Hello Tweeters-

For the past two years I have been conducting counts of Red Knots at
Grays Harbor and Willapa Bay. Several sites in the two bays support the
only appreciable numbers of knots in the Pacific Northwest. The
population of Red Knots that migrate through this region is very small,
and a population decline may have occurred over the last 25 years.
Researchers in Mexico have color-banded over 200 knots during autumn
migration in 2006 and 2007. I saw four of these marked birds in
Washington in 2007.

The knots are marked with two color bands. On one leg is a single red
band and on the other is a single color band that has a small tab. A
number is printed on both sides of the tab and is visible when using a
spotting scope from up to 30-50 meters distance.

If any of you are interested in helping to count Red Knots and search
for color-banded birds please contact me. The sites of interest are
Bowerman Basin, Bottle Beach (Ocosta) and Grass Creek in Grays Harbor,
and Nemah River estuary, North River estuary, Palix River estuary,
Tokeland (the high tide roost), and the Willapa River mouth in Willapa
Bay. Bowerman Basin and Bottle Beach are covered for about one-half of
the dates but I have few people signed up for the Willapa Bay sites.
Knots begin to arrive here in late April, reach their peak of abundance
between roughly 8 and 12 May, and continue to occur in smaller numbers
until about 20 May.

Joseph B. Buchanan
Olympia, Washington
buchajbb at dfw.wa.gov