Photo Gregory Breese USFWS ©

Red Knots arrive in Florida in spring, just after the horseshoe crabs have laid their eggs in the sand.

In 2004 during a shorebird survey near Jacksonville, birders sighted a Red Knot with an unusual looking leg band. It turned out that the bird had originally been banded as an adult in Brazil in 1984. This meant it was at least 21 years old when it was seen on the beach near Jacksonville in 2004! Biologists calculated that the bird has flown almost 400,000 miles during the 20 years that it has made its annual migrations from the tip of South America to the Arctic Circle and back.

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