Celebrate World Migratory Bird Day with your Class

Thousands of migratory bird species will be flying over Clark County skies over the next several weeks. As we enjoy the warmer weather and longer days that Spring brings, we also celebrate the return of many bird species that call the Pacific Northwest their summer home.

World Migratory Bird Day is celebrated internationally on May 14th. World Migratory Bird Day serves as an international education opportunity to promote protection efforts of vulnerable migratory bird populations.

Learn More about Migratory Birds 

Washington State is included in the "Pacific Flyway," a critical migratory route for over a billion birds each year. Learn more about the Pacific Flyway migration route including the ecology of the route and the endangered species who rely on this migration each year.

Tracking bird migration routes with your class can provide your students with opportunities to learn about geography and biology. View bird migration forecasts, live migration maps and local bird migration alerts.

Protect Migratory Birds from the Classroom 

Many migrating bird species fly at night. Bird species have evolved to migrate at night to avoid daytime predators, stay cool from high temperatures and to use the constellations to navigate along the migration. Learn more about nocturnal migration.

There are a few simple actions your classroom can take to help protect migratory bird species without even leaving the classroom!

• Help migrating birds avoid windows by decorating windows with window clings, decorative banners or posters. We recommend hanging décor with painters' tape for easy removal.
• Turn off lights at night. Studies have demonstrated that migrating bird populations exposed to artificial light during their nocturnal migrations can become disoriented and fall off their natural migration, often resulting in avian fatalities. 

World Migratory Bird Day hosts an electronic library of free resources featuring fact sheets, posters, coloring sheets and more!