A review of numbers and distribution of Red Knots (Calidris canutus) on the Massachusetts coast during southward migration indicates major declines beginning in the early 1970s. Overall numbers increased during the third quarter of the 20th Century, largely at mainland versus Cape Cod locations, and then declined early in the fourth quarter at the mainland—but not the Cape Cod—locations. Evidence suggests that both the mainland and the Cape Cod areas were historically used by knots having Patagonian destinations, but that recently the Cape Cod locations have increasingly been used by knots with wintering destinations in the southeastern United States, thus balancing out the declining numbers of knots with Patagonian destinations.
How to translate text using browser tools
1 June 2010
Changing use of Migration Staging Areas by Red Knots: An Historical Perspective from Massachusetts
Brian A. Harrington,
Norman P. Hill,
Blair Nikula
ACCESS THE FULL ARTICLE
Waterbirds
Vol. 33 • No. 2
June 2010
Vol. 33 • No. 2
June 2010
Calidris canutus
historical usage
Massachusetts
migration stopover
Red knot
southward migration
wintering destinations