What it’s all about
Every September 6, World Shorebirds Day turns our attention to a group of birds that are easy to overlook and impossible not to admire once you know them. Shorebirds are the sandpipers, plovers, godwits, curlews, and turnstones that work the edges of oceans, lakes, and wetlands, probing wet ground for tiny invertebrates. They tend to be small, brown, and busy, which is exactly why so many people walk right past them. Give them a few minutes of real attention and you meet some of the most extraordinary athletes on the planet.
The day was created to build appreciation for these birds and to grow the number of people watching and counting them. Early September lands squarely in the fall migration window across much of the Northern Hemisphere, so it is a natural time to look. That timing is the whole point: this is when the migration these birds are famous for is actually happening under your feet.
Marathon migrants
Shorebirds are champions of long-distance flight. Some species travel between Arctic breeding grounds and wintering areas far to the south, covering enormous distances twice a year. Certain individuals are known to make remarkably long non-stop flights over open ocean, flying for days without landing to feed or rest. To do that, they fuel up at stopover sites, feeding almost continuously to build fat reserves before the next leg.
That is why the muddy, unglamorous places matter so much. A single estuary or tidal flat can be a critical refueling station, and losing it can ripple across a whole flyway.
The small brown bird poking at the mud may have flown farther this year than you will in a decade.
Why they need our help
Many shorebird populations have declined, driven largely by the loss and degradation of the coastal wetlands and stopover sites they depend on. Disturbance is part of the story too. A flock flushed repeatedly by people, dogs, or vehicles burns energy it desperately needs for migration, and beach-nesting species lose eggs and chicks to trampling and predators drawn to human activity.
How to make the most of it
The best way to mark September 6 is to go looking. Find a nearby coast, estuary, lake, or wetland, check the tide, and arrive when water movement pushes birds into view. Bring binoculars and start simple: note size, bill shape, and how each bird feeds before worrying about a name. If you can, contribute a count to the day’s Global Shorebird Counting effort through eBird, where your observations become useful data. And whatever you see, keep your distance and leave the beach cleaner than you found it. These travelers have a long way to go, and a calm, well-tended shoreline is the best gift you can offer them.
How to celebrate
- 1Visit a mudflat or beach
Head to a coastal mudflat, estuary, or lakeshore around dawn or dusk when tides push birds close to viewing spots. Check a tide chart first: a rising or falling tide concentrates feeding shorebirds where you can actually see them. Stay back from the flock and move slowly so you do not flush them into wasting energy they need for migration.
- 2Learn to tell them apart
Start with size and bill shape rather than color, which changes with the seasons. A short straight bill probes shallow; a long downcurved bill like a curlew's reaches deep. Compare leg color and how the bird feeds, then confirm with a field guide app so the small brown ones stop blending together.
- 3Log a count for science
World Shorebirds Day runs an annual Global Shorebird Counting event, and your sightings genuinely help track populations. Submit what you see to eBird, noting numbers and species. Even a modest count from a local wetland adds a real data point that researchers use to spot declines.
- 4Give beach-nesters space
Many shorebirds nest right on open sand where eggs and chicks are nearly invisible. Keep dogs leashed, walk on wet sand near the water instead of the dry upper beach, and respect roped-off nesting areas. Packing out your trash keeps gulls and predators from being drawn to the colony.