Feds move to protect red knot Cape Cod shorebirds
Feds move to protect red knot Cape Cod shorebirds
Birds stop on Cape during 10K-mile trek from South America to Arctic
Published 11:34 AM EDT Sep 27, 2013
WASHINGTON —The Obama administration is moving to protect the red knot, a robin-sized shorebird known for its 10,000-mile migration from South America to the Arctic.
The Fish and Wildlife Service said Friday it is proposing the bird be listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act. Officials say rising sea levels and disappearing habitat along the East Coast are taking a toll on the rosy-breasted bird, which makes refueling stops in Cape Cod and Delaware Bay.
Red knot populations have dropped by about 75 percent in Delaware Bay since the 1980s, a result of shrinking habitat and a drastic decline in the region's horseshoe crab population. Crab eggs are part of the birds' diet, along with clams and mussels. The red knot is already listed as endangered by New Jersey and would join the piping plover as East Coast shorebirds protected under the Endangered Species Act.
Shorebird experts have identified 15 other Atlantic Flyway shorebirds that warrant immediate attention, including the American oyster catcher, lesser yellowlegs, ruddy turnstone and whimbrel.
The once-common coastal species are declining due to threats from climate change, coastal development and hunting, as well as other threats such as oil spills and diminishing food resources, the agency said.
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