Why Are These Birds Licking Mud?

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A marathoner needs a lot of energy to make their long distance treks, and this is no different for migratory birds. But how are these marathon flyers getting that energy from the mud they’re slurping off of beaches along the way?

Hosted by: Hank Green

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Sources:
https://ca.audubon.org/news/western-sandpiper-important-bird-conservation-california
https://sora.unm.edu/sites/default/files/journals/condor/v098n01/p0010-p0021.pdf
https://avibirds.com/wp-content/uploads/pdf/alaskastrandloper8.pdf
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00063/full#B62
https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ecs2.3133
https://www.audubon.org/news/grazing-provides-western-sandpipers-important-source-energy-migration
https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0272771419300666?casa_token=V12oRXtkSoUAAAAA:tjQ8bRPjilYDhmqlmRedPk2vArAG1TdKBXWG9FhA8D4QwahgkNMbHXtUPrCcggz8vCg68KGGjCZP
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/4182-fat-and-calories
https://ods.od.nih.gov/factsheets/Omega3FattyAcids-Consumer/


Image Sources:
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Western_Sandpipers_foraging_on_Skaggs_Island.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Western_Sandpiper.jpg
https://esajournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1002/ecs2.3133
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Biofilm.jpg
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gorges_du_Ciron,_rive_D,_suintements_et_bact%C3%A9ries_Odeur_soufre_5020.JPG
https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Closterium_navicula_87484139.png
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2020.00063/full#B62
https://www.storyblocks.com/video/stock/waves-of-water-of-the-river-and-the-sea-meet-each-other-during-high-tide-and-low-tide-rvqqm8yi_knbyhxq0
https://www.inaturalist.org/observations/105130293
https://www.flickr.com/photos/usfwsnortheast/8578570180
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/sandpiper-pair-feeding-gm584485948-100064563
https://www.istockphoto.com/photo/excavator-working-on-the-beach-with-ocean-copy-space-gm165891195-17819447