Red Knot Winter Survey, help needed

Red Knot Winter Survey — we need your help

Dear All, As with many of you we have continued trapping for shorebirds as part of Avian Flu work through the fall. Yesterday a team led by Larry Niles made a late of catch of 58 migrating red knots. It was an interesting catch with 14 juveniles, four recaptures, one caught by us in Florida earlier this year.

I'm writing because Larry and I would very much like to know what becomes of these birds as they continue down the Atlantic Coast. We banded each bird with a unique alpha numeric flag on the upper left leg and a lime band on the upper right leg.

We ask that you make a special effort to scan red knot flocks in your area over the next two months. Last year we caught knots in NJ until November so we would expect that the knots we just banded may be moving to wintering sites at least until then. We will continue trapping though November but our chances of knots will become increasingly uncertain.

Please report any sightings to Bill Pitts
William.pitts@dep.state.nj.us . He will keep a spreadsheet and map of all sightings and post them on the internet. This is an extraordinary opportunity for us to learn something about fall stopover and wintering habitat that could you useful to all of us. Thanks

Amanda Dey, Ph.D., Senior Biologist
Endangered and Nongame Species Program
New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife
Assunpink Wildlife Management Area
1 Eldridge Road (Upper Freehold Twp.)
Robbinsville, NJ 08691

1-609-259-6967
1-609-259-8155 Fax

www.njfishandwildlife.com