Red Knot

The Red Knot is a plump, neatly proportioned Sandpiper that sport brilliant terracotta-orange underparts and intricate gold, buff, rufous, and black upperparts during the breeding seasons. This widespread species also occur on all continents except Antarctica and is known to migrate exceptionally long distances, from High Arctic nesting areas to wintering spots in southern South America, Africa, and Australia. Red Knots from eastern North America have declined sharply in recent decades owing in part to the unsustainable harvest of horseshoe crab eggs, and they have become a flagship species for shorebird conservation in the twenty-first century.

About Red Knots

These chunky birds look inconspicuous and anonymous during the winters, making them typically hard to spot if one does not know where to look. Because of their tremendous endurance and ability to travel thousands of miles, they may just turn up about anywhere, making it sometimes difficult to predict where a certain flock of birds will appear during the winters. They are true shorebirds that are heavily dependent on marine habitats, feeding almost entirely on aquatic worms, small crabs, and marine mollusks. As a result, hunting for crab eggs has had a disproportionately negative impact on them. Today, we will be diving into the stories of one of America’s most popular shorebirds, the Red Knot.

● Red Knot Photos, Color Pattern, Song
● Red Knot Size, Eating Behavior, Habitat
● Red Knot Range and Migration, Nesting

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Red Knot Color Pattern

These birds have a marked difference between their breeding and nonbreeding plumages. The breeding plumage consists of a somewhat faded salmon-red to brick-red color, with a light-colored lower belly behind the legs. Their vent and under tail cover are also a pale red. There are variations among the three subspecies in their appearances, with the intensity and patterns varying based on the subspecies that they belong to. Their flight feathers go from a dark brown/blackish in the primaries to grey in the secondaries, where there is a narrow whitish wing bar. Their tail feathers are also gray. Females have less distinct eye-lines and their upper parts may appear to be a lighter rufous, sometimes with dark, subterminal markings which occur less often in males.

Their non-breeding plumage is the same between both sexes, with plain gray upper parts that have edges of light fringes. Their wings have white tips which gives the appearance of a white line running along their wing when in flight. The Red Knot’s rump and lower back are a dull white, with dark subterminal chevrons. Their underparts are a dirty white, with faint, dark vertical streaking on the upper breast that may extend laterally to the flanks. Their head is a dull grayish that have pale white eyebrow-like stripes.

Description and Identification

Look for Red Knots on sandy beaches and mudflats along the coasts during migration and winter. May and September are the best times in much of North America. Though their nonbreeding plumage is gray and white, you can quickly learn to recognize the plump shape, medium-length bill, and relative size. They are larger than Sanderlings and smaller than Willets.

Red Knot Song

These birds are generally quiet away from their breeding grounds. Sometimes utter a subdued and somewhat nasal whine that increases in strength and scale for about a second. During the breeding seasons, they make a majority of their vocalizations. Birds that got flushed from the nest give out low “whit whit” or “wheat wheat”. While birds that seem to signal an “all clear” sign give out a “kjut-kjut”. Their courtship call sounds like a long, high pitch “weee”, but this call may be heard in many situations. Only males sing the flight song which is a flute-like poor note. It is usually in response to the constant cheeps from newly-hatched chicks. Other notes include an alarm call and a contact call that is almost always heard during the breeding seasons.

Red Knot Size

Red Knots are large, stocky sandpipers that are about 9.1-10.6 inches in length and 4.4-7.2 ounces in weight. They have straight, medium-length bills along with short legs. They have long, powerful wings that have a wingspan of 22.4-23.6 inches. These proportions make them slightly larger than Dunlins, but smaller than Dowitchers.

Red Knot Behavior

These birds usually walk on the ground while foraging, walking on intertidal or terrestrial substrates, or on the steep surface of rocks. They may also run while pursuing prey, chasing other birds, or avoiding waves or attacks from other birds. They also roost on one leg but will hop away using both legs if disturbed. Their flight, much like other shorebirds, is swift and coordinated. They are also good swimmers, occasionally swimming across small bodies of
water while foraging or to other portions of their roost. They may also swim to avoid predators.

Breeding males can get highly territorial and make active efforts to ward off intruding males from their breeding territories. These interactions between the defending male and the intruding one, with the interactions, generally remaining fairly short. They generally engage in engaging in aerial chases, with eventually one of the birds backing off. One bird may even jump on the back of the other while grasping its head or back feathers.

These birds are monogamous and conservative in their pair bonds, with single pairs mating and resting in their territories. Their pair bonds are established through two classes of courtship displays ground displays and flight displays. Flight displays are probably to attract mates. While ground displays must be to cement the affections of any interested female that happens to observe the flight display. Pair bonds are established soon after the birds arrive in their breeding grounds, and generally last until the eggs hatch, after which the females depart.

Red Knot Diet

Small bivalves, especially mussels, their larvae, clams, and cockles, form the largest part of their diet for much of the year. They also consume amphipods, gastropods, marine worms, chitons, shrimp, and tiny crabs. In spring, eggs of horseshoe crabs in the Delaware Bay are important food for migrating Red Knots (subspecies rufa). In western North America subspecies roselaari Red Knots consume eggs of grunion (a small fish) before moving northward from Mexico. Early in the nesting season in the Arctic, Knots frequently eat seeds and shoots of grasses but switch to invertebrates later. Small chicks consume insects, especially midges. Through most of the year, Red Knots pick or probe in sandy, muddy areas, often during falling tides, for marine invertebrates of many kinds. When feeding on small mussels, knots usually forage more slowly than smaller Sandpipers, but they take eggs and larval mussels with rapid picking motions similar to other species.

