Enter USFWS Alaska Migratory Bird Calendar Youth Art Contest

The following is courtesy of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service’s Alaska Region:

The Alaska Migratory Bird Calendar Youth Art Contest is a state-wide poster and literature competition. Since its start in 1987, the contest has encouraged Alaskan K-12 students to learn about Alaska’s migratory bird populations and how they can participate in bird conservation.

Formerly known as the “Goose Calendar” from the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta Goose Management Plan, the project underwent numerous changes as it grew to include more Refuges and drew more participants. Today, the Alaska Migratory Bird Calendar is a compilation of annual children’s literature and poster contests throughout rural villages of Alaska, facilitated by the efforts of many of Alaska’s National Wildlife Refuges and the Utqiagvik and Fairbanks field offices. The state-wide winners of the contest are published in each year’s calendar.

2023 Theme: Fill Your Bill: The Neat Beaks of Alaska’s Migratory Birds

Through art and literature students can celebrate the diversity, function and beauty of Alaska migratory birds and their beaks! Some art and literature theme suggestions related to bird bills/beaks:

• Different shape and function of bird beaks.
• Imagery or literature with the subject of birds filling their bills.
• Connections between what birds and people eat – foods we have in common (berries for example).
• Highlight migratory birds that are here in different seasons, what they eat and how they collect their food.
• Depictions of traditional use of bird beaks in cultural masks, garments, jewelry or instruments.
• Contrast and compare beaks of different species.
• Eating birds, bird recipes.

Who can submit an entry? Students (public, private, or home-schooled) residing in or adjacent to the North Slope Borough and the following National Wildlife Refuges: Alaska Maritime, Alaska Peninsula/Becharof, Arctic, Innoko, Izembek, Kodiak, Selawik, Togiak, Yukon Delta, Yukon Flats, and Tetlin. If you are not sure of your eligibility, email brett_parks@fws.gov and joanne_bryant@fws.gov. Students living in other communities outside these areas are welcome to compete in the Junior Duck Stamp Contest. 

Deadline: March 4, 2022 

Four ways to win!

1. Local Contest: after entries arrive at U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service offices (office addresses listed in Entry Form) in February, each office conducts a local contest with the help of five local judges. They select winners in each of the four calendar categories for both poster and literature entries (K-2, 3-5, 6-8, 9-12). 
2. State-wide Contest: each Office sends the entries of the local winners to Anchorage for the state-wide contest. Five independent judges select 12 state-wide literature and 12-state-wide poster winners (3 in each grade category) to be printed in the upcoming calendar. The judges also select one Grand Prize literature and poster winner to grace the calendar cover. 
3. Managers’ Prime Picks: if your local participating National Wildlife Refuge or office does not have a winner in the statewide judging, the local Refuge Manager selects one entry to be published in the calendar. 
4. Certificates of Appreciation: every student that submits an entry receives a certificate signed by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service. 

Literature Rules

Poster Rules

2023 Migratory Bird Calendar entry form