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| A Surfbird protects its eggs from hail, Lake Clark National Park and Preserve, Alaska. This sort of extreme weather is common at high elevation sites across Alaska during summertime. |
A Black-bellied Plover nest, situated in a bed of dry lichen and moss, Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. Shorebird species typically lay four eggs. |
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| A Rock Sandpiper incubates its nest, Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. Rock Sandpiper nests typically hatch after twenty-one days of incubation, and chicks attain flight approximately eighteen days thereafter. |
A freshly-hatched Ruddy Turnstone chick, Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge. Downy chicks leave the nest hours after hatching and rely on parental protection and camouflage to avoid predators like arctic fox, mink, and gulls. |
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| Rock Sandpipers drop from the air and into a roost along the shores of the Bering Sea, Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, Alaska. Shorebirds form roosts as the tide rises. Once the tide drops and foraging sites are once again exposed, the roost disperses. |
A Black Turnstone removes an eggshell from its nest. Parents remove the eggshells shortly after hatch, often flying a short distance to drop the waste. |
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| A juvenile Sharp-tailed Sandpiper. Although this species does not breed in North America, each fall thousands of juveniles pass through coastal sites in western Alaska en route to their wintering grounds in Asia. |
A close-up of a male Rock Sandpiper. Once the breeding season is over, this bird will lose its rusty cap and dark auricular patch. |
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| Recently hatched Rock Sandpiper chicks, St. Matthew Island, Alaska. Most shorebird chicks exit the nest quickly after hatch and begin to feed themselves, relying on parents for frequent brooding. Their coloration allows them to blend into their tundra surroundings, escaping the detection of predators. |
A male Bristle-thighed Curlew sits motionless on its nest in the Andreafsky Wilderness, Alaska. Most shorebirds nest in relatively open habitats and rely on camouflage to escape detection. |
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| A flock of Dunlin wheels past at Egegik Bay, Alaska. These small shorebirds gain protection from aerial predators by forming large flocks. |
Not all of Alaska’s breeding shorebirds are found on the tundra. Alaska hosts numerous shorebird species that breed in the boreal forest, including this Lesser Yellowlegs, photographed here perched atop a spruce. |
