Tiny shore birds celebrated in annual festival
The Sandpiper Festival celebrates the 20 gram birds that were a delicacy at one point in the area
Tiny shore birds, once a delicacy in the province are being celebrated in Dorchester at the Annual Sandpiper Festival this weekend.
The Bay of Fundy is the last stopover for the Semipalmated Sandpipers on their trip from nesting grounds in the Arctic to their laying grounds in South America.
Denise Roy, conservation representative of New Brunswick, with the Nature Conservancy of Canada says the feeding locations by Johnson's Mills is an important link in their migratory chain.
"At one time, historically in this area they did (eat them) now in South America they still do, they're still a hunted species there...that's part of the reason why the population decline is happening."
"At low tide they need to feed and at high tide they need to rest so we really ask that when people come and see this fantastic phenomenon that they don't try to get to close...their survival depends on this area," said Roy.
The birds are protected by the Migratory Bird Act and it is illegal to disturb them in both Canada and the U.S., despite their hunted status elsewhere.
On Friday, there were about 2,000 birds in Dorchester and the population was expected to peak to at least 50,000, but their survival rate during the migration is at 60 per cent.
"It's a critical migratory chain, so every chain needs to be tough and secure so that migration can keep going for years and years," said Roy.
Roy said visitors to the platform are so close to the birds, they can almost reach out and touch them.
"To me, it's one of the natural wonders of the world...people refer to them as doing their aerial ballet all the time and they're really quite fantastic...when they fly together it looks almost like a school of fish."