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Observations of Red Knots Calidris canutus at Old Chevak, y ukon-Kuskokwim Delta, Alaska, spring 2008

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Pages
167 – 170

Published
1 December 08

Authors
Brian J. McCaffery, Jan van de Kam, Keith Woodley

Correspondence
Brian J. McCaffery
brian_mccaffery@fws.gov
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Yukon Delta National Wildlife Refuge, PO Box 346, Bethel, Alaska, 99559, USA.

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We report our observations of Red Knots during spring migration at Old Chevak, 20 km inland from the coast on the central Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta. Migrant Red Knots were detected over a three-week period in May, a period that coincided with both snow-melt and river ice break-up. Among our 1,178 observations were three knots color-marked in Mexico. Knots foraged primarily in three habitats: riparian sedge meadows, tidal marshes, and rotting river ice. Our observations indicated that hundreds, and perhaps thousands, of knots use areas inland from the immediate coast of the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta during spring migration. Spatio–temporal variation in habitat availability during the migration period will make population assessments challenging.