On a sunny April afternoon in 2021, I was part of a group of four friends and our five dogs as we walked on a deserted beach along the shores of Alaska’s Resurrection Bay just outside of Seward. On this coastline recently freed from a winter’s worth of deep snow, we discovered various treasures scattered along the tideline: urchin shells, gull feathers, the clean white skull of a Bald Eagle. Suddenly, our pack of huskies noticed a pile of bloodied feathers strewn about. We hurried the dogs along to keep them out of mischief, but soon something that looked like an oversized orange fitness watch piqued our interest. On closer inspection, we could hardly believe our luck—it was a GPS tracking device for birds, outfitted with a tiny solar panel on its side. The scattered feathers seemed to indicate we had stumbled upon the remains of a Greater White-fronted Goose. On the device was a hint to the identity of the species: contact information for Dr. Cory Overton, a longtime...