Indiana Farmland Provides Rest and Forage for Arctic Travelers

Shorebirds, those little brown birds normally associated with ocean shorelines, make an appearance twice a year along seasonally flooded agricultural fields in Indiana. The birds are making their way in the spring to breeding grounds as far north as the high Arctic. They return each fall as they travel to wintering grounds as far south as the tip of South America. Shorebirds stop in Indiana to rest and forage before continuing their migration. Temporarily flooded farmland help provide these "stopover" sites.