It seems like every day has been designated for something lately: National Blueberry Popsicle Day is September 2nd, the 4th is Newspaper Carrier Day and who could forget about National Clean Your Virtual Desktop Day coming up on October 19th. But there is one big ‘day’ coming up that I want to encourage you to take part in – but I can’t wait until September 12th for the National Day of Encouragement. This Sunday, September 6th, is the second annual World Shorebirds Day.
As bird (and other nature) lovers, this is a day we should really celebrate. It was started in 2014 with the intention to raise awareness about shorebirds and the perils they face. This year, I want to help!
One of the main events of World Shorebird Day is the “Global Shorebird Counting” where observers submit information about how many of each species of shorebird they see during September 4 – 6. To help you get prepared, I’ll be hosting an evening workshop at Gilsland Farm to teach you how to tell this diverse family apart. More information on that event is here.
Plus, I’ll also be leading a field trip on Saturday morning. You can register for that here.
Whether you can join us or not, I hope you go out and enjoy the marvel that is bird migration this weekend. The vast numbers can be awe inspiring and we certainly don’t want to see these diminish any further. And why not try counting the birds you see (estimates are better than nothing) then submit your numbers to eBird and share your list with the “Global Shorebird Counting” event? Instructions on how to do this can be found here.
-Doug
Meet Doug Hitchcox, Maine Audubon Staff Naturalist
A Maine native, Doug grew up in Hollis and graduated from the University of Maine in 2011. Throughout college Doug worked at Scarborough Marsh Audubon Center and was hired as Maine Audubon’s staff naturalist in the summer of 2013, a long time “dream job.” In his free time, Doug volunteers as one of Maine’s eBird reviewers, is the owner and moderator of the ‘Maine-birds’ listserv and serves as York County Audubon board member and Secretary of the Maine Bird Records Committee.
