Skip to main content Skip to navigation
Home
Today's Show: The Alula
A Peregrine Falcon perched on a branch in the sunshine, holding its wings up, its tail fanned out
Listen In
  • Today's Show
  • Listen
    • Daily Shows
    • Threatened
    • Grouse
    • BirdNote Presents
    • How to Listen
  • Explore
    • Field Notes
    • Sights & Sounds
    • Birdwatching
    • Resources for Educators
  • How to Help Birds
    • At Home
    • In Your Community
    • Success Stories
  • About
    • The BirdNote Story
    • The Team
    • Partners
    • For Radio Stations
    • Funding
    • Contact Us
    • FAQs
    • Support BirdNote
  • Donate

Shorebirds Migrate South

The adults left last summer. Now the young ones go, too!
Subscribe to the Podcast
Download
  • Share This:
  • Share to Facebook
  • Share to Twitter
  • Share to Email
Hudsonian Godwit
© Silver Leapers / FCC

It's September, and millions of shorebirds are on the move. Most nest in high northern latitudes, such as the Arctic tundra. And a surprising number fly all the way to South America. This young Hudsonian Godwit might have hatched near Hudson Bay or in extreme northwest Canada, and it will probably winter in southeastern South America - maybe as far south as Tierra del Fuego! Go on a field trip and maybe you'll see some shorebirds. Start with your local Audubon.

  • Full Transcript
  • Credits

BirdNote®
Shorebirds Migrate South - Where Are they Bound?

Written by Bob Sundstrom

This is BirdNote.

[Hudsonian Godwits and Black-bellied Plovers calling]

In September, all across North America, the southward migration of shorebirds reaches its peak. Millions of shorebirds – the sandpipers and plovers that grace our shorelines – are on the move. And many birders now flock to the mudflats to watch the annual pilgrimage.

Most shorebirds nest in high northern latitudes, such as the Arctic tundra. Where are these migrants bound?

A surprising number fly all the way to South America. Hudsonian Godwits, [Hudsonian Godwits calling] which hatch their young near Hudson Bay and in extreme northwest Canada, winter in southeastern South America – some as far south as Tierra del Fuego. [Hudsonian Godwits calling] Lovely American Golden-Plovers fly similar distances [American Golden-Plovers calling]. Some log nearly 20,000 miles in their annual circuit from the Argentine Pampas to the Arctic and back.

[American Golden-Plovers calling]

The beautiful Black-bellied Plover, [Black-bellied Plover calls] which also nests in the far north, has a very different migratory strategy. [Black-bellied Plover calls]

Wintering primarily on coastal beaches and mudflats, Black-bellied Plovers spread themselves out for the colder months all the way from the Canadian border to central South America. [Black-bellied Plover calls]

If you'd like a chance to see and hear a multitude of incredible bird species in Cuba, why not join BirdNote on our trip to the island this fall? Spaces are limited, so look for more details today at BirdNote.org.

For BirdNote, I’m Michael Stein.

###

Bird audio provided by The Macaulay Library at the Cornell Lab of Ornithology, Ithaca, New York.  Hudsonian Godwit calls recorded by G.A. Keller and W.W.H. Gunn.  Black-bellied Plover calls recorded by R.C. Stein.  American Golden-Plover recorded by G. Vyn.
Ambient waves by Kessler Productions.
BirdNote’s theme music was composed and played by Nancy Rumbel and John Kessler.
Producer: John Kessler
Executive Producer: Dominic Black
© 2014 Tune In to Nature.org      September 2014      Narrator: Michael Stein
ID# shorebird-02-2008-09-04   shorebird-02b
 

Bob Sundstrom
Writer
Michael Stein
Narrator
Support More Shows Like This
Tagsmigration shorebird

Related Resources

Find your local Audubon societyHudsonian Godwit - More at All About Birds

More About These Birds

Hudsonian Godwit (Limosa haemastica)

Limosa haemastica

Sights & Sounds

Related Field Notes

May 8, 2020

Conserving Cerulean Warbler Habitat

By Rainforest Alliance
Did you know that the United States shares many migratory songbird species with our ne
October 11, 2013

Greater Yellowlegs gets a fish

By Gregg Thompson
Gregg Thompson spotted this Greater Yellowlegs near the Skagit Wildlife Area in western Washingto

Birds connect us with the joy and wonder of nature. By telling vivid, sound-rich stories about birds and the challenges they face, BirdNote inspires listeners to care about the natural world – and take steps to protect it.

Support BirdNote

  • Daily Shows
  • Field Notes
  • BirdNote Presents
  • Sights & Sounds
  • About BirdNote
  • Contact BirdNote
Sign up for our newsletter!
  • BirdNote on Facebook
  • BirdNote on Twitter
  • BirdNote on Instagram

Copyright 2021. All rights reserved.

  • Privacy Policy