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--Boundary_(ID_Y2FthuRYX78xFAQbgMLAgg) Content-type: text/plain; CHARSET=US-ASCII; delsp=yes; format=flowed Content-transfer-encoding: 7BIT Again my report is way too long, and I apologize for that -- read at your own risk. Cheers from Jim in Wolfville ----------------------- AUGUST 9, 2011 - Joan? Bearne told me today that, in early morning on Sunday, Aug. 7/11, there were more flying flocks of shorebirds/peeps than she has "ever" seen there at one time! This would have been when the tide was coming in on Sunday morning, and their cottage is at the junction of Pheasant Road and Sandpiper Lane (honest!) along eastern Evangeline Beach. (Nothing more specific in info' from her on that -- high tide was at 7:30 a.m.) High tide: 9:36 a.m. and a small tide today at 9.6 metres of amplitude (vertical distance from low to high or vice versa). Tomorrow morning I will have to try viewing from the Evangeline Beach Canteen area (& viewing platform with shorebird signage and maps) about 2 hours before high tide, which on Wed. is at about 10:36 a.m. and only 9.8 metres in amplitude. But today, as usual, I started my walk from east of the Bearnes' cottage at 1.5 hours after high tide, and walked eastward to the end of the trees (east end of Evangeline Beach) where the sandy mud and muddy sand give way to salt marsh (west of The Guzzle where the striped bass fishers try their luck at high tide). Sightings during my eastward walk: at the high tide area there was lots of apparently freshly broken or cut grasses (Spartina cord- grasses from salt marshes?), caused by what?, but not enough to accumulate into stranded windrows; and I found a few pieces of bait? probably from the bass fishers (a very small tomcod? and pieces of herring). Also I saw at least 3 juvenile or immature flying bald eagles, but no falcons nor other hawks. When I got to the east end, there were perhaps 1000 peeps at the top of the beach, where they had perhaps spent the high-tide period. But soon those numbers were quickly augmented a lot by incoming flocks (from the east? perhaps either from up the Gaspereau River or up the Avon River toward Windsor or from the Avondale/Noel shores to the east and north -- someone very recently mentioned conversationally having seen good shows of flying flocks of peeps at BLUE BEACH adjacent to Horton Bluff, east of Avonport, where the Blue Beach Fossil Museum is). At the end of the beach I always find a nice big flat rock for a seat, and then sit there for extended periods of watching the activities of the peeps as they variably go through stages of getting active after being relatively inactive during the high-tide period. Many groups continue to rest, with many individuals like humans standing on just one leg and giving lengthy impressions of being one- legged by hopping on one leg and even flying and landing on that same leg to hop some more). Other groups are quicker to "wake up" by stretching and preening and hopping around and starting to forage by flying or walking to the edge of the ebbing tide. Add to this their Zugunruhe or migratory restlessness, so that variably-sized flocks take off in flight, sometimes going a long way toward the west along the shore, only to then circle back to land near where they started; others probably do continue on to mudflats along the lower Cornwallis River and Wolfville Harbour and other mudflats like Starr's Point. Today my seated observations were short and uneventful. I walked back to where I started, and I would guess that the total number of peeps seen today, all at that east end, was about 10,000?, probably not very different from what I saw on my last walk on Thursday, Aug. 4/11. Back near my car I noticed three different groups of people recreating on the intertidal sand/mudflats, and I combined getting more exercise with some stewardship of the shorebird habitat by taking the time to catch up with those people and talk to them about the birds and flats. I've always felt badly about the Blomidon Naturalists Society never having developed such a beach stewardship program for all these years. And with the continuing apparent declines of the semipalmated sandpipers, along with unnecessary disturbances on these Upper Fundy feeding and fattening sites, we definitely owe something to those little birds for the spectacles they have provided for so long. Thus I feel good for having talked with those folks and advising them to talk with other beach users as they encounter them, about minimizing disturbances of the shorebird flocks. This is important as the tide approaches high and concentrates the birds into dense groups, and then especially early in the ebbing-tide phase when the birds are concentrated on the upper beach and starting to forage. Free-roaming, unleashed dogs are very problematic at those times. Once they spread out on the flats, the potential for disturbances of large numbers is greatly reduced. For others who think about helping with this, mention the excellent signage with photographs and maps at the motel/canteen viewing platform. I hope the tide times are posted at the canteen, but I forgot to look for that when I was last there. Tomorrow's daytime high tide is at about 10:30 a.m., so that the other high tide in the same day would be at about 11 p.m. The feeding activities of the shorebirds are of course on the tidal cycle, so that both low-tide periods per day (actually 24 hours and 50 minutes) are feeding periods, regardless of daytime and nighttime. --Boundary_(ID_Y2FthuRYX78xFAQbgMLAgg) Content-type: text/html; CHARSET=US-ASCII Content-transfer-encoding: quoted-printable <html><body style=3D"word-wrap: break-word; -webkit-nbsp-mode: space; = -webkit-line-break: after-white-space; ">Again my report is way too = long, and I apologize for that -- read at your own risk. Cheers = from Jim in Wolfville<div>-----------------------</div><div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: = 12.0px Helvetica"><b>AUGUST 9, 2011</b> -<b> </b>Joan? Bearne told me = today that, in early morning on Sunday, <b>Aug. 7/11</b>, there were = more<b> flying flocks of shorebirds/peeps</b> than she has "ever" seen = there at one time! This would have been when the tide was coming = in on Sunday morning, and their cottage is at the junction of Pheasant = Road and Sandpiper Lane (honest!) along <b>eastern Evangeline = Beach</b>. (Nothing more specific in info' from her on that -- = high tide was at 7:30 a.m.)</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal = normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; = "><b></b><br></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Helvetica" = size=3D"3" style=3D"font: 12.0px Helvetica"><b>High tide: 9:36 a.m. = </b>and a small tide today at 9.6 metres of amplitude (vertical distance = from low to high or vice versa). </font></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; = min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font = face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: 12.0px = Helvetica"><b>Tomorrow</b> morning I will have to<b> try viewing</b> = from the Evangeline Beach Canteen area (& viewing platform with = shorebird signage and maps) <b>about 2 hours before high tide</b>, which = on Wed. is at about 10:36 a.m. and only 9.8 metres in = amplitude.</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal = 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: = 12.0px Helvetica"><b>But today</b>, as usual, I started <b>my walk</b> = from east of the Bearnes' cottage <b>at 1.5 hours after high tide</b>, = and walked eastward<b> to the end of the trees (east end of Evangeline = Beach)</b> where the sandy mud and muddy sand give way to salt marsh = (west of The Guzzle where the striped bass fishers try their luck at = high tide).</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: = 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal = 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: = 12.0px Helvetica">Sightings during my eastward walk: at the high tide = area there was lots of apparently freshly <b>broken or cut grasses</b> = (<i>Spartina</i> cord-grasses from salt marshes?), caused by what?, but = not enough to accumulate into stranded windrows; and I found a few = <b>pieces of bait?</b> probably from the bass fishers (a very small = tomcod? and pieces of herring). Also I saw at least 3 juvenile or = immature flying <b>bald eagles</b>, but no falcons nor other = hawks.</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal = 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: = 12.0px Helvetica">When I got to the east end, there were perhaps <b>1000 = peeps</b> at the top of the beach, where they had perhaps spent the = high-tide period. But soon those numbers were quickly augmented a = lot by <b>incoming flocks (from the east?</b> perhaps either from up the = Gaspereau River or up the Avon River toward Windsor or from the = Avondale/Noel shores to the east and north -- someone very recently = mentioned conversationally having seen <b>good shows of flying flocks of = peeps at BLUE BEACH</b> adjacent to Horton Bluff, east of Avonport, = where the Blue Beach Fossil Museum is).</font></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; = min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font = face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: 12.0px Helvetica">At the = end of the beach I always find a nice big flat rock for a seat, and then = sit there for extended periods of watching the activities of the peeps = as they variably go through <b>stages of getting active after being = relatively inactive</b> during the high-tide period. Many groups = continue to rest, with many individuals like humans <b>standing on just = one leg</b> and giving lengthy<b> impressions of being one-legged</b> by = hopping on one leg and even flying and landing on that same leg to hop = some more). Other groups are quicker to<b> "wake up" by stretching = and preening and hopping around and starting to forage</b> by flying or = walking to the edge of the ebbing tide. Add to this their = Zugunruhe or migratory restlessness, so that variably-sized flocks take = off in flight, sometimes going a long way toward the west along the = shore, only to then circle back to land near where they started; others = probably do continue on to mudflats along the lower Cornwallis River and = Wolfville Harbour and other mudflats like Starr's = Point.</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal = 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: = 12.0px Helvetica">Today my seated observations were short and = uneventful. I walked back to where I started, and I would guess = that the <b>total number of peeps seen today</b>, all at that east end, = was <b>about 10,000?</b>, probably not very different from what I saw on = my last walk on Thursday, Aug. 4/11.</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top:= 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: = normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; = "><br></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Helvetica" = size=3D"3" style=3D"font: 12.0px Helvetica">Back near my car I noticed = three different groups of people recreating on the intertidal = sand/mudflats, and I combined getting more exercise with some = <b>stewardship of the shorebird habitat </b>by taking the time to catch = up with those people and talk to them about the birds and flats. = I've always felt badly about the Blomidon Naturalists Society never = having developed such a beach stewardship program for all these = years. And with the continuing apparent declines of the = semipalmated sandpipers, along with unnecessary disturbances on these = Upper Fundy feeding and fattening sites, we definitely owe something to = those little birds for the spectacles they have provided for so = long.</font></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; = margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal = 12px/normal Helvetica; min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; "><font face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: = 12.0px Helvetica">Thus I feel good for having talked with those folks = and advising them to talk with other beach users as they encounter them, = about minimizing disturbances of the shorebird flocks. This is = important as the tide approaches high and concentrates the birds into = dense groups, and then especially early in the ebbing-tide phase when = the birds are concentrated on the upper beach and starting to = forage. Free-roaming, unleashed dogs are very problematic at those = times. Once they spread out on the flats, the potential for = disturbances of large numbers is greatly reduced.</font></div><div = style=3D"margin-top: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; = margin-left: 0px; font: normal normal normal 12px/normal Helvetica; = min-height: 14px; "><br></div><div style=3D"margin-top: 0px; = margin-right: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; "><font = face=3D"Helvetica" size=3D"3" style=3D"font: 12.0px Helvetica">For = others who think about helping with this, mention the excellent signage = with photographs and maps at the motel/canteen viewing platform. I = hope the tide times are posted at the canteen, but I forgot to look for = that when I was last there. Tomorrow's daytime high tide is at = about 10:30 a.m., so that the other high tide in the same day would be = at about 11 p.m. The feeding activities of the shorebirds are of = course on the tidal cycle, so that both low-tide periods per day = (actually 24 hours and 50 minutes) are feeding periods, regardless of = daytime and nighttime. </font></div></div></body></html>= --Boundary_(ID_Y2FthuRYX78xFAQbgMLAgg)--
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