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| Red Knot in Breeding plumage |
No bird epitomizes the drastic change that takes place in
birds during breeding season than the Red Knot (Calidris canutus) .
This bird completely transforms from a drab grey and white, its non-breeding
colour seen during the months of September to April, into a fiery reddish colour
plumage during its breeding season which is during the months of May to
August. The two times I have seen this
bird here in Barbados was first in 2014
in the month of November and 2015
in the month of September, both in its non-breeding plumage, but for the first
time on our shores, I was privileged to see one in breeding plumage.
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| Red Knot in non-breeding plumage |
The red knot is a medium-sized shorebird measuring 9 to 10
inches. It breeds in the Canadian Arctic
and winters in South America. Red Knots
are one of the many shorebirds whose population is in decline because of loss
of habitat, climate
change, human developments and over harvesting of its main food source,
Horse-shoe Crabs. This caused it to
receive special protection as a threatened species and put efforts in motion to
stop the decline. Let us hope that all efforts
to save these birds are successful.
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