Mary's Point

Mary's Point is a wetland reserve on the Shepody Bay shore of the upper Bay of Fundy, recognized internationally as one of the most important shorebird staging areas in the western hemisphere. The broad mudflats exposed by the enormous tidal range support exceptional concentrations of food for migratory birds, and the spectacle of massed shorebird flocks in July and August is one of the great wildlife experiences on the Canadian Atlantic coast.

The peak viewing window is late July through mid-August. The observation platforms at the reserve overlook the roosting areas at high tide, when the birds pack tightly together. The Shorebird Interpretive Centre at Mary's Point provides information on the species and migration patterns. Access is straightforward from the Trans-Canada Highway.

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A story
Every year in July and August, hundreds of thousands of semipalmated sandpipers stop at Mary's Point during their southward migration from Arctic breeding grounds to South America — one of the longest migrations of any shorebird. The birds gorge on the mud shrimp (Corophium volutator) exposed by the low tide, doubling their body weight before continuing south. At high tide they roost in huge flocks on the shoreline. The numbers are staggering — up to 150,000 birds in a single flock, moving in dense formations over the mudflats.