Arctic Shorebird Project

I have just returned from the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, and am taking a few moments while in the adjustment phase from arctic time to reflect on our field season. The arctic is not a place where humanity can assert its will as easily as in more temperate climates. The harsh conditions make us mere visitors, and we carry out our work only when nature is willing to let us. This season we saw up close the power of the arctic weather, which shortly before our arrival flipped our boat while our colleagues were approaching a barrier island in heavy surf, destroyed some of the gear they were carrying, and required us to adapt and re-organize our field plans. But thankfully all were safe, due to the heroic seamanship of Steve Kendall, and the remarkable level-headedness and hardiness of the crew. One of the pilots for the Arctic Refuge, Dave Sowards, summed it up best while flying me to the Canning with a replacement engine, when he said of the arctic, “Up here you shoot for the moon, and take what you get”.  In this photo, Heather Craig and Luke DiCicco, who accompanied us on the coastal survey, show their irrepressible spirit while facing tough arctic conditions.   

After the initial setbacks, we had several windows of good weather that allowed us to complete the final survey of the entire arctic coastline. Despite reports of poor breeding in other parts of the arctic, breeding was apparently successful for many species in Arctic Refuge. We were rewarded for our efforts slogging ashore across the shallow lagoons to the mudflats with sightings of large numbers of Semipalmated Sandpiper, along with impressive numbers of Stilt Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Dunlin, and Black-bellied Plover, and even some rarer species like White-rumped Sandpiper, Sanderling, and Hudsonian Godwit. For me the highlight of the season was seeing 57 American Golden-Plovers flying southeast in a V, probably heading for Argentina, and knowing that the juveniles would soon follow on this epic journey, with no guidance from the adults who are already well on their way.  In this photo, four juvenile Stilt Sandpipers rest after feeding in a coastal mudflat. 

People have asked me since I started working in the arctic if I could see evidence of climate change. In the early years, I used to answer that no, those changes would likely happen over a long time period. But in recent years evidence of the changing climate is easy to see all around you in the arctic. Climate change is already affecting the arctic more than the temperate zones, because the change has been larger there, and because the environment is vulnerable to warming. We have seen evidence of dramatic coastal erosion as open water from ice melt allows larger and larger waves to form offshore. We have seen changing weather, as rain has become more intense and frequent, perhaps as a result of moisture from the newly exposed ocean surface. We have also seen polar bears coming ashore earlier and in larger numbers. We saw only one bear on our first survey at the end of August in 2006. We saw 3 in 2007 even though we conducted our survey earlier, then 7 in 2008, and 14 polar bears this season!  This photo is of the 14th bear we saw while returning from our last survey.

These changes underscore the need to understand what is happening to the core breeding areas of our shorebirds, and we plan to start a large coordinated effort with partners across the entire arctic next year to track breeding success and adult and juvenile survivorship.

Every year as we return safely home, we pause to reflect gratefully on the support of our sponsors, which makes our work possible, and allows us to carry it out safely. Thank you so much for your support, and your interest in following our arctic project on this blog! I hope you have enjoyed travelling to the arctic with us, and we will look forward to future adventures together!