BirdCapeMay.org

Q: When someone says "grasshopper hawk" are they talking about American Kestrel?

A: Yes, American Kestrel has a few slang names including "grasshopper hawk" because their diet of insects includes the favored grasshoppers. Some also say that their high-pitched buzzing song resembles the stridulation (the noise grasshoppers and crickets make when they rub their legs together) of grasshoppers.

The American Kestrel may also be referred to as a"sparrow hawk" because, in the past, it was thought that kestrels primarily preyed upon sparrows before research indicated otherwise.

Some little known Horseshoe Crab Egg Facts courtesy of Dave Ward (past CMBO Associate Naturalist): there are 2,798 eggs in a level Tablespoon, 3,227 eggs in a cubic inch, and about 53,000 eggs in a heaping handful.

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!

Q: Which shorebird (found in North America) is the darkest?

A: Purple Sandpiper which can be found on the jetties in Cape May from Nov-May.