More than 30 years ago, two areas of the Bay of Fundy were recognized for their global significance to migratory shorebirds when they became the first WHSRN site in Canada. The designation of Shepody Bay (New Brunswick) in 1987 officially set WHSRN on its path to become a true “network,” by becoming its second ever site. Minas Basin (Nova Scotia) was designated the following year. This international recognition helped propel conservation efforts throughout the Bay of Fundy. Thanks to these long-lasting collaborations, partners were poised to propose a major expansion of the site when new research revealed two key shorebird areas were missing from the original site boundaries.
The Bay of Fundy WHSRN Landscape of Hemispheric Importance supports at least 70% of the eastern biogeographic population of Semipalmated Sandpipers (Calidris pusilla). Photos: Bill Pratt.
By using tiny radio transmitters to track migratory shorebirds, this recent research by the Canadian Wildlife Service and Mount Allison University confirmed that two additional sites in Nova Scotia warranted WHSRN status, especially for their importance to Semipalmated Sandpipers (Calidris pusilla). Based on this new information, the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has been working for the past two years to gain greater recognition for these two bays, Cobequid Bay and Cumberland Basin, as critical shorebird habitats in Nova Scotia.
Researchers have been studying shorebirds in the Bay of Fundy for more than 40 years. Aerial surveys and tracking studies in the last eight years provided the data that led to the site’s expansion to the Bay of Fundy WHSRN Landscape of Hemispheric Importance. Above, researchers at the Canadian Wildlife Service (CWS) Shorebird Research Station at Johnson’s Mills, weighing, measuring, and banding Semipalmated Sandpipers. Left, c. 2004: featuring CWS Wildlife Biologist Peter Hicklin (left-center). Photo: Canadian Wildlife Service. Right, 2019: Mt. Allison University Biology professor Diana Hamilton (far left in red hat) banding a Semipalmated Sandiper. Research by Dr. Hamilton and her team and collaborators at CWS confirmed the two additional sites in Nova Scotia warranted WHSRN status. 15 years later, researchers are still conducting this crucial work at the same table! Photo: Julie Paquet.
The WHSRN Executive Office is very happy to report that the Bay of Fundy WHSRN site has officially expanded to encompass these areas, upgrading the site to a WHSRN Landscape of Hemispheric Importance that includes all four major bays within the Upper Bay of Fundy. The inclusion of the beaches and mudflats of Cumberland Basin at Minudie, Maccan and Amherst Point near Amherst, and the shorelines of Cobequid Bay at Debert, Little Dyke, Fort Belcher, Old Barns and Black Rock near Truro, expands the site’s original 62,000 hectares (153,200 acres) to 121,000 hectares (299,000 acres).
Map of the expanded Bay of Fundy WHSRN Landscape of Hemispheric Importance. Areas bordered in blue were part of the originally designated WHSRN site (Shepody Bay designated in 1987, Minas Basin designated in 1988). Areas bordered in yellow were added in 2019 after new research by the Canadian Wildlife Service and Mount Allison University confirmed that these sites (Cumberland Basin and Cobequid Bay) in Nova Scotia warranted WHSRN status, especially for their importance to Semipalmated Sandpipers (Calidris pusilla).
“This international recognition for critically important shorebird habitat in the Bay of Fundy will help support our conservation efforts, and those of our many partners,” said Kerry Lee Morris-Cormier of the Nature Conservancy of Canada. “At NCC we would like to thank Millbrook and Fort Folly First Nations, all the community groups, municipal councils, provincial and federal and governments, Parks Canada, Bird Studies Canada, Ducks Unlimited Canada, and Canadian Wildlife Service for their support of this effort to obtain greater recognition for the plight of shorebirds in the Bay of Fundy and the need for greater protection for these habitats. Shorebirds are in trouble all over the world, and Nova Scotia and New Brunswick have a special role to play in protecting Semipalmated Sandpipers in particular, a migratory species that congregates in large numbers in the Bay of Fundy.”
Kerry Lee Morris-Cormier of Nature Conservancy Canada and Piper the sandpiper mascot tabling about the proposed WHSRN site expansion at the Joggins Fossil Cliffs UNESCO World Heritage Site at Cumberland Basin, Nova Scotia. Photo: Nature Conservancy Canada.
When the Bay of Fundy was first designated, it was considered to hold over 30% of the global population of Semipalmated Sandpipers. The eastern biogeographic population of the species has declined by 50% since the early 1970s, making it more critical to protect these sites than ever. Semipalmated Sandpipers and other long-distance migratory shorebirds arrive at the Bay of Fundy directly from their Arctic breeding grounds, in flocks that may exceed tens of thousands. After fattening up for a few weeks in the Bay of Fundy, they set out over the Atlantic Ocean for a non-stop flight to South America.
“As shorebird populations decline, protecting habitat requires partnership and conservation action along their entire migration route, both between sites and at each site, and this is a great example of those partnerships,” said Laura Chamberlin, the WHSRN Executive Office’s Assistant Director for North America. “This expansion doesn’t just expand the geographic boundaries of the WHSRN site, but expands the opportunities for collaboration, ensuring that the Bay of Fundy will continue to provide essential habitat for Semipalmated Sandpipers to rest and refuel on their journey to their wintering grounds.”
Left: Semipalmated Sandpipers foraging at the Bay of Fundy. Photo: Mike Dembeck. Right: An estimated ~120,000 Semipalmated Sandpipers roosting at the Johnson’s Mills Shorebird Reserve. Photo: Bill Pratt.
Funding from the Commission for Environmental Cooperation (CEC) through the Canadian Wildlife Service was used to support NCC to make this expansion a reality. “I applaud the work of the communities, organizations and all levels of government that have come together to support habitat conservation for our declining shorebirds,” said Catherine McKenna, Canada’s Minister of Environment and Climate Change.
Cobequid Bay at Old Barnes, one of the new areas in the expanded WHSRN Landscape in the Bay of Fundy. Photo: Julie Paquet.
This important expansion ensures these beaches, mudflats, and shorelines will continue to provide a safe place to rest and feed for imperiled shorebirds like the Semipalmated Sandpiper.
Please join the WHSRN Executive Office in congratulating the Nature Conservancy of Canada and the many local partners at the Bay of Fundy on this major conservation achievement!
Cover Photo: Semipalmated Sandpipers (Calidris pusilla) in flight at Nature Conservancy Canada’s Johnson’s Mills Shorebird Reserve. Photo: Bill Pratt.
