Red Knot: A Shorebird's Incredible Journey

About this book

Narrated in journal entries from the point of view of a red knota robin-sized shore bird that migrates 20 000 miles annually from the tip of South America to the Arctic Circle and backthis book depicts one such dramatic journey in stunningly detailed colored-pencil illustrations of the flight over the Atlantic Ocean a landing in Delaware Bay the northern nesting grounds chicks feeding on hatching insects a close call with an arctic fox and the return home. At the heart of the story is a message about conservation: the birds stop only a few times as they travel and always in the same coastal areas where dwindling food supplies have caused a precipitous decline in their numbers over the past decade. Science concepts such as animal life cycles climate extinction the food chain and migration are introduced by information about how bird-banding and protecting the horseshoe crabwhose eggs are a principal food for red knotscan help them survive. A four-page appendix includes a map of the western hemisphere a range and route map for migrating birds a glossary a timeline and the history and conservation of red knots. This book was the first runner up in the Childrens category for the 2007 Eric Hoffer Book Award.