Southern coastal Maine is a migration and staging area for much of the North American shorebird population. Thousands of shorebirds feed along coastal beaches and mudflats as they migrate through the state. Biddeford Pool serves as one of the top shorebird staging areas in southern Maine. The most common species observed in the autumn include semipalmated plover ("Charadrius semipalmatus"), black-bellied plover ("Pluvialis squatarola"), least sandpiper ("Calidris minutilla"), greater yellowlegs ("Tringa melanoleuca"), short-billed dowitcher ("Limnodromus griseus"), and semipalmated sandpiper ("Calidris pusilla"). These species and others typically feed in the mudflats at low tide. Most shorebirds feed in salt pannes and roost in pannes and adjacent upland areas during high tides.