A tiny-but-mighty bird that depends on a critical refueling stop in Florida during a spring migration from Antarctic to Arctic regions was designated a threatened species Tuesday by federal authorities.
The announcement by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service means the rufa red knot is edging closer to extinction throughout its globe-trotting range.
“The decision is much needed and long awaited,” said Julie Wraithmell, director of wildlife conservation for Audubon Florida.
“I think a lot of us in the bird conservation community have been painfully aware of the desperate plight of the red knot for years,” she added.
Wraithmell said red knots are called birds of “perpetual summer” because their migrations follow the season to the ends of the Earth.
Their brief stop in Florida comes in April at Fort George Inlet east of Jacksonville at the Atlantic Ocean. For a week or 10 days, they pack on as much weight as they can by gorging on tiny clams.
Some red knots spend winters in Florida, settling in the Jacksonville area or in Pinellas and Manatee counties and at the mouth of Tampa Bay.
U.S. Fish and Wildlife officials said that since the 1980s, red knots have declined by about 75 percent in numbers in some key areas.
A key reason is the loss of horseshoe crab eggs in Delaware Bay, an essential source of food during one of their migration stops.
“The red knot is a remarkable and resilient bird known to migrate thousands of miles a year from the Canadian Arctic to the southern tip of South America,” said Dan Ashe, director of the wildlife agency.
“Unfortunately, this hearty shorebird is no match for the widespread effects of emerging challenges like climate change and coastal development,” Ashe said.
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