Red Knots (Calidris canutus islandica) feeding at Porsanger Fjord, Northern Norway
Of the six subspecies of Red Knot, one is now stable, four are in decline, and the trend in the sixth population is unclear. These declines can be attributed to the loss of important feeding areas and food sources along its migration routes. Both C. c. canutus and C. c. islandica, for example, are highly dependent upon the shellfish resources of the Wadden Sea along the East Atlantic flyway. However, as a result of embanking tidal habitats, and mechanical shellfish harvesting in parts of the Wadden Sea, both populations have suffered significant declines. On the way to the breeding areas in Northern Greenland and North-East Canada the Porsanger Fjord serves in May - besides Iceland - as the most important staging (refueling) area between the Wadden Sea and the High Arctic.
Year: 2013
From album: The Red Knot and Long-Distance Migration
Photographer: Peter Prokosch