At a time when the bird population should be peaking, the Johnson's Mills Shorebird Reserve has seen a sharp decline in numbers, according to the Nature Conservancy of Canada. Some flocks of shorebirds that normally visit the reserve, which is near Dorchester in southeastern New Brunswick, are down by half. "This time of year we typically see flocks of 140,000 birds, 100,000 at least. [Tuesday] there was 70,000," said Andrew Holland, the national spokesperson for the Nature Conservancy of Canada. It's not only the number of birds that have been reduced at the reserve this year, it's also the variety of birds. Holland said he finds this troubling. "Obviously all these birds are integral to the ecosystem and they all have important roles for population levels around the world," said Holland.
Sightings of the rare black-bellied plover have plummeted and that's after taking into account the small numbers that have stopped to feed on the mud flats in recent years.
"This time of year we usually see about 30 of those, so far it's only been half a dozen," said Holland
The birds that stop to rest and feed at Johnson's Mills are generally flying from the Arctic.
Source:
CBC News, 17 August 2016
http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/new-brunswick/shorebirds-decline-johnsons…
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