I arrived at North Beach in Racine at sunrise with hopes to see the Red Knot that was reported yesterday. After 45 minutes of walking the entire beach from the north to the south, I found this juvenile bird right near the pier on the south end. After only a moment of watching it through my bins, the beach cleaning machine flushed the bird far to the north. It remained there for awhile feeding and going through mussels, etc finding things to eat. I took a few images of this rare visitor and it was present when I walked away. Thanks to Rick Fare for finding this 2nd Red Knot as another one was had just been reported in the same location on September 8th. Thanks for getting the word out to for others to see it. Not a life bird as I got one back on August 16th 2014 in Hustisford. It was a beautiful morning with full sun, a light breeze, mild temps. Images were taken on September 11, 2018.
Red Knot, a juvenile bird…
Red Knot
Binomial name: Calidris canutus
Category: Sandpipers, Phalaropes, and Allies
Size: 10.5” long, 23” wing span
Weight: 4.7 Oz.
Note: A rare visitor as the normal range for this species is breeding on the Canadian coasts and wintering on the southern east and west coasts of the United States.
Picking through the mussels and finding food in them…
Food in the bill…
More food in the bill…
Something in the bill…
Going to eat it…
Gets something out of a mussel…
Sanderling , left – Red Knot, right
Blurry flight shot, but look at the amazing feather patterns…
Walking along the beach checking out mussels, looking for something to eat…
More things to eat…
More…
Hunting for food…
Looking pretty…
Moving up and down the beach…
Tossing a mussel around……………and it gets something, it is on the tip of the bill….
Going inside the mussel for something to eat…
Thanks for re-finding this increasingly rare bird, Jim, and sharing your wonderful close-ups. I enjoyed watching the knot with you today, and I am especially appreciative of seeing photos of birds that I was able to see. We were fortunate to see it as such close range.
Nice variety of images of this uncommon and beautiful bird, Jim. It’s so interesting to see the behaviors as well as the close-ups of the bird. You do great work!
Awesome series Jim. Tanks for sharing….as always.