Shorebird Counter and Educator Report for Monday, September 14, 2026 as part of the Shorebird Conservation and Education Project, located at Irving Nature Park in Saint John, NB.
Conditions:
Start: 01:00 PM
Weather: 23°C, Partly Cloudy, Wind 24 NW
High Tide: 02:50 PM
End: 06:00 PM
Weather: 21°C, Partly Cloudy, Wind 24 NW
Beach Engagement & Observations:
People Engaged 9
Total People on Beach 25
Dogs Leashed 1
Dogs Unleashed 1
Anglers 3
Monarchs 1
Birds Observed:
Boardwalk
Time 01:30 PM
eBird Checklist: https://ebird.org/checklist/S392992388
# Species Observed 15
American Black Duck: 10
Common Eider: 3
Semipalmated Plover: 3
Lesser Yellowlegs: 6
Ring-billed Gull: 65
American Herring Gull: 30
Great Black-backed Gull: 2
Double-crested Cormorant: 11
Great Egret: 3
Great Blue Heron: 6
Turkey Vulture: 4
Northern Harrier: 1
American Crow: 4
Common Raven: 1
Savannah Sparrow: 3
Notes / Comments:
I had a lot of people come out and talk with me while I was on the boardwalk, the tide was 7.9m so the boardwalk was a good place to start today.
Main Beach
Time 03:12 PM
eBird Checklist Link https://ebird.org/checklist/S392994107
# Species Observed 5
Semipalmated Plover: 4
Dunlin: 1
Least Sandpiper: 132
Pectoral Sandpiper: 3
Semipalmated Sandpiper: 132
Notes / Comments:
The anglers were mostly towards the flags, the birds were close to center beach, some on cobble but more in on seaweed, not just the Leasts but the SESA.
Photo Description: Least and Semipalmated on the beach, it was windy so they were digging in by the seaweed.
Marsh
Time 02:30 PM
eBird Checklist Link https://ebird.org/checklist/S392993630
# Species Observed 15
Canada Goose: 15
Mallard: 3
American Black Duck: 24
Lesser Yellowlegs: 4
Least Sandpiper: 3
Semipalmated Sandpiper: 2
Ring-billed Gull: 40
American Herring Gull: 62
Double-crested Cormorant: 5
Great Egret: 2
Great Blue Heron: 5
Turkey Vulture: 1
Northern Harrier: 1
American Crow: 7
Savannah Sparrow: 4
Notes / Comments:
There wasn’t a lot of shorebird movement on the marsh, the season is coming to a close
Mudflats
Time 04:10 PM
eBird Checklist Link https://ebird.org/checklist/S392995650
# Species Observed 17
Green-winged Teal: 2
Common Eider: 9
Semipalmated Plover: 10
Dunlin: 5
Pectoral Sandpiper: 3
Semipalmated Sandpiper: 700
peep sp.: 870
shorebird sp.: 8
Bonaparte’s Gull: 2
Ring-billed Gull: 135
American Herring Gull: 46
Great Black-backed Gull: 2
Lesser Black-backed Gull: 3
Caspian Tern: 1
Double-crested Cormorant: 42
Great Egret: 2
Great Blue Heron: 6
Northern Harrier: 1
American Crow: 3
Notes / Comments (Mudflats):
Was very windy, at the beginning there was only about 100 peeps and I wasn’t expecting anymore due to low numbers on the beach. But then numbers by the 20’s and 30’s kept showing up out of the marsh and suddenly I was up to 800 birds. Another large flock flew in from Lorneville bring the total to around 1300. There were still more small flocks moving in from the marsh with a total of 1500 in all.
Overall Report Comments or Notes:
The marsh and beach had low numbers and I was thinking the season was over, but the tidal flats ended up with just over 1500 peeps along with a number of larger shorebirds.
Submitted by Counter/Educator: Paul Martin
The Shorebird Conservation and Education Project is supported by our funders at the NB Wildlife Trust Fund, the NB Environmental Trust Fund.