It’s a performance by tens of thousands of Semi-Palmated Sandpipers.
They’re making their annual stop on their migration from the Arctic.
“They need that energy to get down to South America, and that’s what brings them to the mud flats of the Bay of Fundy is the abundant space for them to go to sleep and get a little rest in and the large amount of food which is in the Bay of Fundy for them,” Johnson’s Mills Lead Shorebird Interpreter James Murphy told our newsroom.
He says it’s an amazing sight at the Interpretative Centre.
“When you’re there at the best time, which is the two hours before and after high tide, you will see the birds right up close to our viewing centre, and they’ll kind of just tuck their little heads into their wings, and they’ll actually go to sleep, because they need that energy. They’ll sit on the beach and they’ll go to sleep, which is really cool,” Murphy says.
“Then, as the tide starts to recede out into the bay, they start to feed. And so you’ll see the birds pick up and fly up and around the Bay. It’s a thing we call a murmuration. Some people call it a ballet. It’s the birds just turning over and over in the air, these large flocks, and it almost just looks like glitter.”
In 2024, they had a peak of around 97,000 birds, and the year before that, it was around 100,000.
“So it’ll fluctuate a little bit from year to year. So it’s always a really cool spectacle. You’re seeing tens of thousands of these birds,” Murphy added.
Thousands of people also visit the centre to see them in July and August, before they continue on their long journey, “”Lots of locals, lots of domestic tourists and then people from all over the world really interested in the birds and interested in the ecology. What’s so special about it is you get to see the birds in their natural habitat without disturbing them.”
The centre is located about eight kilometres outside of Dorchester, near Sackville.
It’s suggested you bring a pair of binoculars for your viewing, but leave your pets at home.
It is also the 25th anniversary for the Nature Conservancy of Canada, so guests are encouraged to come and help celebrate.
