Western sandpipers in flight (photo from Wikimedia)

19 August 2026

Though the growing season hasn’t ended yet, it is waning fast in Alaska. The Fairbanks area has already lost 5 hours and 45 minutes of sunlight since the June solstice(*) and they’re currently losing nearly 7 minutes of sunlight per day.

The National Weather Service in Fairbanks points out they’ll have less than 14 hours of daylight by September 8 (at 13:49).

Shorebirds key on day length to determine when to migrate. When their very short breeding season ended they gathered at the shore in July and are now on the move in August

Shorebirds assembling at Kinzarof Lagoon, Izembek National Wildlife Refuge in July 2008 (photo from Wikimedia) 

Late August marks the peak departure window for adult arctic-breeding shorebirds leaving Alaska. Species actively migrating out of the state this week include the Western Sandpiper, Dunlin, Lesser Yellowlegs, American Golden-Plover, Buff-breasted Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Red Phalarope, and [Hudsonian] Whimbrel.

Have we seen any of them in Allegheny County yet? No, but some birds are on the move. Here are screenshots from last night’s BirdCast tracking.

screenshot from BirdCast Migration Dashboard for Allegheny County, PA. Data for the night of 19 August 2026

Notice that we’ve had two exceptional nights this month.

screenshot from BirdCast Migration Dashboard for Allegheny County, PA. Data for the night of 19 August 2026

I missed them because I haven’t been paying attention. It’s already time to gear up for fall migration.