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Stephanie | all galleries >> USA >> New Jersey >> jerseyshore >> Cape May ~ 2015 >> Delaware Bay Beaches ~ May 2015 > Sea of Red
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19-MAY-2015

Sea of Red

Red Knots!
This is what all the fuss is about!
Cooks Beach, NJ

Red knots fly more than 9,000 miles from south to north every spring and repeat the trip in reverse every autumn, making this bird one of the longest-distance migrants in the animal kingdom.

The farthest flung red knot populations spend the winter at the southern tip of South America, in Tierra del Fuego.
Come spring, they’re on their way to the Arctic where they breed during the short Arctic summer.
The Delaware Bay is the final and most critical rest stop for these migratory birds.

They arrive to the Bayshores in early May, famished and half their departure weight after their long journey northward.
Their arrival coincides with the annual horseshoe crab spawning in the Delaware Bay.
During May and June of each year thousands of horseshoe crabs emerge from the depths of the Bay to spawn along the shoreline.
Red knots, relying on masses of tiny, green horseshoe crab eggs on the beach, descend on the Delaware Bayshores and gorge themselves for about one month in preparation for the final leg of their journey to their Arctic breeding grounds.

Imagine hundreds of thousands of shorebirds descending on the beaches to feast on the billions of horseshoe crab eggs waiting for them on the beach—if there ever were a must-see migration this is it.
The Nature Conservancy of New Jersey owns several nature preserves along the Delaware Bay, created specifically to protect crucial stopover habitat for migrating shorebirds like the Red Knot.
The Nature Conservancy ~ http://www.nature.org/ourinitiatives/regions/northamerica/unitedstates/newjersey/explore/top-must-see-migrations-in-new-jersey-the-red-knot.xml

Canon EOS 40D
1/2500s f/7.1 at 300.0mm iso500 full exif

other sizes: small medium original auto
Alexander Kazakov27-Jun-2015 14:26
Superb capture! V
Zoltán Balogh23-Jun-2015 09:50
Marvellous use of DOF! V
John Reynolds LRPS21-Jun-2015 20:05
An impressive sight. V.
Milan Vogrin21-Jun-2015 18:36
Superb!V!
Hennie & Lies Lammers21-Jun-2015 17:30
Great observation and photo Stephanie
Jeff Real21-Jun-2015 13:51
This is such a beautiful photograph! Filled with greatness ~V~
Terry Sprague21-Jun-2015 13:39
Wow, awesome! Thanks for the info. VV
Carol Rollins21-Jun-2015 12:46
An outstanding capture of this amazing sight!
Yvonne21-Jun-2015 10:54
What a fabulous sight and story Steph.... wonderful image. v
laine21-Jun-2015 10:46
They look a busy lot...a nice frame full.
Johnny JAG21-Jun-2015 10:44
Not only knots, but there are a lot.
Tom LeRoy21-Jun-2015 09:56
Excellent shot of this amazing event! Very interesting info. V
Hank Vander Velde21-Jun-2015 01:30
FANTASTIC image and info Stephanie. I've never even seen one Red Knot. Sounds like a must see occurrence.
Pierre21-Jun-2015 00:12
Une scène tout à fait spectaculaire magnifiquement captée! V
Pierre Martin20-Jun-2015 21:03
I might go back to cape may to see that
show once again
Tk's for sharing, great shot!
Martin Lamoon20-Jun-2015 20:11
A fine crowd capture!
Amazing birds.
v
Frank Brault20-Jun-2015 19:41
What a fantastic and amazing scene. V
Carol How20-Jun-2015 19:05
What a super capture, and thanks for the commentary as well… V
bill friedlander20-Jun-2015 18:42
An amazing sight indeed. So exciting to see. V
Blandine Mangin20-Jun-2015 18:06
beautiful ! v
Penny B20-Jun-2015 16:37
What a great event to witness and photograph.
Tom Munson20-Jun-2015 16:25
A shorebird paradise, Stephanie. Great shot.
Charlie Lentz20-Jun-2015 15:57
Wow !!! And, I'm still waiting to see my first one. That's amazing. Congratulations !!! V.
Jim Coffman20-Jun-2015 15:43
Simply amazing,Stephanie!!
Dave Petersen Photography20-Jun-2015 15:34
Beautiful colors and DOF. I really like how it is framed. Voted
Helen Betts20-Jun-2015 15:34
What a great capture of this huge gathering, and fascinating information, too. V.
Walter Otto Koenig20-Jun-2015 15:33
Great use of depth of field for this image and nice choice of focus. "V"
Gerard Koehl20-Jun-2015 15:28
Magnifique. V
globalgadabout20-Jun-2015 15:06
amazing concatenation of these weary travelers...they sure accumulate a lot of air miles...V
Faye White20-Jun-2015 14:38
Fascinating!
Marcia Rules20-Jun-2015 14:29
Perfect depth choice adds drama Stephanie! Nicely rendered image...V
Nick Paoni20-Jun-2015 14:25
Nice documentary shot and text. I like the shallow depth of field that allows both a good view of the birds and focus and a good sense of the size of the gathering.
LynnH20-Jun-2015 14:24
Wow, that's an amazing view. Like your focus/oof here. V
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