Calidris canutus

In early May, Red Knots arrive on the beaches of the Delaware Bay, the final and most critical rest stop for these migratory birds. Here they feast on horseshoe crab eggs and in the process, double their body weight. Largely because of overfishing of these horseshoe crabs for bait, the East Coast Red Knot population has plummeted from more than 100,000 in the 1980s to about 30,000 today.