Minimal levels adjustment and sharpening. Cropped.

On May 22, 2023, I observed this red knot on a beach in Delaware. It had an orange flag with the letters “C9V” on its left leg, and a red ring on its right leg. A shorebird scientist who saw this image excitedly informed me that this bird was banded in 2007 in Tierra del Fuego, at the tip of South America! She thinks this bird is at least 18 years old! Red knots, a threatened species under the Endangered Species Act, spend Northern Hemisphere winter months as far away as southern South America. Every spring, they embark on an incredible journey to breed in the Arctic tundra. During their travels, red knots stop along the coastline of eastern US and Canada to feed. Delaware Bay is an important spring migration stop because their arrival coincides with the spawning of horseshoe crabs that often provide an abundance of eggs for migratory shorebirds. Bird banding is an important way for scientists to track the movement of migratory birds; the information they collect is used to help conserve habitat for these remarkable travelers.