Larry Niles of the Shore Bird Recovery Project, leads an annual migratory bird banding project on the Delaware every May. The red knots, which come to Delaware Bay this time of year to feed on horseshoe crab eggs are the major study. Populations continue to crash even with a horseshoe crab harvesting ban.
At least six shorebird species use the bay as a last major stopover point as they complete their journey to arctic breeding areas. These include Red Knot, Ruddy Turnstone, Sanderling, and Semipalmated Sandpiper. All of these species have experienced a decline in their overall population. It is precisely for the protection of our shorebird resource that Delaware Bay was designated the first WHSRN Site of Hemispheric Importance in May 1986.
The world’s frogs are dying, and a study in Cape May County is looking for the reasons why.