Have you spent your time being eaten by mosquitos while waiting for an Arctic Warbler to appear. Or have you nearly lost your lunch while clinging the railing of a pelagic charter boat, just hoping for a Black-Footed Albatross? Do you feel that you deserve some kind of recognition for your dedication and suffering in the name of birdwatching in Alaska? You can get some through the Wings over Alaska certification program.

In many some ways the Wings over Alaska program is similar to the trophy fish program run by the Alaska Fish and Game Department, except there are several levels of commendation. All you need to do is keep finding birds in the state and send in an application with your bird list. There are several tiers of accomplishment and you qualify based on your life tally of birds in the state. The Alaska State Fish and Game Department processes your list and sends you a certificate based on the level you have achieved.

To Download an application and official Alaskan bird checklist, Go to the Wings over Alaska website at.

http://www.wildlife.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=birding.main

Here is a list of the levels of certification.

	80 Species (Ptarmigan Level) – This is a nice threshold because it can easily be reached on a couple of casual Alaskan fishing or hunting trips, or on a single casual birding vacation.
	125 Species (Gyrfalcon Level) – Again, this is a nice threshold. 125 Species is a good goal to set for an intensive birding trip to Alaska. It is very doable, but you will need to be pretty focused. You will need to spend time in at least a couple of regions to make sure you reach the mark.
	200 Species (Eider Level) – This is the gold standard for serious Alaskan birdwatchers. 200 is very much an attainable goal, but you would really need to be focused and get all the regular birds of the state. It is possible to come close to this total on a guided and intense birding trip, but more likely you will need a couple of visits to reach this level, and you may even need to track down that stray mockingbird and Great Blue Heron on the Anchorage Bird Alert Hotline.
	275 Species (Bluethroat Level) – This level is for the elder statesmen of Alaskan birdwatching. 275 means hitting all the regular species, nearly all of the eco-regions and probably spending at least 3 springs on Attu looking for any possible Asian strays. As far as we can tell, this level should cost about $200,000 in flights and guided trips (unless you work for some kind of government wildlife department.)

If you have a growing state list, or you are planning a whirlwind tour of the state, think about downloading an application from their website, then good luck at hitting your goal.