The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service will host International Migratory Bird Day at Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge on Saturday, May 13, 2017 from 9 to 3pm. There will be an auto tour route for visitors and guided birdwatching hikes every hour on the refuge trails, while organizational members of the Emiquon Partnership will provide displays and exhibits at the refuge headquarters.
The theme for this year’s International Migratory Bird Day is “Stopover Sites: Helping Birds Along the Way.” When birds migrate between nesting and wintering sites, they don’t just stop anywhere; they rely on a handful of resource-rich and strategically located sites where they may double their body weight as they acquire the energy-rich fat stores needed to fly thousands of kilometers across continents and oceans. These places are known as stopover sites. Both Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge and The Nature Conservancy's Emiquon Preserve are significant stopover sites for migratory birds.
Chautauqua National Wildlife Refuge is located on the Illinois River in Mason County northeast of Havana and is one of four Illinois River National Wildlife and Fish Refuges. The Emiquon Preserve is just across the river in Fulton County. For more information, call (309) 535-2290. iBi
