Species

Red knot

Calidris canutus

A plump sandpiper that flies from the Arctic to South America and back each year, refuelling on Georgia's beaches.

Photo Chuck Homler d/b/a Focus On Wildlife (opens in a new tab) / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (opens in a new tab)

Migration

At a glance

Size: About 23 to 26 cm long
Weight: About 100 to 200 g
Habitat: Beaches, sandflats and mudflats
Diet: Small clams, mussels, crustaceans and horseshoe crab eggs
In Georgia: An uncommon to locally common migrant; some winter on the coast
Voice: A soft "knut"
Rabies vector: No

Identification

Key marks: Stocky; medium straight bill; in spring rich salmon-red face and breast; in winter plain grey with pale belly
Told apart from: Short-billed dowitcher, which has a much longer bill
Told apart from: Sanderling, which is smaller and whiter in winter
Where to look: Sandflats and beaches near inlets, April to May and August to October

Behaviour

Red knots feed by probing sand and mud and swallow small clams whole, crushing them in their muscular gizzards. Before long flights, their gizzards and flight muscles change size, remodelling their bodies for the journey.

Why they matter

The rufa red knot is federally listed as threatened after steep declines. Some birds fly more than 15,000 km each way between Tierra del Fuego and the Arctic, and Georgia's barrier islands are important stopovers, where they feed on clams and horseshoe crab eggs.

Reproduction and lifecycle

Nest — A scrape on Arctic tundra
Eggs — Usually four
Incubation — About 21 to 23 days
Chicks — Leave the nest within a day
Flight — At about 18 days
Lifespan — Wild birds over twenty years are recorded

Living around people

Knots resting on beaches at high tide need every calorie for their journey; walking around flocks, and keeping dogs on lead, helps.
Harvesting horseshoe crabs removes food knots depend on in spring.

Misconceptions

Shorebirds can always find somewhere else to rest. Suitable high-tide roosts are few, and losing them costs knots dearly.

Related species

Seasonal activity

When this species is breeding, and when there are nests on the ground. Mowing during the shaded months is how most nests are found.

Breeding and active nests by month for this species
	Jan	Feb	Mar	Apr	May	Jun	Jul	Aug	Sep	Oct	Nov	Dec
Breeding	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Active nests	Jan: no	Feb: no	Mar: no	Apr: no	May: no	Jun: no	Jul: no	Aug: no	Sep: no	Oct: no	Nov: no	Dec: no
Notes	A few wintering	A few wintering	Wintering birds present	Migrants arriving	Peak migration; fattening on the beaches	Nesting in the Arctic	Adults leaving	Migrants arriving	Migrants	Migrants	A few wintering	A few wintering

Where it lives

Recorded in 57 states and provinces. Each one links to the other animals there, and to the rehabilitators licensed for them.

Canada

Mexico

If you found one

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