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The Challenge of Counting Semipalmated SandpipersA challenge always worth accepting is to estimate the size of a Semipalmated Sandpiper gathering. This bunch at the guzzle at the eastern end of Evangeline Beach is just such a challenge. I estimate the area occupied by the sandpipers as about one acre plus or say 60,000 square feet. The multiplier is the real test. The sandpipers cluster together typically four to twelve individuals per square foot. Lets take the median number of eight per square foot. Consider that they are six inches long and two inches wide. A tight cluster where they are touching, which is common, indicates a maximum of twelve for every square foot. My next posting will show examples of this bunching. So using the median number of eight per square foot and 60,000 square feet to share their space with would indicate that this flock is 480,000 individuals, not counting the birds in the foreshore grasses and other pockets of birds in the surrounding area. A more accurate measure would be to place a grid over the field of birds and count the birds in each square of the grid to obtain an average per grid square, if you have the time. 500,000 Semipalmated Sandpipers
Keywords:
000 Semipalmated Sandpipers,
500,
Canada,
Evangeline Beach,
Nova Scotia,
Shorebirds of Nova Scotia
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