This is Bird Node.

Here we are, on an April day standing at the sandy rim of a coastal bay,

gazing quietly across a glistening expanse of tide flats.

But wait, what's that startling sound overhead?

Look up. A large flock of birds. They're the size of gulls, but a lovely tawny brown

with bright cinnamon-colored underwaves. The flocks dropping to the mudflat, canting down in orderly waves,

shouldering together in a dense mass.

These handsome birds have a name as unlikely as their calls.

They're known as Marbled Godwits.

Marbled Godwits stand a foot and a half tall on slender dark legs.

Their exquisitely long bills are pink, tipped in black, and just slightly up-curved.

Altogether, a stunning bird.

The Godwits are on their way north.

They've wintered along the coasts, including the Texas Gulf Coast and along the Pacific from California to Washington.

While most will breed in the prairie provinces of Canada, some will nest in Alaska's Aleutian Islands.

For bird note, I'm Michael Stein.

This episode is brought to you by Wild Delight Bird Food,

which aims to support wild bird populations

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