#10 – Sandpipers on the Silvery Stikine: What's the Secret in All That Mud?

What's your boot size? There's a pair waiting in your Stikine River jet boat. This birding adventure is sponsored by Audubon Alaska. Step into another universe during the Stikine River Shorebird Festival, which takes place near the SeaBank outpost of Wrangell each year in late April. You’ll travel a 27,000-acre intertidal delta to reach an otherworldly expanse of silvery mudflats where shorebirds—including enchanting murmurations of western sandpipers—gather for a nutrient-dense feast during their migratory journey to northern breeding grounds. But it’s not crustaceans or worms those sandpipers are pecking at in the mud. What is this mysterious substance? Find out as you immerse yourself in the sounds of flocking birds, flowing water, and a musical symphony that invites your ears to take flight. Don’t forget your birding map from www.ak.audubon.org—and your Xtratufs! The SeaBank Chronicles is a natural sound theater transporting you through the living science of Southeast Alaska. Combining facts and mystery, each 7-minute episode delivers listeners to Alaska’s coastal rainforest to groundtruth terrestrial and marine ecosystems. Immerse yourself in rich audio effects woven with lush voice narration for an experience that is educational and spellbinding. A project of the Alaska Sustainable Fisheries Trust, The SeaBank Chronicles is written, hosted, and produced by Beth Short-Rhoads. When in doubt, just keep listening. Sources and Credits