In this Topic, we discuss the birds that use the shores and other coastal wetland habitats that provide transitions between fresh and salt waters and between land and sea. The throngs of migrant shorebirds that stop off in Nova Scotia en route between the arctic and tropical wintering grounds provide one major component. The use of coastal marshes and inlets by migrating waterfowl also provides some of the more impressive avian spectacles to be seen in the province. Thousands of sandpipiers gather along the Bay of Fundy to feed on creatures in the tidal muds, before the long migration to South America.

The birds of rocky coasts and offshore islands are dealt with in T11.7, as many of them forage at sea and come to land only to breed. Some seabirds forage along the shores and other habitats treated in this Topic, and any separation between these groups is, to some degree, arbitrary. Table T11.6.1 indicates the autumn distribution of Fundy shorebirds.

This Document Includes:

Coastal Habitats
Food Supply and High-Tide Roosting of Shorebirds
Shorebird Migrations
Breeding Birds of Shores and Coastal Wetlands
Use of Coastal Wetlands by Migrating and Wintering Birds

Download PDF File (101k, 5 pages, 1 plate, 1 table)

Additional Keywords:
Piping Plover, COSEWIC, Corophium, tidal marshes, Bay of Fundy, Semipalmated Sandpipers, invertebrate populations, fish-eating birds, Eel Grass, Spartina.

Associated Topics:

T6.3 Coastal Aquatic Environments
T6.4 Estuaries
T7.3 Coastal Landforms
T8.2 Freshwater Environments
T8.3 Freshwater Wetlands
T11.2 Forest and Edge-habitat Birds
T11.5 Freshwater Wetland Birds and Waterfowl
T11.7 Seabirds and Birds of Marine Habitats
T11.17 Marine Invertebrates
T12.7 The Coast and Resources

Associated Habitats:

H2.3 Sandy Shore
H2.4 Mud Flat
H2.5 Tidal Marsh
H2.6 Dune System