For Shorebirds, Summer Ends Early

BirdNote®
For Shorebirds, Summer Ends Early
Written by Conor Gearin

This is BirdNote.

We often think of birds migrating south in the fall. But many species kick off their big trips surprisingly early in the year.

    [American Golden-Plover calls]

Shorebirds nesting in the Arctic tundra are an extreme example. Birds like this American Golden-Plover have a small window of time to build a nest, find a mate, and lay eggs in the short Arctic growing season.

    [American Golden-Plover calls]

Golden-plovers actually leave their juvenile young behind to begin flying south in mid-summer. But don’t worry, at that point the juveniles are already taking care of themselves and can find their own way to South America later in the year.

What that means for people living below the Arctic Circle in North America is that shorebirds begin reappearing on beaches, mudflats, and grasslands in July and August. Unlike the rapid flight north in the spring, shorebirds take their time in the fall, following weather patterns and stopping for a while when they find a good spot for food.

So for shorebirds, it’s like summer’s over as soon as it began. Another way to look at it? Every month of the year has a big event for birds’ life cycles, and there’s always something new for us to witness.

For BirdNote, I’m Ariana Remmel.

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Producer: Mark Bramhill
Managing Editor: Jazzi Johnson
Managing Producer: Conor Gearin
Content Director: Jonese Franklin
Bird sounds provided by The Macaulay Library of Natural Sounds at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York. ML132118 Recorded by Gerrit Vyn.
BirdNote’s theme was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
© 2024 BirdNote July 2024
Narrator: Ariana Remmel

ID# shorebird-05-2024-08-02    shorebird-05