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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.

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My Championship Hummingbird Season

10,000 Birds

Those of us who were raised in the four-season north (here in Michoacán one could define, at the most, three seasons) tend to think of avian migration in terms of seasonal temperatures. I may have come all the way from Alaska for these Salvias. I suspect that for hummingbirds, temperature is not the only factor. It was worth it.

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Comebackers

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Alaska’s long-lining fleet now must have bird-deterrent measures in place, which means a lot more Laysan, Black-footed and Short-tailed Albatross are not being injured or drowned in fishing gear. Aleutian Cackling Geese on Buldir Island, Alaska, where they made their final stand. is on a boat in the Aleutian chain.

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448 Great Things to do in Nature

10,000 Birds

Ken Keffer was born and raised in Wyoming. A vagabond naturalist and environmental educator he’s done a little bit of everything, from small mammal research in Grand Teton National Park and southeast Alaska, to monitoring Bactrian camels in Mongolia’s Gobi Desert.

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Signs of Spring Migration in Costa Rica

10,000 Birds

All the way to Alaska maybe? The other day, several were at the salt pans of Punta Morales and most had a bit of russet or chestnut on their head, dressed to fly back to the shores of the Gulf and raise a brood or two. That would be migrant raptors such as Broad-winged and Swainson’s Hawks. Where will they go?

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Introducing the African Birding Beat

10,000 Birds

I was fortunate to have been born and raised in Africa, and although I have traveled extensively around the world, it remains my home and in my blood. Adam has traveled extensively to all 7 continents, leading tours to numerous countries ranging from Colombia to Egypt, Angola to Papua New Guinea and Antarctica to Alaska.

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Can’t go birding? Knit them yourself!

10,000 Birds

As her website attests: “This year I’ve also designed a knitted curlew for the RSPB to promote their Curlew Recovery Program , and a knitted sandpiper for the Net Loft in Alaska, for their Birds By Hand project, to raise awareness of the Cordova migration flyway.”

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