Cranes Beach this summer

This summer I volunteered for the Cranes Beach Migratory shorebird program. Essentially the goal was to keep frantic beach-goers away from the birds, who were resting / migrating down to their wintering grounds in South America. Predominantly the species seen were; Semi-palmated Plovers, Semi-palmated Sandpipers, and Sanderlings. In addition to the migrating species, the beach also holds a breeding population of least terns, and piping plovers. Both species which are starting to make a come back along the Eastern seaboard. I also included a picture of a hudsonian godwit which made an appearance for a few weeks. For the peeps, the high while I was working was around 3,500 birds, while the goal was to have them not “flush” it was very impressive to see that many birds in flight.