Migratory birds

Migratory birds of interest: Some of the most notable bird species observed within Wapusk are seasonal migrants, meaning they only spend a small portion of the year in the park. For example, the Arctic tern spends the northern summer months breeding within Wapusk, then migrates to Antarctica for the southern summer. Every year, Arctic terns complete a round-trip journey of more than 30,000 kilometres — one of the longest of any animal on earth!

Red knots are a medium-sized shorebird that breed in the central Canadian Arctic and overwinter at the southern tip of South America. The Red knot is a shorebird protected under the Migratory Birds Convention Act, 1994 and is listed on Schedule 1 of the Species at Risk Act. The majority of Wapusk National Park’s shoreline has been identified as critical habitat for this Endangered species.

Common eiders, the largest duck in the Northern Hemisphere, nest throughout the park at low densities, also forming two small colonies located near Nestor Two Research Station in the northern portion of the park. The Common eider is a sea-duck that spends the majority of its life at sea, diving down to the ocean floor to ‘pick’ food (e.g. blue mussels) from the ocean floor. Unlike most birds who fly south for the winter, Common eiders overwinter in the northern hemisphere. The Hudson Bay subspecies that occurs in Wapusk primarily winters in the polynyas (areas of open sea surrounded by ice), and in the ice cracks and leads, of Hudson Bay.