𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐃𝐚𝐲: 𝐑𝐞𝐝-𝐍𝐚𝐩𝐞𝐝 𝐒𝐚𝐩𝐬𝐮𝐜𝐤𝐞𝐫 Fun fact: Sapsuckers don't suck sap, they sip it! Their tongues are shorter than those of other woodpeckers, and their tongue has small hair-like projections that help pick up the sap. 📷Tom Koerner/USFWS

𝐂𝐞𝐥𝐞𝐛𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝟐𝟑 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐍𝐞𝐨𝐭𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐥 𝐌𝐢𝐠𝐫𝐚𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐨𝐧𝐬𝐞𝐫𝐯𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧🎉Passed by Congress in 2000, the NMBCA has since funded 700+ projects to address declines in neotropical bird populations across the Western Hemisphere!

A rhythmic tic-tic, tic-tic-tic carries across the marsh in the dead of night as male yellow rails protect their watery plot of sedge and woo females. They reveal their presence to the world only after dark. Find out how scientists study them here: youtu.be/Mar7iKAekLA

Happy 34th Anniversary to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)! We’re working hard each day to ensure America’s public lands are safe, welcoming, and accessible for all. Photo of accessible boardwalk at Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge by Alan Nyiri/USFWS

Happy #WorldMangroveDay!🌎 📷Birds in a Yucatan mangrove🇲🇽 Courtesy of Ernesto Gomez, Bird Conservation Coordinator at Pronatura Península de Yucatán, long-time grantee of both North American Wetlands Conservation Act (NAWCA) & Neotropical Migratory Bird Conservation Act (NMBCA) grants🦆

The bar-tailed godwit owns the record for longest documented flight by any animal: 11 days and over 8,400 miles. These migrating shorebirds are built for speed in flight, with their sleek bills and incredible ability to augment organ size for a more aerodynamic body.

𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝟑 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐝 𝐃𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐬🏆 🥇Peregrine falcon: Record breaking 240 mph! 🥈Golden eagle: ~150 mph! 🥉Gannet: ~62 mph! 📷Peregrine falcon by Roy W Lowe/USFWS 📷Golden eagle by Tom Koerner/USFWS 📷Northern gannet by Orsulak/USFWS

𝐇𝐨𝐨-𝐫𝐚𝐲 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐎𝐰𝐥 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐃𝐚𝐲🦉Did you know there are 19 owl species found in the United States? These magnificent raptors help manage rodent populations and maintain ecological balance as apex predators!📷Dennis Demcheck/USGS

𝐓𝐨𝐩 𝟑 𝐅𝐚𝐬𝐭𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐒𝐰𝐢𝐦𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐁𝐢𝐫𝐝𝐬🏆🐧🌊 🥇Gentoo Penguin- up to 22.4 mph! 🥈Emperor Penguin- up to 9.3 mph! 🥉Common Murre- up to 5.6 mph! 1.📷Amy Van Cise/NOAA, 2.📷Giuseppe Zibordi/NOAA, 3.📷Julio Mulero/CC BY-NC-ND 2.0 #OlympicGames #Olympics2024

I'm not a chubby bald eagle. - Tufted Puffin This tufted puffin photo was taken near Protection Island National Wildlife Refuge in Washington. This refuge is for the birds... literally. In order to protect this fragile habitat, the refuge is closed to visitation. 📷Bryana Vice

New! 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐖𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐨𝐰𝐥 𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐮𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐒𝐭𝐚𝐭𝐮𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭!🦢 🪶2024 marks the 1st increase (+5%) in year-to-year total surveyed breeding ducks since 2015! 💧Prairie pond estimates increased 4% from 2023. 🦢 #WaterfowlWednesday #MigratoryBirds

Who wore it better? These two images both show the same species in the same part of the country. Both couples are reddish egrets on the Central Gulf Coast of Texas. Reddish egrets have two color morphs, the standard and the white. Photos: Brad James

Good news for #birds! With our partners, we contributed funds for projects supporting urban bird conservation in #MI #PA #NY #NM #AZ and #CT. fws.gov/.../2024-urban…... National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (Image: Children enjoy birding at John Heinz National Wildlife Refuge in Philadelphia/USFWS)

IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT - the results of our 2024 Waterfowl Population Status Report are in. 🦆 This year marks the first increase (+5%) in total surveyed breeding ducks since 2015. Video of a drake ruddy duck performing a courtship display by USFWS.

It's #MigrationMonday and birds are definitely starting to move! We spoke with actress and conservation champion, Jane Alexander, about her passion to protect birds and how we can all take actions to help them migrate safely. fws.gov/story/putting-… 📷 Birds fly at night/USFWS

That's a wrap! A big thank you to everyone who joined us for Team DU's LIVE Waterfowl Season Outlook. If you missed it or want to catch up, watch the recap at ducks.org/wso. Waterfowl Season Outlook 2024 is in partnership with Drake Waterfowl and Mossy Oak. Panelists: