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Shorebirds

Lesson Plans

Millions of shorebirds migrate between Canadian Arctic breeding grounds and far-away winter homes in South America. Their survival depends on a number of critical stopping and “refuelling” points along the way — mostly coastal and interior wetlands and grasslands. Each site is an important link in a chain. And all the links must be protected, since destroying even one could mean disaster for these birds.

Each migratory species follows a different corridor between its nesting and wintering range. Some species migrate singly, while others (like most large water birds) fly in flocks. Did you know that more southward migrating shorebirds stop at Mary’s Point, New Brunswick, on the Bay of Fundy than at any other spot in North America? Here they feed on a small crustacean that is found nowhere else in North America but the Bay of Fundy. After filling up, the birds are ready for the next leg of their exhausting trek — non-stop flight across the ocean to South America.

If you are interested in shorebirds, here are some tips on how you could learn more about them: