Red knot numbers plummet by 70 percent in 3 years
14/05/2007 00:00:00 August 2007. A final status assessment report on the red knot, designated last year as a candidate for Endangered Species Act protection, has been published. The report revealed a drastic population decline in the Red Knot subspecies Calidris canutus rufa.showing that numbers at their wintering grounds in southern South America have fallen drastically in recent years; from 51,300 in 2000 to approximately 30,000 in 2004, and still further to just 17,200 in 2006.
The Rufa subspecies of red knot, a kind of sandpiper, winters near the tip of South America and begins its long journey north in mid-February. Large numbers of red knots arrive at Delaware Bay beginning in mid-May. By the time the birds arrive, they have depleted their fat reserves and must refuel before continuing their migration to their Arctic breeding grounds. The birds rely heavily on the eggs of horseshoe crabs to replenish their energy. At the end of May or the beginning of June, the birds depart the mid-Atlantic coast on the last leg of their journey, arriving in the Arctic in early to mid-June.
