Massive Shorebird Flock Video

From earlier this spring, here's the video of the flock of primarily Semipalmated Sandpipers at the global Important Bird Area that is Stratford Point on Memorial Day. Other species included Dunlin, Semipalmated Plover, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, Least Sandpiper, Black-bellied Plover, and White-rumped Sandpiper. You can see some birds sitting on our reef balls in the video, too. However, they are covered by the tide once it nears its peak, and all of the birds had to head to the shoreline.

Having roosting locations like this available are extremely important to these birds as they traverse the hemisphere. Being able to preen in peace and maintain their feathers is critical to their survival and successful migration to arctic breeding grounds. Again, numbers like this are only rarely seen here in southbound fall migration, and hosting several thousand birds like this in the spring is unprecedented during the decade we have been working at Stratford Point. Please do all you can to help protect stopover sites like ours, and ensure you do not add to the many disturbances that can harm or kill these birds.