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Yes, I do have 6 flagged SESA as of yesterday. I didn't post a photo because the flag is very muddy & all we can say is that the first digit is 5 (or 3) which in either case means the bird was flagged in Delaware Bay in May, 2009, "my" oldest bird by two years. Your 18,750 figure looks like mine. On July 26th I submitted 20,000 to eBird & on the 31st I submitted 15,000. Those figures don't show anywhere yet because the eBird computer sends any SESA over 500 (at least in July) off for review. On the 31st I went to East Point at 8:15 AM, a full 3.5 hours before high tide, to walk to Horton & back. I was mildly surprised by 8:45 to 9:15 to see large flocks high in the sky headed S right out of the Basin, apparently. I felt they were going "inland" for high tide. These were my estimated 15,000. Later I was micro-scanning one small flock of 300 & photographing the flagged bird, paying no attention to the sky. The flocks you counted on the 30th could have been similar flocks returning to feed, and others. On the 30th, at high tide, three of us saw one very large flock way out over the Basin, just "sitting" there. I didn't try to estimate it. Mark Elderkin was telling me that this is normal flock behaviour too. Rick Whitman On Wed, Aug 1, 2012 at 6:45 PM, James W. Wolford <jimwolford@eastlink.ca> wrote: > While Rick Whitman has been finding and photographing six? different > tagged/flagged semi' sandpipers at East Point of north Grand Pre, on Monday > I did the following, which involved looking at peeps at a distance, with no > identifications: > > JULY 30, 2012 - The daytime high tide was at 11 a.m., and I decided to do my > standard walk of eastern Evangeline Beach to guesstimate the numbers of > shorebirds/peeps, starting at 1.5 hours after high tide at 12:30 p.m. Today > was Sunny and warm, breeze very light, 23 C. I began my walk at the public > break in the cottages (former boat-launch spot?) along Sandpiper Lane, about > 100 metres east of the cottage of Joan & Bob Bearne (well east of the > Canteen/Motel area and viewing platform). My walk was finished by a bit > after 2 p.m. (not recorded). A minimum guesstimate for numbers of peeps > (small shorebirds) observed was pretty simple, since the vast majority of > the flocks observed were flying from the east (from where is unknown) and > toward the west following the shoreline but out over the water a bit -- > 500+200+500 minus 40 (flew east) +10+1100 (several flocks) > +800+2000+2500+10,000 (then many of same peeps?? reappeared as a flying > flock well out over open water) +2500 (had landed at east end, then flew out > over open water and attracted a peregrine falcon and then a second > unidentified falcon, prob. another peregrine, but neither falcon seemed to > chase the peeps much)+1000 -- total minimum? numbers of peeps was 18,570. > > Other wildlife observed were a single small sandpiper, very probably a least > sandpiper, roosting among the large rocks above the high-tide zone near the > Merks home; at least 5 bald eagles (3 together were 2 adults with a dark > immature (probable juvenile)), ravens & crows & d.-cr. cormorants & great > blue herons & gulls etc.; about 10 sea-mops of eggs of longfin or Peale's > squids (plus numerous older sea-mops stranded too high in uppermost zone of > beach)(all in a small area west of Merks home); and a single biting > "greenhead" or salt-marsh horse fly or deer fly (quite painful and > unsubtle!). > > Cheers from Jim in Wolfville.
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