Good news for Red Knots

The New York Times reported last week that the number of Red Knots stopping at critical refueling grounds on the East Coast of the United States this year was double the number seen last year.

Red Knots on the beach

Each year, Red Knots migrate over 9,000 miles during their migration from South America to their breeding grounds in the Arctic Circle. Along the way, they stop at beaches of the East Coast to feed on horseshoe crab eggs to fuel their remaining journey. Legislation protecting horseshoe crabs has probably contributed to the good number of Red Knots found this year. The population of the American subspecies of the Red Knot has been in steep decline; hopefully this year's bounty is a good sign towards recovery! The Red Knot is one of our 378 cute Birdorable birds. We have commemorated the special relationship between the knots and horseshoe crabs with two unique designs. Check them out: Crab-Knot Cycle and Horseshoe Crabs are Life. The small blue blobs making shapes in each design represent horseshoe crab eggs!

You can learn more about the Red Knot from Cornell's All About Birds website: Red Knot. Hat tip to the ABA Blog for this story.

Red Knot Gifts

Comments

Spurwing Plover on June 28, 2022 at 6:15 AM wrote:
they Migrate a long distence

Leave a comment

Comments with links or HTML will be deleted. Your comment will be published pending approval.
Your email address will not be published

2019 Bonanza Bird #8: Pesquet's Parrot

Today's new Birdorable bird is a species that feeds almost exclusively on sticky fig fruits. Today Pesquet's Parrot joins our family! The Pesquet's Parrot is a large species of parrot found in New Guinea rainforest habitat. These birds are specialist frugivores, feeding...

T-Shirt Tuesday: Save the Florida Scrub-Jay

This week we'd like to highlight one of our newest designs featuring our home state and a bird that is very close to our heart. The Florida Scrub-Jay is the only endemic bird of the state of Florida and, with only a few thousand breeding pairs left,...

Baby Birdorable: Western Grebe

If you think our Birdorable birds are cute as adults, what about when they are babies? Below are some baby photos (shared via Flickr Creative Commons) of the Western Grebe. The male and female in a mated Western Grebe pair build the nest together. The nest is built...

Introducing the Ruddy Shelduck: A Colorful Addition to Birdorable

The Ruddy Shelduck, a striking and beautiful species of waterfowl, joins our Birdorable collection today. This addition marks a significant milestone as it becomes the 50th species in our duck, goose, and swan family. The Ruddy Shelduck is known for its large...