The Warblers by Birds Canada

Tracking Semipalmated Sandpipers at the Bay of Fundy

Season 6 Episode 9

Use Left/Right to seek, Home/End to jump to start or end. Hold shift to jump forward or backward.

0:00 | 41:24

The Bay of Fundy is one of Canada's best kept birding secrets. Following the ebb and flow of the tides are tens of thousands of Semipalmated Sandpipers - and just off the coast, the rocky islands are alive with nesting terns, razorbills, puffins and more! 

Lucas Berrigan and Avery Nagy-MacArthur join us to explain why this region is so magical for Semipalmated Sandpipers, and how the Motus Wildlife Tracking System has been essential in understanding how and why birds move through the area. They also give top-tier advice on how to help shorebirds across the country, and offer ideas for how locals can get involved with the birds at the Bay of Fundy. 

Fly like a bird onto a dream vacation with Birding Ecotours! Check out all their tour options at birdingecotours.com

Listeners of The Warblers now get 10% off Bird-friendly coffee orders from Birds and Beans with the code 'warblers' at checkout. 

Learn more about Space to Roost and Motus - start by exploring the Motus map for Semipalmated Sandpiper

Avery Nagy-MacArthur started volunteering with Birds Canada as a Piping Plover monitor in 2008 on the south shore of Nova Scotia, which sparked an interest in a career in ornithology. Throughout her Bachelor's and Master's studies, she focused on Whimbrel, and breeding Arctic and Common Terns. She now works as the Atlantic Canada Shorebird Programs Biologist for Birds Canada.

Lucas Berrigan completed a Master’s on the post-breeding behavior of Swainson’s Thrushes at Acadia University, then joined the Birds Canada’s team in the Atlantic Region in 2018 to run the Maritimes Marsh Monitoring Program. Since then, he has taken on more responsibilities related to the Motus Wildlife Tracking System – namely, managing the Atlantic array of Motus receiver stations and supporting Motus users worldwide. He works as the Motus Manager of Technology and Web Development for Birds Canada. 

Andrea Gress (she/her) secretly thinks Piping Plovers are better than all the other birds...studied Renewable Resource Management at the University of Saskatchewan. She pivoted towards birds, after an internship in South Africa. Upon returning, she worked with Piping Plovers in Saskatchewan, and then as the Ontario Piping Plover Coordinator. Years of sharing her love of plovers with beach goers has turned into a full time communications role with Birds Canada. 

Support the show