You’ve heard so much about Red Knot, and their decline, and the political tug of war was the knot’s undoing.
Red Knots in breeding (foreground) and non-breeding (background) plumage.
Oh aren’t those writers so clever.
Anyway you might have despaired of seeing this celebrated long-distance migrant. If so, and if you live within a tank of gas of Cape May (and you have a $100 to fill it), then now is the time to head for the beaches of Delaware Bay and feast your eyes on a celebrity among shorebirds.
The scientific name, Calidris canutus, is descriptively apt. A Calidris is a type or genus of shorebird. The species name, canutus, comes from the name of an old English King (whose full name is: The Great Canute) who was, as all kings are, surrounded by sycophants and who was, as most kings tend to be, a bit vain about his lofty standing.
Or, in this case, sitting.
As the story goes one day one of the king’s boot lickers observed that the Ol’ Canute was so powerful even ocean’s tides did his bidding. To find out whether this theory would hold water the king had his throne set down below the tide line and ordered the incoming tide to halt.
What happened is just about what you might expect. What happened to the flattering lackey is not recorded.
Like the coin calling king, the knot, too, spends a portion of its life between the tide lines. In most places it forages on small bivalves that are exposed to its probing bill at low tide. On the shores of Delaware Bay, it is drawn to the horseshoe crab eggs that are deposited as the tide retreats.
Knots are gray backed and ruddy breasted. They are larger than the other sandpipers with which they normally associate with. They often associate with Ruddy Turnstones which are red, black and white.
Red Knots and Ruddy Turnstones on Delaware Bayshore.
To see knots, plot your life to be on a sandy beach, on Delaware Bay (north of Villas) at the onset of a falling tide. Can you see knots when the tide is full or low? Sometimes. But with numbers reduced, the peak foraging period coincides with a falling tide. Be there.
Yes, you will need binoculars. No, you don’t need a spotting scope. At some places (most notably Reed’s Beach) there are often interpreters on hand who will have a spotting scope and who will assist visitors in finding birds.
Two important considerations. Number one. Do not disturb the birds. They are trying to feed. You disturb them, not only do they stop eating, they waste energy avoiding you. Be responsible. Stay behind the signs warning you not to go farther.
Number two. The places where knots, and other shorebirds, concentrate are commonly where people have homes. Both of our species have a penchant for sandy beach.
In your enthusiasm for knots, do not do something that will cause a resident to become undone. Do not just stop in the road. Do not part and block a driveway. Do not, under any circumstances, trespass on private property.
There are designated parking places at known viewing areas. Please use them.
How long will the knots run? Until about the 27th of May. After that, most of the birds head north for the Arctic to breed. They’ll return in July–but not in the numbers or concentrations we see in Spring.
Enjoy. It’s not like you don’t deserve a celebrated natural spectacle now and again.
P.S. Bring one or two young people with you.