Red Knots: A Bird Species on the Decline

Millions of birds passed through Virginia this spring, and the National Wildlife Federation says many are in trouble. Sandy Hausman traveled to the Eastern Shore to report on one species -- the rust- colored sandpipers known as red knots (Calidris canutus). Each year, they fly about 10,000 miles – from the tip of South America to their nesting grounds in the Arctic – stopping in Virginia to refuel. Bird watchers in North America used to see red knots as far north as Cape Cod, but today they’re most often seen in Virginia and in states around Delaware Bay. In the 80’s, experts counted more than 100,000, but over the last 20 years their numbers have fallen to an estimated 25,000.

Source: WVTF, 18 June 2013
http://wvtf.org/post/red-knots-bird-species-decline