22,000 Red Knot Shorebirds Return for Migration, Marking Successful Recovery of New Jersey Shores

Biologists on the case are ecstatic that 22,000 red knot shorebirds have returned to the recently restored New Jersey coastlines for migration.

22,000 Red Knot Shorebirds in Migration

The migration of red knot shorebirds along Delaware Bay beaches has reached its peak since 2019, with virtually all sightings documented in New Jersey. Approximately 22,000 red knot shorebirds were sighted in protected areas in Cape May County, including Reeds Beach and Pierce's Point Beach, a notable increase over the previous year's low total of 6,880.

Only 2,220 birds were sighted on the Delaware side of the bay, illustrating the efficacy of New Jersey's conservation initiatives, including beach closures during the migratory season, volunteer education efforts, and American Littoral Society repairs to dune breaches. Larry Niles, a biologist, expressed his excitement at the 22,000 bird count, highlighting that the majority of red knots selected New Jersey, which he deemed a win.

The increase in red knots is due to an elevated number of horseshoe crab eggs due to warmer bay water promoting reproduction, as explained in a 2022 study published in PLOS ONE. This positive trend demonstrates the efficacy of Niles' team's beach protection, stewardship, and restoration efforts.

Still Far From Historic Counts

Despite an upsurge in red knots and crab eggs, counts remain much lower than in the 1980s and early 1990s. At the time, Delaware Bay beaches had an estimated 90,000 birds. Crab eggs amounted to 50,000 to 100,000 per square meter. Overharvesting of horseshoe crabs, however, caused a fall in the red knot population in the late 1990s and early 2000s, raising fears of extinction.

While New Jersey banned horseshoe crab harvesting in 2008, some states, such as Delaware, continue to allow controlled collection for commercial fishing bait and scientific research.

The lack of red knots on Delaware's beaches suggests that New Jersey's prohibition has aided in the resurgence of the red knot shorebird population on the New Jersey side of the bay. Delaware Audubon President Steve Cottrell advises that Delaware follow New Jersey's lead by shutting beaches during migration and prohibiting harvesting to assist rebuild crab and knot populations.

He cites a lack of enforcement and probable female horseshoe crab hunting as contributors to the shortage of horseshoe crab eggs and red knot shorebirds in Delaware this year, despite the Atlantic States Marine Fisheries Commission's declared prohibition, NJ Spotlight News reports.

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Red Knot Shorebirds

Red Knots are large, well-proportioned sandpipers with vivid terracotta-orange underparts and ornate gold, rufous, buff, and black upperparts in the summer. This global species is found on all continents except Antarctica and migrates across extremely large distances from breeding places in the High Arctic to wintering grounds in southern South America, Australia, and Africa.

Red Knots in eastern North America have decreased dramatically in recent decades, owing in part to unsustainable harvesting of horseshoe crab eggs, and they have emerged as a model species for shorebird conservation in the 21st century, according to All About Birds.