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Leah Chingliak, like many high school students, is a talented artist.  She loves to draw birds.  The small coastal village of Goodnews Bay on the border of the Togiak National Wildlife Refuge may not seem like the center of the art universe, but finding birds to draw is easy.  Each spring, birds from six continents file past the community by the thousands on their northward migration to the vastness of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and Arctic Plain.  Each fall they appear again, returning to points south for the winter.  Many species also nest nearby during summer.  

Leah is one of twelve Alaska K-12 students whose artwork will be showcased in the 2008 Alaska Migratory Bird Calendar.  The calendar program features winning art and literature entries from a contest that encourages local children to learn about birds found near their homes.  Families in western Alaska receive a copy of the colorful calendar which includes information in English, Yup’ik, Iñupiaq, Aleut and Athabascan to help students and their families learn more about waterfowl and other migratory birds. 

Leah was one of several winners at a regional calendar contest sponsored by Togiak Refuge.  Eight other refuges in Alaska also sponsor regional contests and the state’s top 12 art and literature entries are featured in the calendar.  The 2008 calendar will feature Leah’s Canada goose pair tending to their goslings. 

You can see all the statewide winning entries and learn more about the Alaska Migratory Bird Calendar program on the internet at http://alaska.fws.gov/external/education/calendar.htm.  Thanks to all of those who partner with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to make the program possible:  National Audubon Society, Alaska Department of Fish and Game, Association of Village Council Presidents, Conoco Phillips, Ducks Unlimited, the North Slope Borough, and the many school districts that participate.