Hold on to your hats folks, one of the world’s greatest nature spectacles is gearing up as we speak…Right here in our own backyard! In fact, very shortly, thousands of people from all corners of the globe will once again converge on the shores of the Bay of Fundy to be witness to this most amazing wildlife show. What am I referring to? Have I piqued your curiosity yet? I am of course talking about the massive long distance migration of a small shorebird, the semipalmated sandpiper, from the Canadian Arctic to Northern South America, via the Maritimes’ Bay of Fundy. Very soon, i.e. late July and early August, approximately 85% of the world’s population of this species, i.e. 2 to 3 million birds (!),  will arrive in their Bay of Fundy staging area to make their annual fall migration “refueling stop”.

If you saw one of these small, sparrow-sized birds all by itself, you may well be singularly unimpressed. However, when you realize that when these birds leave the beaches of the Bay of Fundy, they will actually fly non-stop over water all the way to Suriname or Guyana (neighbours of Venezuela), a distance of some 3500-4000 km in just a few short days (!!!), you may well begin to take notice. But that is not all, oh no! Although this incredible feat of avian endurance alone is more than worthy of mention, it is actually the sheer size of the flocks they form on some of Fundy’s beaches, as well as the intricate aerial ballets which they perform (synchronized flight patterns), that create such a buzz in the birdwatching world. In fact, it is not unusual to see flocks of 100 000 birds roosting at high tide on some of Fundy’s beaches, such as Johnson’s Mills near Dorchester Cape, Mary’s Point near Fundy National Park and The Hopewell Rocks (Ocean Tidal Exploration Site) Provincial Park. Occasionally, upwards of 250 000 (a quarter of a million birds!) can be seen on a single beach! But, despite their seeming abundance, it is easy to forget that these little feathered dynamos are actually quite vulnerable to disturbance and change. Many scientists now believe that Global

Warming is beginning to negatively impact on this species as well as many others, and disturbance of the migratory roosting flocks by humans and/or their pets will increase the stress on the birds tremendously, meaning they will not be able to accumulate sufficient energy and fat reserves they require to accomplish their marathon migration. Amazingly, they accumulate the high energy fat reserves that enable them to undertake their marathon flight in just a two to three week period. This is accomplished by eating practically non-stop daily. The birds daily ingest approximately their own body weight in food during this period. Their menu consists mainly of a small amphipod known as “mud shrimp” or Corophium volutator, which is uniquely abundant in this part of the Bay.

Semipalmated Sandpipers on the beach and in flight at Johnson’s Mills near Dorchester, by Denis Doucet

So, I sure hope you decide to take in this year’s “really, really great show…”. I am certain you won’t regret it. But, when you do, I know you will all remember to bring your binoculars and take in the show from a respectful distance. The sandpipers, as well as avid birdwatchers from all over the world, will thank you for it!