|
Subscribe
RSS
Archive
January
February
March
April
May
June
July
August
September
October
November
December
|
Evangeline Beach Shorebirds Part ThreeSemipalmated Sandpipers are amazing flyers. One of their major stopovers is at the head of the Bay of Fundy. A large cluster rested on the sand and mud flats adjacent to the eastern end of Evangeline Beach. Others were clustered in the shore grasses. I photographed this melee using a 70-200mm lens in order to capture most of the Semipalmated Sandpipers in one frame. Courtesy of Wikipedia: DescriptionIt is a small sandpiper, 15–18 cm (5.9-7.1 in) long and weighing around 18-51.5 g (0.6-1.8 oz).[3] Wingspan ranges from 13.8 to 14.6 in (35-37 cm).[4] Adults have black legs and a short, stout, straight dark bill. The body is dark grey-brown on top and white underneath. The head and neck are tinged light grey-brown. This bird can be difficult to distinguish from other similar tiny shorebirds, in particular the western sandpiper; these are known collectively as "peeps" or "stints". Breeding and habitatTheir breeding habitat is the southern tundra in Canada and Alaska near water. They nest on the ground. The male makes several shallow scrapes; the female chooses one and adds grass and other material to line the nest. The female lays 4 eggs; the male assists in incubation. After a few days, the female leaves the young with the male; the young feed themselves. These birds forage on mudflats, picking up food by sight and feel (bill). They mainly eat aquatic insects and their larvae, spiders, snails, worms[5] and crustaceans. Semipalmated sandpipers rely heavily on horseshoe crab eggs during spring migration.[5] Females will also eat small mammal bones as an extra source of calcium during egg laying.[5] Status and migrationThey are long distance migrants and winter in coastal South America, with some going to the southern United States and the Caribbean. They migrate in flocks which can number in the hundreds of thousands, particularly in favoured feeding locations such as the Bay of Fundy and Delaware Bay. This species is a rare but regular vagrant to western Europe. Although very numerous, these birds are highly dependent on a few key stopover habitats during their migration, notably Mary's Point and Johnson's Mills along Shepody Bay, an arm of the Bay of Fundy.[6] During the months of July and August, the Nature Conservancy of Canada runs an information center about these shorebirds in Johnson's Mills, New Brunswick.[7] The Shorebirds at the Guzzle, near the east end of Evangeline Beach
Keywords:
birds of nova scotia,
Canada,
Evangeline Beach,
Nova Scotia,
Semipalmated Sandpipers,
Shorebirds of Nova Scotia
Comments
No comments posted.
Loading...
|
