Introduction to the New England Shorebird Guide

For over 50 years, Soheil Zendeh has been monitoring shorebirds populations in Massachusetts and elsewhere. Over the past 35 years there have been drastic drops in most shorebird populations, particularly long distance migratory birds from the Arctic. He is the author of New England Shorebird Guide, a web-based field guide for New England shorebirders focused on helping introductory to medium level observers. His field guide is hosted on the Bird Observer website.

This webinar will discuss data from past years compared to current numbers, and talk about the difficulties of monitoring these birds considering their far-flung trajectories – nesting in the arctic, migrating through coastal and inland wetlands, wintering in Central and South America. It will also discuss the difficulties of keeping up with shorebird plumage changes through the seasons. The goal of this webinar is to help build a constituency for these birds in order to enhance conservation measures for the ones that need help.

About the Presenter

Soheil Zendeh was born in Tehran, Iran, and grew up in Tangier, Morocco, before relocating to eastern Massachusetts, where he has been a resident since 1961. Along with his friend Craig Jackson, Zendeh founded Friends of Belle Isle Marsh, a grassroots advocacy group for one of the important wetlands in Greater Boston; and Take A Second Look (TASL), a program for monitoring Boston Harbor winter waterbirds from 1980 to 2015. Zendeh began creating the online New England Shorebird Guide in 2024 and completed 37 species accounts by early spring of 2026.

New England Shorebird Guide, a photographic guide freely available on the Bird Observer site, now covers 37 species of shorebirds that occur in New England, northeastern United States and eastern Canada. The guide is designed primarily as a visual aid on your smart phone that can be used in the field; it can also be installed on your tablet or computer. 

To Register

To register you must be a BBC member. Please log in to your member account and heard over to the Member Resources page under the MEMBERS menu.

Not a member but want to listen in? Please join us! You will get access to a range of member benefits and support your local birding community.

For More Information

For more information contact info@brooklinebirdclub.org.

News Categories

Upcoming Field Trips

  • Bring Back Bobolinks: Codman Estate Farm (Was Drumlin Farm) (New!)

    Codman Community Farms - Donelan's parking 145 Lincoln Rd, Lincoln, MA, United States

    This walk was planned for Drumlin Farm but more Bobolinks can be seen at this nearby location so we've moved the walk to Codman Farms. Adding to our Bobolink conservation series. Join Ilija to observe and appreciate Bobolinks in breeding habitat! Bobolinks are migratory grassland birds found across Massachusetts. The Bobolink is listed as a

  • Fruitlands Museum, Harvard

    Harvard - Fruitlands Museum 102 Prospect Hill Rd., Harvard, MA, United States

    Cosponsored with Boxborough Birders. All the nesting birds will still be around, with good views of young out of the nest being fed by parents: Veery, Indigo Bunting, Catbird, Red-winged Blackbird, Tree Swallow, Bobolink, Wood Thrush, Baltimore Oriole, and Warblers. Expect to walk about 2 miles on trails through meadow and woods with some steep

  • Southwick WMA

    Southwick WMA - Suffield WMA entrance Point Grove Road, Suffield, CT, United States

    We will hike the fields focusing on grassland breeders, particularly Eastern Meadowlark and Grasshopper Sparrow.

  • Half-Day Seabirding and Whale Watching, 7-Seas, Gloucester

    Gloucester - 7 Seas Whale Watch 63 Rogers Street, 7 Seas Wharf, Gloucester, MA, United States

    The BBC has reserved a limited block of discounted group tickets on these public tours. These tours are open to all. Register online at https://www.brooklinebirdclub.org/civicrm/event/info/?reset=1&id=329 Registration opens June 19. Additional info at the company site: https://www.7seaswhalewatch.com/ For registration, use our site. If you have registration problems, contact us at fieldtrips@brooklinebirdclub.org.

  • An Oasis for Birds at Belle Isle Marsh

    East Boston - Belle Isle Parking Lot 1399 Bennington Street, Boston, MA, United States

    Join DCR park staff for a relaxed, one-mile bird walk through flat, easy terrain at this Massachusetts State Reservation and birding hot spot. In July, At Belle Isle and at additional nearby locations—we’ll search for osprey, flocks of egrets, piping plover, migrating shorebirds, meadow and grassland nesting birds. Participants are responsible for their own transportation

Go to Top