Join us as we explore the Islands' various habitats-from mangroves, lagoons, and sandy beaches to cactus forests, lush highlands, and grassy pampas.
We'll come face-to-face with iconic wildlife: Blue-footed Boobies, land and marine iguanas, Darwin's finches, Galápagos Penguins, Flightless Cormorants, and giant Galápagos tortoises, among others. Don't miss the wildlife-viewing trip of a lifetime!
|
Name that Bird Photo Quiz
|
|
|
|
Photo: Francesco Veronesi
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
This Month's Quiz Bird
|
The previous quiz bird was the Western Wood-Pewee!
This aerial insectivore was not on the 2010 Alaska WatchList, but significant population decreases have been detected, and it will appear on the 2017 Alaska WatchList.
|
|
This month's quiz bird forages mostly while swimming. They often spin in circles on shallow water to stir things up and bring food to the surface. This bird nests in the high Arctic and winters in flocks on southern oceans.
|
|
Potter Marsh Day
Saturday, June 3rd, 11-4pm
Come celebrate Anchorage's most popular wildlife viewing area at this free event. This family-friendly nature festival brings you birds from Bird TLC, educational animals from the Alaska Zoo, archery and spin casting practice, hands-on nature activities for kids, and more.
Audubon Alaska will be hosting a birding station at the end of the boardwalk!
|
|
Anchorage Bird Walks
Tuesdays, 7-9pm - Potter Marsh Boardwalk - Hosted by Audubon Alaska and the Alaska Department of Fish & Game.
Saturdays, 8-10am - Potter Marsh Boardwalk - Hosted by the Alaska Department of Fish & Game.
Wednesdays, 6:30-8:30am - Meet at Westchester Lagoon parking lot - Hosted by Audubon Alaska.
|
|
Potter Marsh-A-Thon Smackdown!
Sunday, June 4th, 7:30am
Anchorage Audubon is hosting a birding competition this weekend! Don't miss it.
How many bird species can your team find within Potter Marsh between 8am and 12pm? How much food can you bring to the potluck picnic immediately following the contest period at 12pm? Whose team has the best name?
|
|
|
|
|
