Summer Home for Millions of Birds
During the winter, birds are rare on the coastal plain. By mid-April, however, millions of migratory birds return to the coastal plain. Some 180 bird species have been recorded in the Arctic Refuge, including 135 on the coastal plain. Birds come from all 50 states, Mexico, Central and South America, the mid- and South Pacific Islands, Asia, and even Africa and Antarctica. The golden plover annually performs one of the longest migrations of any American bird - from the Arctic Refuge to Argentina and Patagonia.
Short But Intense Arctic Summer
So much happens in a short time on the coastal plain. These birds are nourished by a rich plant, invertebrate and small mammal explosion of life.
The coastal plain has habitat types for every kind of bird. These habitats include tundra, rivers, streams, ponds, lakes, brackish and freshwater marshes, saltwater lagoons, gravel bars, beaches and offshore islands.
Each year, up to 325,000 snow geese eat cotton grass on the coastal plain before continuing their long winter journey to California, other western states and Mexico.
Oil Destroys Bird Paradise
Prudhoe Bay, an established oil field in the Arctic, has seen a decline in bird populations due to disturbance and contamination. Water pollution was particularly devastating, especially for shorebirds such as the Baird's sandpiper.
Oil Spills: Jeopardizing Shorebirds
Small oil spills - such as those that frequently occur in existing North Slope oil fields - can have chronic effects on birds.
If a large spill were ever to occur on the Refuge coastal plain and escape into a major river, it could reach coastal lagoons where it would jeopardize or kill tens of thousands of shorebirds, such as the semi-palmated plover.
Snow geese are particularly sensitive to human disturbance. Displacement from prime feeding habitats would likely make geese less fit for migration and reduce their winter survival.
The Department of Interior has estimated that snow geese could lose as much as 45 percent of their preferred feeding habitat from full development of the coastal plain for oil and gas.
Tipping the Balance for Endangered Birds
Oil development on the coastal plain would likely be particularly damaging to species with small, declining or vulnerable populations, such as red-throated loons, common and king eiders, or buff-breasted sandpipers.
These species are already in peril and oil development could mean the end of their species.
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