"The Red Knot has one of the most impressive migrations in the world, traveling over 9,000 miles twice a year along the Atlantic Flyway from the Arctic to Argentina and back, but habitat and the food resources to fuel this demanding journey have declined, putting these birds at risk. Since the 1980s, populations have fallen by 75 percent, with the steepest declines in the past decade.
During their journey, Red Knots stop along Atlantic coast beaches to rest, forage and pack on fat that will sustain them during migration. Many stop over on the beaches of the Delaware Bay in spring to feed on horseshoe crab eggs, before continuing on to Arctic breeding grounds. They will nearly double their weight before setting out on that last, exhausting leg of their northward migration. But commercial overfishing of horseshoe crabs, combined with poor conditions for horseshoe crab spawning, has put these birds at risk.
Additional threats include loss of habitat from shoreline stabilization with hard structures, beach renourishment, shoreline development, human disturbance at critical stopover areas, and climate change. Climate change impacts the Arctic breeding areas of the Red Knot and jeopardizes their ability to successfully nest and fledge chicks. Climate change is also affecting migratory success by causing a mismatch between peak abundance of crab eggs and the birds' arrival at major stopover areas, like Delaware Bay. In addition, habitat loss from sea level rise combined with man-made changes to the coasts in response to sea level rise will negatively impact survival and fitness of Red Knots."
