IBA	South Shore (Barrington Bay Sector) Barrington Passage, Nova Scotia
Site Summary
NS018	Latitude Longitude	43.532° N 65.585° W	Elevation Size	0 - 5 m 42.06 km²

Habitats: mud or sand flats (saline), open sea, inlets/coastal features (marine)	Land Use: Fisheries/aquaculture, Hunting	Potential or ongoing Threats: Disturbance, Hunting
IBA Criteria: Nationally Significant: Threatened Species, Congregatory Species
Conservation status:

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Site Description This site includes the following coastal, sandy beaches of Barrington Bay in southernmost Nova Scotia: Burks Point, Sebim Beach, Northeast Point, Goose Point, and Clam Point. These beaches are scattered throughout the bay, which is large and shallow and contains extensive sand and mud flats. The climate is maritime, and there is little lasting snow and ice in winter months. The tidal range is about 3m.

Birds In 1991, 11 Piping Plovers (globally near-threatened and nationally endangered), or 2.6% of the estimated Atlantic Canada population were recorded at the Barrington Bay area beaches. However, a 1996 survey found that numbers had decreased significantly to only one bird. Sea ducks, such as eiders and scoters also pass through the area during spring and fall migration. Some of these ducks also winter in the area.

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 American Herring Gull 2014 WI 5,079 ✔ Dovekie 2003 WI 12 ✔ Great Black-backed Gull 2000 - 2014 WI 1,397 - 3,097 ✔ Great Cormorant 1996 - 2000 WI 348 - 395 ✔ Piping Plover 2011 - 2020 FA 5 - 8 ✔ Piping Plover 1991 - 2015 SU 5 - 12 ✔ Roseate Tern 2000 SU 43 ✔ Savannah Sparrow 2015 FA 25 ✔ Savannah Sparrow 2000 WI 31 ✔ 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 Nesting Piping Plovers are likely disturbed by beach-goers. Illegal hunting activities have historically been a problem at this site. Some hunters ignore hunting regulations by exceeding bag-limits on ducks and may also hunt shorebirds.

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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.