Defenders of Wildlife Blog

©USFWS

Chris Haney, Ph.D., Defenders of Wildlife Chief Scientist 

For such a relatively small bird, the robin-sized red knot (Calidris canutus) has an extraordinary migration journey. Each year it travels more than 9,000 miles from breeding grounds high in the Canadian Arctic down to remote Tierra del Fuego in South America, where it spends the winter. To survive the trip, these shorebirds must be strong, healthy and resilient.

Horseshoe crab (©Spakattacks/Flickr)

But the red knot is struggling to overcome catastrophic population loss. Over the past ten years, the North American Atlantic population of the red knot (Calidris canutus rufa) has plummeted by 80 percent. Numbers of red knots have crashed by as much as 54 percent on their wintering grounds in two years alone. In New Jersey, where red knots stop to rest and eat before continuing their north-bound journey, they have been declining at a rate of 17.9 percent annually. So what is responsible for the species’ alarming decline?

Commercial over-harvesting of the prehistoric horseshoe crab is a key culprit. Red knots must concentrate in huge numbers at traditional stop-over sites to refuel during their migration, because a single non-stop flight can cover as much as 5,000 miles. Delaware Bay is a key staging area during spring migration, where knots come to feed on eggs of the once-numerous spawning crabs. Some estimates place nearly 90 percent of the entire North American Atlantic population of the red knot on the bay during a single day in May.

When red knots descend on Delaware Bay this spring, famished from their marathon flight from South America, they might find slim pickings instead of their expected feast of eggs from horseshoe crabs. Superstorm Sandy last fall scoured away much of the sand that crabs need for spawning. Restoring beaches is a top priority for wildlife groups who wish to repair massive damage to the dunes, beaches and salt marshes along the Eastern Seaboard.

(©Jan van de Kam)

Aided by grants from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and others, two feet of new sand covers stretches of beach along swaths as much as 5,000 feet long and 10-15 feet wide. Arriving in 20-cubic-yard dump trucks, one load at a time, enough sand has been dumped to cover about 1,000 cubic yards a day. Sand was targeted for spreading on the most well-known and crucial spots for both the horseshoe crabs and red knot.

This beach replenishment is hoped to provide just enough space for throngs of horseshoe crabs as they crawl out of the bay. Each spawning female will lay up to 100,000 eggs.

Despite the restored habitat, problems for the red knot are not over. Beach restoration will complement other measures, namely a continued closure of the commercial fishery for horseshoe crabs. But with its conservation plight now so well-known and supported, perhaps tide and time are turning for this remarkable shorebird.

This spring, I joined Defenders’ expert Caroline Kennedy and a group of scientists from around the world to band red knots on the New Jersey shores of Delaware Bay. Banding the shorebirds allows scientists to track birds from year to year simply to see if they’re surviving, as well as determine where the birds are spending their time. This information is critical to learning more about the imperiled shorebirds and how to better protect them and their habitat, before it’s too late. Watch the footage from my experience banding red knots and get up close and personal with the birds yourself!

You Can Help!

Just as important as those who tag shorebirds are the people who resight and report them. And that’s where you come in! All you need is a spotting scope, binoculars or camera with telephoto lens and a willingness to be on the lookout for tagged birds. (Remember, do not disturb the birds! Even more important than reading the bands is making sure the birds can fuel up for their long journey in peace.) By making a few key observations (color of the band, identification letters/numbers) and entering them into Bandedbirds.org, you can play an important role in keeping these birds from disappearing from our shores forever.

Red knots will soon return to U.S. shores and you’ll want to be ready! Be on the lookout this August for these incredible migrants and do your part to help them recover.

Learn more:

Visit bandedbirds.org and see how you can help protect red knots and other imperiled shorebirds.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service recently announced plans to move forward with a listing under the Endangered Species Act. Learn more about this move that could save red knots from extinction.

Red knots feeding in Mispillion Harbor, DE. Photo (c) Andrew Harper

Scientists today released a report announcing that a decrease of at least 5,000 red knots was observed at key wintering grounds in Tierra del Fuego, Chile from the previous year. Scientists reported population counts of wintering knots in other locations declined as well. The estimated current total population for the migratory shorebird is now unlikely to be more than 25,000.

