Sandpipers - Shorebirds

Sandpipers are commonly known as shorebirds or waders and are from the family Scolopacidae.  Their scientific name is Actitis hypoleucos. The common sandpiper are migrators and they frequently travel the same route each year.  The sandpipers that visit the Bay of Fundy in Johnson Mills (8 Kilometres from Dorchester, NB) are coming from the Canadian Arctic on their way to South America where they will spend the winter months.  They usually arrive the later part of July and will be seen until late August.  Each year there are well over 200,000 that land on the Bay of Fundy.  The individuals that monitor their arrival have noted that each year there seems to be less that make the trip.  However, they are not sure the reason why.  
 
These birds are unable to swim and furthermore, when they leave the Canadian Arctic for Johnson Mills, they fly non-stop.   This means when they finally arrive on the shores of the Bay of Fundy, they are very tired, hungry and fragile.  The Bay of Fundy is a great feeding place for them as it is rich in mud shrimp, mud worms, mud juice and biofilm.  However, if the birds get spooked or disturbed by their predators or humans walking the beach they fly off as a group until they sense that it is safe to return to shore. When this happens, they end up using some of their energy that they will need to fly south in a couple of weeks.  It is very important that as humans we keep our distance from these birds especially at high tide so they can rest and preserve their energy. 
 
The first to arrive are the females. They reach our shores about a week or two after giving birth in the Arctic.  The males stay behind and tend to the newborns.  Then the males will arrive one or two weeks later leaving the babies behind as they continue building their energy for their flight to the Bay of Fundy. Once they are here, they too will feed until they double their weight and gather enough energy to fly to South America, roughly a 4,300 kilometre trip.   
 
Here are some of the pictures I have taken recently at Johnson Mills, NB