Last week the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service announced that the rufa subspecies of Red Knot was officially added to the United States Endangered Species Act, designated as “threatened”. In this photo by Twan we have a group of Red Knots in front of some Black-bellied Plovers on a beach in Stratford, Connecticut in September 2011. They are an uncommon shorebird in the state but there can be pockets of them found, especially in the fall. Many times one records a handful of birds occasionally mixed in with larger congregations of other shorebird species, like in the shot. We have already touched base with our friends at the USFWS Stewart B. McKinney National Wildlife Refuge in Westbrook, Connecticut to discuss what may come for our work with the Red Knot in the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds. We will likely be adding the species as a focus for our full-time and seasonal staff plus all the hundreds of terrific shorebird monitors and volunteers, requesting that they keep a close eye out for Red Knots whenever they are in the field, reporting back detailed sighting information whenever applicable. We are already identifying the most significant staging and feeding areas in the state. While we do not know what will be required of us our crew will be certain to be ready to help Red Knots and USFWS in every way possible. Supporting RTPI and our work in the Audubon Alliance for Coastal Waterbirds permits us to help birds like the Red Knot, Piping Plover, American Oystercatcher, Roseate Tern and many others survive, thrive and prosper.
Scott Kruitbosch
Conservation & Outreach Coordinator
