Following the Red Knot: A Traveling Bird
by Shauneen Hutchinson
It is easy to become enchanted by the story of the
red knot. Consider the story’s content: mind-boggling feats
of physical strength and courage, an intriguing symbiotic
relationship with the horseshoe crab, a dramatic threat of
extinction. And on top of all that, they are really pretty
cute. So take a few minutes to meet this extraordinary bird.
The particular type of red knot that Kiawah Island
welcomes as a visitor each spring is technically from the
rufa subspecies of Calidris canutus. They are just one
of a number of shorebirds who visit or live on the Island
but they are special in so many ways. Perhaps the most
widely known characteristic of the red knot is its yearly
migratory voyage. Red knots winter in numerous areas
along the Atlantic but can actually spend the season as far
south as Tierra del Fuego at the tip of South America. After
wintering for about three and a half months, the birds will
spend the next six and a half months traveling to and from
their breeding grounds in the Canadian arctic. They may
fly nearly twenty thousand miles in their round-trip journey
each year. Examining what it takes for a small shorebird
about the size of a robin to complete such a journey reveals
the importance of all the conditions that have to coalesce to
make the bird’s trip possible.
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Migrating red knots generally travel in large flocks,
perhaps in recognition of safety in numbers. Since travel
will extend for days at a time over thousands of miles, wind
and weather conditions must be optimal. An unexpected
storm can have a devastating effect on travel. As the red
knots, who are a rather subdued combination of gray and
white in color in winter, prepare for flight they will molt to
a flying coat and eventually brighten in the throat and belly
areas to a shade of cinnamon characteristic of the breeding
season. At the same time, their intestines will shrink in
size to prepare them for the lack of food on the journey.
Their migration north will require a number of stopovers
where they will spend a few days or a few weeks to rest and
refuel. Happily, Kiawah Island and nearby coastal areas of
the Lowcountry are some of their short-term destinations.
By far the most popular refueling stop for Atlantic
flyway red knots is the Delaware Bay area, where up to
90 percent of the population may spend a period of time
during the long flight. The Delaware Bay’s main attraction
for the birds is the relative abundance of eggs deposited by
horseshoe crabs. These eggs are a source of protein that
is quickly metabolized into fat by the feeding birds thus
providing them the essential nutrition for the final part of