Report created by Erin Brown, Shorebird Counter and Public Educator for the Shorebird Conservation and Education Project with the Saint John Naturalists Club.
Counts
Flats
- 161 “peeps” were counted feeding on the flats along with 34 Black Bellied Plovers. Another birder indicated that just before I arrived, most of the shorebirds left after a falcon made a run over the flats.
- Other birds included: 41 Gulls, 7 Black Ducks, 3 Great Blue Herons, 17 Cormorants, 9 Common Eiders, and 1 Crow.
Marsh
- 49 “peeps” were seen flying over the marsh.
- Other birds seen included: 8 Great Egrets, 5 Greater Yellowlegs, 40 Canada Geese, 34 Gulls, 13 Great Blue Herons, 21 Black Ducks, 2 Bald Eagles, 1 Cormorant, 6 Crows, 1 Red Knot, 2 Green-Winged Teal, and 2 Peregrine Falcons. Also seen were approximately 30 small brown passerines in a flock that would flush out of the grass when someone walked down the boardwalk. Could not make a confident ID.
Main Beach
- Shorebirds roosting: 165 Semipalmated Plovers, 390 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 1 Sanderling, and 9 Dunlin.
- Other birds included 6 Crows, 4 Common Eiders, and 4 Gulls.
- After the weekend storm, the area of cobble on the beach has changed somewhat but not enough that it should affect shorebird roosting.
Eastern Beach
- Shorebirds roosting: 121 “peeps.”
- Other birds included: 4 Gulls, 1 Red-Throated Loon, 2 Canada Geese, and 2 Peregrine Falcons.
This project was made possible with the support from our funders at the Environment and Climate Change Canada. We would like to thank our partners at Irving Nature Park and NatureNB.