calidris canutus

Bécasseau maubèche - Calidris canutus - Red Knot

Knot juvenile

Some of the Red Knot that winter on Morecambe Bay in NW England have taken to roosting on the sloping sea wall beside the Ulverston to Barrow coast road in Cumbria at high tide whilst the mudflats are covered. When they first arrive they can be very twitchy, as here, when traffic passes just a...

I had been watching these Knots from my car for some time when they were spooked by someone walking past. Or maybe they knew that the tide was turning and were off to start feeding again.

Birdwatching from my car again today. I had just pulled over to look at some Brent Geese when several hundred Knots landed just a few meters away.

The knot it is a rather uncommon visitor for Romania (about 10 records per season), usually during the migration - most of the records are from August and September. So, I was very pleased to find these two birds on January 22nd.

A rather rare bird for Romania (let's say about 10 records per year). I spotted this one on September 6th and I found it again on September 9th, in the same place.

http://ptaki-doliny-baryczy.manifo.com/

A large flock of Knot, with some Ringrd Plover and one golden Plover in front and some Oystercatcher behind.

A lovely sunny afternoon gave me the change to get some photos in good light. I had hoped to capture a Short-eared Owl, but no luck. However my local scrape was covered in birds because the tide was in. This is my favourite photo from the shoot. The Knot had a periodic mass panic and flew around...

...a nice walk on the beach with a friend! |:d|

These beauties are nearly resident birds in Okinawa, leaving only for the hot summer months in mid May, and returning in late August. Over the past few years I've taken hundreds of photos of these birds but this is one of my favorites. (Kobashigi in Japanese)