Birding Q & A
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Friday, May 16, 2008
posted by Laura Guerard | 2:39 PM
Shorebirds on the Delaware Bayshore
Q: Where do Red Knots come from in spring and where do they go during the summer?
A: When we see Red Knots in spring on the shores of the Delaware Bay, they have just flown 4,000 miles (non-stop) from South America. They winter in South America and touch down along the Delaware Bayshore during spring migration to refuel for the remainder of the trip to their breeding grounds. After feeding here they will again fly non-stop to their breeding grounds on the Canadian tundra near Hudson bay.
The reason why Horseshoe Crab eggs in the Delaware Bay are such an important food source for Red Knots and other shorebirds is that by the time they land here (after flying in from their wintering grounds) they are nearly starving and need to regain 50% of their body weight to have enough fuel to make it to their breeding grounds. In less than two weeks each knot needs to eat as many as 9,000 Horseshoe Crab eggs per day!
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