Tiny shore birds celebrated in annual festival

Tiny shore birds, oncea 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 theSemipalmatedSandpipers 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 saysthe 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."

The birds weigh 20 grams when they first get to the mudflats from the Arctic, and must double their weight in two to three weeks to survive the nonstop threeto four day crossing.

"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 about2,000 birds in Dorchesterand 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.

Visitors can see the birds without disturbing them if they go to the viewing platform at Johnson's Mills Shorebird Reserve and Interpretive Centre.

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."