about the red knots he observed, “Maybe they’re sentinels.
We should take these early warning signs seriously.”
This year the Atlantic flyway red knots and the horseshoe
crabs in the Delaware Bay whose eggs they feast on during
their migration to the Canadian Arctic are featured in Feast
on the Beach: The Delaware Bay Horseshoe Crab Shorebird
Connection (www.delmnh.org/feast-on-the-beach). This
short film was produced through the Delaware Shorebird
Project, designed to raise awareness and understanding about
the ecological connection between horseshoe crabs and
shorebirds migrating through the Delaware Bay area.
Jean Woods, Ph.D., Curator of Birds and Director of
Collections at the Delaware Museum of Natural History, has
been part of the Delaware Shorebird Project for 16 years. Of
the entertaining and informative film she said, “As a researcher,
I’m privileged to study the shorebirds and horseshoe crabs
that come to Delaware Bay, and it’s exciting to share what we
do with a broader audience. We hope to encourage people to
come out and experience this phenomenon for themselves—
it’s even more impressive in person.”
Dr. Woods researches the red knots as they migrate
through the Delaware Bay each spring feeding on the
nutritious horseshoe crab eggs. She works as part of the
Delaware Shorebird Project, coordinated by the Delaware
Department of Natural Resources in partnership with the
British Trust for Ornithology, volunteers from the Wash
Wader Ringing Group in Great Britain, and the United
States Fish and Wildlife Service. Her graphic depiction
58
of the number of red knots observed in various regions
along the Atlantic coasts over the past 30 years illustrates the
decline in their numbers.
An important ingredient in protecting and preserving
this amazing bird is the participation of local volunteers in
projects designed to ensure the continuation of the species.
Education is central to this process—increasing public
awareness of dangers to the red knots and enlisting assistance
along their journey’s path. On Kiawah Island we have a great
start for such an initiative, our new Shorebird Stewardship
Program. See page 69 for information on how to become
part of this effort. NK
Naturally Kiawah