Saints Rest Beach Report for Saturday, September 13, 2025
Today’s volunteer group included Shantel McCracken, Pat Rogers, Brian Comeau, Lauren Verner and Nancy Hamiliton, with Hank Scarth serving as lead volunteer.
Twenty-five people were noted to be on the beach, and volunteers spoke with 18. They reported that all engagements were positive with people seemingly delighted to learn about the birds. As seemed often the case this season, there were few beach visitors during this late afternoon shift; although a wedding party of some 30 people gathered for photos and kite flying at the far western end of the beach.
Only two dogs were observed on the beach, both on leashes.
It appears that two days of northerly winds may have encouraged many of the birds to depart on their non-stop migration to South America as numbers observed roosting on the beach have declined considerably. There were 425 Semipalmated Sandpipers, 127 Least Sandpipers, two Semipalmated Plovers, two White-rumped Sandpipers and two Dunlins recorded. The bulk of the birds settled near the volunteers and seemed quite at ease with their presence, allowing the volunteers to offer enthralling views to beachgoers. A lone angler from Moncton was stationed away from the cobble and was very aware and supportive of our efforts. “Herman”, the lone peep-chasing Herring Gull, made a half-hearted effort to catch its dinner. A late-shift attack by a Peregrine Falcon forced the birds high into the air and not to return; possibly headed to the mud flats to feed.
Shift time: 15:30-18:00. Temperature 18C. Winds SSW 17kph becoming SW 19. Partly cloudy.
Hank Scarth, Lead Volunteer