Hope remains for an endangered species in West Mabou

October 16, 2023

Not much bigger than a sparrow, there’s a yellow legged master of disguise whose natural habitat includes the fine sand and pebbles that line the dunes of certain Inverness County beaches. While their numbers remain critically low, there are now around 60 breeding pairs of piping plovers in Nova Scotia, which is an increase from about 30 pairs in recent years.

Birds Canada, in collaboration with the municipality’s Recreation and Community Wellness Department, organized a walk-and-talk event to learn more about the piping plover, and the other inhabitants of the rich and diverse ecosystem of West Mabou Beach Provincial Park.

Biodiversity

Sue Abbott of Birds Canada led the walk and came equipped with a powerful scope, bird identification field guides and a lot of knowledge about the denizens of the park. With woodland and ponds as well as grasslands and shore, the range of habitats means that there’s plenty to see and hear. Wood ducks, blue jays, yellowthroats and cedar waxwings were all observed within minutes of taking the woodland path to Johnny Ban’s Ponds.

The presence of a pair of merlins – a small falcon – is one likely reason that this year, no piping plovers have chosen to nest in the park. The adult merlin was spotted on the dead trunk of a tree by one sharp-eyed bird enthusiast, who played a recording of the bird’s call on their phone for the group. On hearing the recording, the merlin called back, to the delight of the group. Seeing an adult and a juvenile together is a good sign that a pair have successfully raised their young this year in West Mabou. Good news for the merlins, but the species they prey on, including small shore birds, had better keep a low profile!

Getting active and supporting healthy ecosystems

Getting active and supporting healthy ecosystems Krista MacInnis of the Recreation department was thrilled to see that the walk was so popular. People came from all over Cape Breton Island and even further afield (shout out to Antigonish County birders!)

“This is the number one activity that I wanted to organize this summer. It’s such a great addition to our programming designed to help Inverness County residents get active. There’s a wide range of ages here and people are out in the fresh air getting a decent walk, while also discovering the richness of this ecosystem, and ways to help it stay healthy,” said Krista.

Krista MacInnis of the Recreation department was thrilled to see that the walk was so popular. People came from all over Cape Breton Island and even further afield (shout out to Antigonish County birders!)

There was also a range of birding and wildlife knowledge on the walk, from total novice (like the Íwriter of this article : ) to really expert, so it was a good forum to share and learn. Many identification tips were discussed, based on a bird’s plumage, call and habitat. And some very convincing imitations of frog calls were demonstrated by one of the participants, highlighting the difference between the green frog (lithobates clamitans) which is common in Cape Breton, and its cousin the bullfrog (lithobates catesbeianus) which is not found on the island.

Wildlife rehabilitation

Amongst those who joined the walk was Jessica Royer of Hope for Wildlife, a Nova Scotia non-profit working on wildlife rehabilitation. Jessica shared the fantastic news that Hope for Wildlife is currently in the process of expanding its activities into Inverness County, opening a new rehabilitation centre in Port Hastings. The nearest centre until now has been in Guysborough County, so this will have a significant impact in improving the chances of wild animals in need of care. Sadly, Jessica said that they are seeing more shore birds, like the piping plover, in need of rehabilitation now than ever before. This is because of a range of factors, including the increase of extreme weather events, as excessively high tides and more frequent severe storms are a major challenge to ground-nesting shore birds.

Strolling down the beach with the opportunity to observe such a rich diversity of bird species – bonaparte’s gulls, nelson’s sparrows, black bellied plovers, savannah sparrows – it was a timely reminder of the fragility of this exceptional ecosystem, and of the responsibility we all share to nurture its health.

The Recreation department hopes to organize more wildlife and ecosystem walks throughout the county. Let us know where a good location would be near to you!

birdscanada.org

hopeforwildlife.net

You can download a free bird identification app, which lets you record a bird’s call and can help identify it, like an avian Shazam!

Go to: merlin.allaboutbirds.org (named after the small migratory falcon written about in this article!)