Red knots are one of the many species of shorebirds that migrate to Australia from the northern hemisphere.
They breed in Siberia and Alaska, and they are named because in their breeding plumage they are rufous-red in colour.
Red knots have just arrived back in Australia, and over summer they are in grey non-breeding plumage. Their collective noun is a tangle of knots.
Many shorebirds are caught and banded to trace their movements. I have seen quite a number in SA, including red knots.
Recently I found a red knot at Bald Hill Beach with an unusual band. The light green colour indicates the country, which is Russia.
A silver metal band is numbered so that this individual knot can be identified. This can be a challenge, but I managed close up photos from different angles to see the five digits.
I reported this red knot and a researcher at the Moscow Museum promptly replied with information. It was banded as a chick on its nesting ground in Chukotka, far eastern Siberia in June 2019.
This is the first banded shorebird recorded in SA from that part of Russia.