The decline in red knot numbers elevates the importance of implementing stronger protections at Delaware Bay, a key U.S. stopover where migrating knots depend on an abundant supply of horseshoe crab eggs to fuel the final leg of their migration to breeding grounds in the Canadian Arctic.

The scientists’ report concludes that despite horseshoe crab harvest restrictions put in place by the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission over the past decade “there is still no evidence of recovery of the horseshoe crab population, either in numbers of spawning females or in all sub-adult age groups including juveniles.” Restrictions to date have only been enough to stop the population from declining further, are insufficient to recover the population and will continue to be insufficient unless the harvest is greatly reduced.

“Unless action is taken now, red knots may be on an irreversible slide to extinction.”

Conservation groups are calling on the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (FWS) to take immediate steps to list the red knot under the Endangered Species Act. A listing would initiate the development of a recovery plan and require federal agencies whose actions affect red knots to consult with the FWS. A listing would also require the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission, housed under the National Marine Fisheries Service, to consult with the FWS on the regulations it establishes for the horseshoe crab fishery.

Shorebirds in flight. Photo (c) Andrew Harper

Bob Irvin, senior vice president for conservation programs at Defenders of Wildlife said, “This year’s huge decline in wintering red knots provides clear evidence that the status quo is not working. Unless action is taken now, red knots may be on an irreversible slide to extinction. The U.S. has a responsibility to the global community to protect this migratory shorebird, which stops along our coast to rest and feed while making one of the longest migrations in nature, from the tip of South America to the Arctic.”

Learn more:

Read the full release and see what other conservation groups are saying about a potential endangered species listing.

Get more background on red knots and see how Defenders is working to save them.

For these shorebirds, it’s a situation gone from bad to worse: already the victim of plummeting populations, new research reveals that, despite efforts to save them, red knot numbers have continued to drop dramatically.

Shorebird background:

Roughly the size of a robin, red knots have one of the longest migrations on the planet, from the tip of South America to its Arctic breeding grounds. Partway through this 10,000-mile flight, the shorebirds make a stop to refuel at the east coast’s Delaware Bay. In an effort to gain weight quickly and reach their Arctic breeding grounds before early snows, the birds feast on horseshoe crab eggs recently laid in the sand.

At one time, more than 100,000 red knots came to the Delaware Bay stopover. But overharvest of the crabs – used for bait – have caused red knot numbers to plummet. In 2006, the bird was designated a candidate species for the federal endangered species list. This meant that although the Fish and Wildlife Service acknowledged that the bird warranted protection, there wasn’t funding to do so. In the years that have since passed, the situation of the bird has decreased rapidly.

“A loss of 6,000 birds is bad for a wintering population of 56,000, but for a population of 16,000 it is catastrophic. Have red knots reached the tipping point?”

Numbers in the red:

Larry Niles, a biologist who has spent the past decade working to protect shorebirds in trouble, travels to Chile to survey populations of wintering red knots. What he found this year was staggering.

“Where in previous years we counted 12,000 knots, this year we counted 6,000,” he blogged after his trip. “A loss of 6,000 birds is bad for a wintering population of 56,000, but for a population of 16,000 it is catastrophic. Have red knots reached the tipping point?”

Migrating red knots gather at Delaware Bay stopover

Taking a stand

The state of New Jersey doesn’t want to wait to find out. It proposed changing the status of the bird from threatened to endangered. The uplisting does not do much in terms of action, but the state hopes the move will raise awareness of the bird’s plight and may move the feds to act.

This isn’t the first step the state has taken to protect the bird. For a few years,  New Jersey has had a moratorium on horseshoe crab fishing, with the hope of increasing the food supply for red knots and bringing the bird’s population numbers up.

Unfortunately, the state’s actions alone will not be enough. Will the government take notice of this crisis and act, or will it be too late for red knots?

Watch a video detailing the plight of the red knot and its diminishing food source, horseshoe crabs. The video incorporates footage from the PBS Nature program, Crash: A Tale of Two Species, courtesy of Thirteen/WNET New York.

Learn more:

Defenders petitioned to emergency list the red knot in 2005. Learn more about how we fight to save this remarkable bird.