Happy World Migratory Bird Day 2025! Each year, nearly 5 billion migratory birds from six continents converge on Alaska, making their way to summer breeding grounds and critical stopover sites around the state. From the coastal plain of the Western Arctic to the lagoons of Izembek National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska's avian explorers disperse to all four major North American Flyways, Eurasia, and Antarctica.

We’re observing WMBD 2025 by delivering stories about Alaska birds, where they are celebrated, and how science can save them, plus a talking Aleutian Tern!

Let Them Eat Mud!

Here’s how the exhilarating discovery of biofilm can change shorebird conservation. This moment sparked a scientific breakthrough, followed by an international documentary project (Sandpipers’ Last Supper). The biofilm “film” also revisits a dangerous development project set for Roberts Bank—a vital shorebird stopover site for Western Sandpipers and other shorebirds on their way to Alaska.

Alaska Birding Trails

A birding trail is a virtual, though not always linear, guide to birding hotspots within a specific geographic region. We’re always highlighting the grand Southeast Alaska Birding Trail (200 birding sites across 18 communities, including Juneau, Sitka, and Ketchikan), but this year we’re launching the Utqiaġvik Birding Trail in collaboration with the annual Utqiaġvik Migratory Bird Festival.

Alaska's 2025 Bird Festivals

Alaska’s annual birding events honor culture and art, benefit tourism and local economies, highlight conservation issues, and truly celebrate birds. Here’s a rundown of Alaska's 2025 Bird Festivals, in addition to a special piece on the Yakutat Tern Festival—a celebration highlighting the remote village’s Aleutian Terns and Alaska Native community.

The Aleutian Tern is the 2025 Audubon Alaska Bird of the Year!

“I’m a small bird with big ambitions, so it’s an honor to be elected as 2025's Bird of the Year. Coastal habitats are critical not just for me but for countless other species, and losing them would be a devastating blow to Alaska’s biodiversity. If elected, I’ll fight to protect these habitats so future generations can marvel at our aerial acrobatics. It’s a privilege to be your 2025 spokesbird."

You want more?

Need more migration stories? Scroll through this storymap on Alaska's Great Migration, read Audubon Alaska’s latest newsletter, or check out this blog on the importance of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act.