Red Knot
Calidris canutus rufa subspecies
This medium-sized shorebird breeds in the central Canadian Arctic and overwinters in at the southern tip of South America, with migratory round-trips of over 30,000 km each year. The population has only about 7,500 mature individuals and has declined by 73% in recent years. In PEI, rufa Knots are rarely detected during the northward spring migration from May to mid-June. However, sparse numbers of southbound birds, with bursts up to 200, are more reliably seen straggling through our north and south shore bays in September and October, with a few as late as mid-November. .(Some Knots migrating through PEI may be from secure wintering populations in Northeastern South America and another through Southeastern USA, Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean.)
Threats include human harvesting of Horseshoe Crab (whose eggs are an essential food source for spring migrants) in Delaware Bay, disturbance and predation from recovering falcon populations, oil development, and disturbance from recreational activities. Overall, habitat quality is reduced in northern breeding areas, migration stopovers and wintering areas. Risks to migrating birds from exposure to storms and severe weather may increase with climate change.