Red Knot Habitat

Red Knots nest in High Arctic habitats visited by very few people. In North America, they use dry tundra slopes with sparse stunted willow or mountain avens, often far from the coast but usually on warm, sunny slopes facing south or southwest. While incubating, knots forage in wetter habitats, usually not far from the nest. Once young are able to fly, they move toward sedge meadows and lakeshores, feeding heavily in preparation for their long migration.

Migrating and wintering Knots use marine habitats such as sandy beaches, salt marshes, lagoons, mudflats of estuaries and bays, and mangrove swamps that contain an abundance of invertebrate prey. Other habitats that might harbor knots include peat banks (remnants of ancient forest on the seashore, exposed by erosion), salt ponds, eelgrass beds, and Brazilian restinga (coastal spits). Red Knots occasionally appear at interior locations in eastern North America, where they frequent shorelines of large lakes or even freshwater marshes.

Range and Migration

The different subspecies of these birds are nearly everywhere in the world. Birds that breed in North America breed in the high Arctic, north of the northernmost coastline of Canada. Their migration season then takes them towards the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of Canada before they reach their wintering grounds. They winter along the Atlantic and Pacific coasts of the United States, Mexico, Central America, and all the way to South America. They are long-distance migrants that are capable of traveling thousands of miles in a single year.

Red Knot Lifecycle

Like most shorebirds, Red Knots have only a single brood each year. Each brood has a clutch size of 3-4 olive green eggs with small brown spots. Both parents share incubation duties, although males may incubate the eggs more than the females. The incubation period is 21-22 days, after which the young emerge fully feathered with their eyes open. Although the chicks are able to feed themselves from an early age, the parents still tend to them and brood them, often protecting them from nearby predators. The young learn to fly after 18-20 days and become independent soon after that.

Nesting

Males select and prepare 3–5 sites for nest scrapes, normally dry, stony areas of tundra in upland areas, often near ridges and not far from wetlands. Vegetation is normally very sparse near the nest, typically willows and mountain avens. The nest scrape, once selected by the female, is lined with grasses and leaves of nearby plants, often willows and avens, and finished with tubular lichens or bits of mountain heather. Nest size averages about 4.7 inches across and 1.7 inches deep.

Anatomy of a Red Knot

Red Knots are large, stocky sandpipers that are about 9.1-10.6 inches in length and 4.4-7.2 ounces in weight. They have straight, medium-length bills along with short legs. They have long, powerful wings that have a wingspan of 22.4-23.6 inches. These proportions make them slightly larger than Dunlins, but smaller than dowitchers.

Final Thoughts

All three subspecies of Red Knots found in North America are in decline. Due to the abundance of data on their numbers, they are on many bird watch lists. They are often included in the Yellow Watch List for declining species. The IUCN Red List lists Red Knot as a Near Threatened species. The occurrence of large
concentrations of knots at traditional staging areas during migration makes them vulnerable to pollution and loss of key resources, such as horseshoe crab eggs at Delaware Bay. Beginning in the late 2000s, changes to Maryland, Delaware, New Jersey, and New York fishing regulations helped alleviate some of the pressure on horseshoe crabs, and the rufa subspecies may be benefiting from this. The impacts of climate change and sea-level rise are expected to be most severe in migratory stopover locations. In parts of eastern South America and the Caribbean, the species is shot in large numbers for both food and sport, as formerly occurred in North America as well.

Since these birds are considered to be flagship species, strong measures are taken by the state to preserve their numbers. Although they continue to be threatened by numerous factors like pollution, climate change, and hunting, strong efforts to maintain their populations have ensured that these lovely birds remain with us. They are incredibly special to scientific communities, namely due to their versatility and their strong endurance, and are also beloved for cultural reasons that stem from similar reasons. So, try to pinpoint the stops that they make during their migrations, and you might just get lucky enough to catch a glimpse of these lovely birds.

Ornithology

Bird Watching Academy & Camp Subscription Boxes

At the Bird Watching Academy & Camp we help kids, youth, and adults get excited and involved in bird watching. We have several monthly subscription boxes that you can subscribe to. Our monthly subscription boxes help kids, youth, and adults learn about birds, bird watching, and bird conservation.

Bird Watching Binoculars for IdentifyingRed Knots

The most common types of bird watching binoculars for viewing Red Knots are 8×21 binoculars and 10×42 binoculars. Bird Watching Academy & Camp sells really nice 8×21 binoculars and 10×42 binoculars. You can view and purchase them here.

Red Knot Stickers

Stickers are a great way for you to display your love for bird watching and the Red Knot. We sell a monthly subscription sticker pack. The sticker packs have 12 bird stickers. These sticker packs will help your kids learn new birds every month.

Bird Feeders For Red Knots

There are many types of bird feeders. Bird feeders are a great addition to your backyard. Bird feeders will increase the chances of attracting birds drastically. Both kids and adults will have a great time watching birds eat at these bird feeders. There are a wide variety of bird feeders on the market and it is important to find the best fit for you and your backyard.

Bird Houses For Red Knots

There are many types of bird houses. Building a bird house is always fun but can be frustrating. Getting a bird house for kids to watch birds grow is always fun. If you spend a little extra money on bird houses, it will be well worth every penny and they’ll look great.