15,000 red knots on delaware Bay

By: Dr. Larry Niles, LJ Niles Associates LLC

We had about 13,000 knots on the New Jersey side of the Delaware Bay (an additional reported 2,000 on the Delaware side of the Bay).  Yesterday, we suffered strong NW winds in excess of 20 kts and the birds virtually disappeared. Our daily survey turned up about 6,000 knots, the rest we suspect, finding refuge in Egg Island and Goshen Marshes or with a flyover to Delaware.


We will know where they went today. The team will comb the Bayshore for shorebirds with a coordinated ground, boat and aerial survey. The birds gain weight in good time and we expect the first Arctic lift-offs by the 26th. At the current rate, most of the Bay’s population will be off to the Arctic by the 30th.

Above is a clip from a new video about knots and our work by Mitch Smith, a longtime supporter of the team and head of the Mitch Smith Media.

Learn more:

• Delaware Bay Restoration – RestoreNJBayshore.org
• Conserve Wildlife Foundation’s Delaware Bay Shorebird Project

Dr. Larry Niles has led efforts to protect red knots and horseshoe crabs for over 30 years.