Launching a New Season!

Stephen in our trusty research vessel, on one of many crossings on the Arctic Ocean, between field sites along the coastline of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge

Welcome back to our newly revised Arctic Shorebird Blog!  This site will feature regular updates from the field as we complete our final survey of the shorebird staging areas along the coastline of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.  This year we are testing out new features, including an interactive map that will allow you to follow our intrepid crew as we make our way along the coastline conducting our surveys.

On July 23rd, our crew will head out for Alaska, and after a brief stop for Fish and Wildlife Service training in Fairbanks, we will arrive at Kaktovik, a small village on the Beaufort Sea, on July 25th. This year four people from Manomet will work with three separate crews in the Arctic: one crew conducting the shorebird survey along the entire coastline, and two crews in camps at the Jago and Canning River deltas.  The coastal survey will complete our final year of measuring shorebird abundance at all of the major river deltas, which will help us determine where the most important staging sites are along the coast. 

The Canning camp crew will complete regular surveys of this major river delta to measure the population of staging birds throughout the season, as well as conducting tests for avian influenza.  The Jago camp is being led by a graduate student from the University of Alaska - Fairbanks, who is doing the first assessment ever conducted of the invertebrates that the shorebirds eat.  Manomet will assist with the invertebrate study, and also help train the Jago crew in bird banding techniques.  All of us will be working hard in the challenging Arctic conditions to make sure we have the best possible data about Arctic shorebirds, and we look forward to taking you along on our adventure this summer!  Check back for weekly updates from the field starting on July 26th!