Thirteen games related to birds.
Fundy Feeding Stop
Millions of Semipalmated Sandpipers migrate each summer from Arctic breeding grounds to winter homes in South America. One of their feeding stops is the Bay of Fundy in southeastern Canada.
On the mud flats, they find mud shrimp burrowed in holes beneath the surface.
The birds use their blunt-tipped bill to snag these crustaceans. The sandpipers can eat enough shrimp in about 10 to 20 days to almost double their weight before heading south.
Most Canadians see shorebirds during the birds' migration. A migration is when a large group of animals moves from one place to another. In the case of shorebirds, they are moving to find food that is seasonally available.
American Golden Plovers (Pluvialis dominica).
- Shorebirds spend the winter in the south, sometimes as far as South America.
- Most head for the Arctic in spring, where they will build their nest and lay eggs.
- In autumn, the birds return south before the Arctic winter sets in.
During their long journeys, the flocks "hop" from one feeding stop to the next. Each stop may be far from the next one. Some species will fly 100 hours in a stretch!
Visit the Migratory Birds at Point Pelee
During their annual migrations in spring and autumn, many species of shorebirds stop along the shore or in the marsh of Point Pelee National Park of Canada. The park is on the shore of Lake Erie, and it is the most southerly park in Canada.
The park is one of Canada's smallest national parks. The tiny green oasis attracts approximately 300 000 visitors each year. Many of them are birdwatchers.
More than 370 species of birds have been recorded in Point Pelee and the surrounding area. This is one of the premier birdwatching locations in North America.
Find out what birds you can see at Point Pelee during their annual migrations (follow the Spring Migration and Fall Migration links):
http://www.pc.gc.ca/pn-np/on/pelee/natcul/natcul6b_e.asp
Out of Fuel
The eggs of a type of horseshoe crab (Limulus polyphemus) are on the menu of the Red Knot.
This shorebird migrates between South America and the Arctic. Each spring, it stops in Delaware Bay in the northeastern United States to feed on the eggs.
People also like to harvest the crabs for bait. Fewer crabs mean fewer eggs—and that means tough times for Red Knots stopping to fuel up.
Do Shorebirds Really Eat Mud? 
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