PIPESTONE - Pipestone National Monument will host “International Migratory Bird Day” from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. May 13. The event will feature bird walks, interactive exhibits, educational stations and more.
National and international cooperation is an essential step toward safeguarding the world’s migratory birds, whose long-distance flights often cross political borders, exposing them to widely varying conservation philosophies and laws. This year’s theme celebrates the importance of stopover sites, crucial refuges where migratory birds rest and refuel before continuing their remarkable journeys.
Because these flights can stretch thousands of kilometers across continents and oceans, the birds depend upon a handful of resource-rich and strategically located habitats to acquire the energy-rich fat stores they need to survive. These places are known as stopover sites. Some stopover sites are well known, such as along the coasts of Louisiana, New Jersey and the Upper Bay of Panama, where birds stop after traveling along the shoreline. Others are inland, such as Venezuela's grasslands, wetlands in the central United States, and even urban parks and backyards.
To learn more, visit migratorybirdday.org.
