IBA	Escuminac Beaches Escuminac, New Brunswick
Site Summary
NB042	Latitude Longitude	47.077° N 64.878° W	Elevation Size	0 - 5 m 33.68 km²

Habitats: coastal sand dunes & beaches	Land Use: Tourism/recreation	Potential or ongoing Threats: Disturbance, Interactions with native species/disease
IBA Criteria: Nationally Significant: Threatened Species
Conservation status:

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Site Description The Escuminac beaches are located on the eastern coast of New Brunswick, between Miramichi Bay and Kouchibouguac National Park. This 11-kilometre stretch of coastline consists of sandy beaches and a few coastal lagoons backed by low-lying areas.

Birds The Escuminac beaches support a nationally significant portion of Atlantic Canadas breeding Piping Plover (globally threatened, nationally endangered) population. Throughout the 1990s through to 2000, two to four Piping Plover pairs were observed breeding on these beaches, with additional singles sometimes present. The five-bird average represent about 1% of the Canadian Atlantic coast Piping Plover population. The peak count was in 1994 when 4 pairs were recorded. During the latest survey in 2000, 2 pairs nested with one sccessfully fledging young.

Criteria Version: Current Original (circa 2000) Date Range: All Pre-2000 Post-2000 Last 10 Years Display: Summary Details IBA Criteria Species↓ T | A | I Links Date Season Number G C N Piping Plover 1993 - 2000 SU 4 - 8 ✔ Note: species shown in bold indicate that the maximum number exceeds at least one of the IBA thresholds (sub-regional, regional or global). The site may still not qualify for that level of IBA if the maximum number reflects an exceptional or historical occurrence.

Conservation Issues As with many other Piping Plover beaches in the Maritimes, one of the most significant conservation issues is recreational beach use. Recreational use by ATVs on the Escuminac beaches is heavy, and is possibly the worst in southeastern New Brunswick. Surveys of nesting Piping Plovers in recent years have been carried out with support from the Irving Eco-Centre, the Canadian Wildlife Service and the New Brunswick Environmental/Wildlife Trust Fund.

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The IBA Program is an international conservation initiative coordinated by BirdLife International. The Canadian co-partners for the IBA Program are Birds Canada and Nature Canada.