James Bay Shorebird Project 2017 - page 3 of 6

 

Longridge Crew - 30 July to 14 August 2017

Crew: Dan Froehlich (WA State), Nicole Richardson (ON), Jean Iron (ON), Kiah Walker (NH), Mark Dorriesfield (ON), Anne Blondin (ON). I thank my crew mates for their camaraderie and dedication to shorebirds.

 

Banding crew: Kiah Walker, Dan Froehlich and Nicole Richardson

 

Motus tracking tower on Longridge has a radius of about 15 km for tracking shorebirds with nano-tags - see location on map on page 1. The tower also has a weather station recording temperature, pressure, wind, precipitation and more, all things that just a few years ago were done manually. The contact sounds are recorded in an instrument at the base of the tower and will be analyzed later as to species.

 

Dan, Nicole and Kiah at work banding and putting on nano-tags. 2017 priorities are: White-rumped, Semipalmated, Least Sandpiper, Pectoral Sandpiper, Red Knot, Semipalmated Sandpipewr, Pectoral Sandpiper, Lesser Yellowlegs and Hudsonian Godwit

 

Nano tag with antenna is attached to the rump of the bird. The white flag is for Canada with large letters so that it can be read easily in the field.

 

The semipalmations (partial webbing) between the toes are visible on this Semipalmated Sandpiper.

 

This White-rumped Sandpiper was banded in 2016, and resighted on 2 August 2017.

 

Juvenile Hudsonian Godwit on 2 August 2017. VIDEO of adult feeding

 

Adult (left) and juvenile Pectoral Sandpiper on 10 August 2017. First juvenile on 7 August.

 

Molting adult Sanderlings at Paskwachi Point (the gravel ridge south of Longridge) on 10 August 2017. High count 146 on 13th.

 

Molting adult Sanderling on 1 August 2017. The black material is kelp or seaweed, which forms large mats along the shore. It becomes rich in larvae and other invertebrate food for shorebirds.

 

Juvenile Least Sandpipers on 12 August 2017.

 

Juvenile Marbled Godwit on 2 August 2017. VIDEO: click photo above or this link.

 

Christian Friis (CWS), Guy Morrison (retired CWS) and Allie Anderson (Trent University) flew aerial survey of shorebirds on the James Bay coast and Akimiski Island. Each of our Longridge crew was stationed at a strategic point on the ground where we counted all shorebirds before the chopper flew over and again at the time they flew over. 8 August 2017.

 

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