I took a trip along the eastern shore between Martinique Beach and Cole Harbour yesterday. My first stop at Martinique Beach, in the fog as usual, turned up two non breeding Semipalmated Sandpipers, one Semipalmated Plover and one Piping Plover plus lots of Savannah Sparrows along the way. I found no Ipswich Sparrows today. They often congregate on the kelp heaps at the east end of the beach. There may have been two Piping Plovers but since I saw just one going up the beach and one coming down the beach there is no way to know if it was the same bird or not. This used to be one of the premier breeding beachs for the Piping Plover on the east coast of Nova Scotia. Just four to five years ago I counted up to 30 Piping Plovers along this beach but in recent years there has been a complete collapse in the breeding population. I've watched Piping Plover chicks, describable as golf balls on tooth picks, running around the beach in easy view of predatory gulls and corvids. A captive breeding program followed by distribution of the new birds on beachs with low populations of gulls may be the answer. Piping PloverPiping Plover The Semipalmated Sandpipers at Martinique Beach were pale non breeding adults very similiar in appearance to non breeding Sanderlings.

Semipalmated SandpiperSemipalmated Sandpiper

Along the route between Martinique Beach and Cole Harbour Greater Yellowlegs turned up in several roadside ponds. Greater YellowlegsGreater Yellowlegs

I encountered my first Tree Swallow of the year at the Dyke Road, Seaforth. The tide was high now so very little else was present except gulls.

Conrads's Beach turned out to be the most productive stop, showing Snowy Egret, Northern Pintail, Merlin, a possible Ipswich Sparrow(poor photos) and lots of ducks, dabblers and divers. Snowy EgretSnowy Egret Snowy EgretSnowy Egret Snowy EgretSnowy Egret There is a utility pole along the route to Martinique Beach that has hosted Pileated Woodpeckers for years. They were present again this year.

Pileated WoodpeckerPileated Woodpecker Pileated WoodpeckerPileated Woodpecker

Rainbow Haven was unproductive thanks to the high tide and shot guns. The rest of the route including Cole Harbour was fogged in.