Blenheim Sewage Lagoons July 22

[thouc]

Excellent shorebird conditions at Blenheim Sewage Lagoons with hundreds of shorebirds present.
Highlights were Stilt, Solitary and Pectoral Sandpipers and Short-billed Dowitcher.
Full species list with approximate numbers:

10 Canada Goose
1 American Wigeon
25 Mallard
3 Green-winged Teal
5 Ruddy Duck
1 Pied-billed Grebe
1 Turkey Vulture
100 Killdeer
5 Spotted Sandpiper
15 Solitary Sandpiper
100 Lesser Yellowlegs
100 Least Sandpiper
20 Pectoral Sandpiper
5 Stilt Sandpiper
3 Short-billed Dowitcher
1 Ring-billed Gull
4 Mourning Dove
1 Horned Lark
1 Northern Rough-winged Swallow
20 Bank Swallow
5 Barn Swallow
1 American Robin
10 European Starling
3 Cedar Waxwing
10 Red-winged Blackbird
5 Common Grackle
20 House Sparrow

/Thomas

[zx003]

Quite the list Thomas.
Just wondering- why do birds like sewage facilities so much?

[thouc]

My best guess is that the sewage contains a lot of nutrients for microorganisms, algae which supply a food chain for the birds. For shorebirds the sewage lagoons are good when the water level is drawn down so the birds can wade and feed.

/Thomas

[thouc]

In addition there isn't much natural shorebird habitat left so they don't have anywhere else to go but the sewage lagoons. In e-Bird I saw there were lots of shorebirds in the early 70s at a Bradley's Marsh (at the mouth of the Thames River, where it flows into Lake St. Clair), which have been drained since to make room for more farmland.