The return of the Red Knots

May here along the Delaware Bay means the return of the spawning Horseshoe crabs which brings the shorebirds that feed on their eggs.  The birds that feed on their eggs are the Red Knots, Ruddy Turnstones, Sanderlings and Semipalmated Sandpipers.  It's an exciting time to see them all returning to Reed's Beach, Moore's Beach, Cook's Beach and the beaches along the Delaware Bay from the Villas and up past Fortescue.  Of course, the Laughing Gulls are always present and taking a good numbers of the eggs leaving less for the smaller birds that count on the protein from the horseshoe crab eggs to beef up for the trip to their breeding grounds in the Arctic.This phenomenon also occurs along the Delaware side of the Delaware Bay.  Here are some pictures of the birds flying and feeding along the shoreline on Reed's  Beach.  The third picture below shows the horseshoe crabs behind the birds that are feasting on their eggs.