Red Knot Tracking
Update 5, May 14, 2026
Hello Red Knot Trackers,
Migration is once again upon us!
Red Knots are on the move, and significant numbers have returned to stopover sites along the southeast US coast. We’ll soon share exciting news about our 2026 tracking project, but first, let’s look back at last year’s Red Knot tracking efforts.
Here’s a recap of our 2025 satellite tagging efforts:
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27 birds outfitted with Lotek Sunbird satellite tags
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14 from Kiawah Island SC (March 31)
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13 from Cape Romain National Wildlife Refuge SC (May 18)
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22 northern migration routes documented
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16 breeding sites identified
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14 southern migration routes documented
Since our last update, the most exciting development has come from Red Knot LN5.You may remember LN5 as the bird that made a multi-day flight down the Atlantic Ocean, even flying through Hurricane Erin in early August 2025, before landing in coastal Suriname. After a 24-day stopover at the WHSRN site Coppenamemonding, LN5 embarked on a 100+ hour nonstop flight over Suriname, Brazil, Bolivia, and Paraguay before landing…on the southeast coast of Argentina! While this migration path is expected for the species, it is remarkable to document this journey in such detail. Since being tagged in South Carolina on May 18th, 2025, LN5 traveled more than 12,000 miles before its tag stopped transmitting on September 20, 2025. Its journey showcases the incredible endurance of these world migrants.
Red Knot LN5 migration path from
05/18/2025 to 09/20/2025
Credit: SCDNR/GADNR/Manomet/Clemson Univeristy/ South Carolina Cooperative Fish and Widlife Unit
Although all the 2025 satellite tags have now fallen off, as they were meant to, we can still document returning knots through our resighting surveys in South Carolina and Georgia. Plastic leg flags with unique codes can be resighted using high-powered cameras or spotting scopes.
We are very happy to share that, so far during this 2026 field season, our team has resighted these 19 “ex” satellite birds from last year’s tracking efforts:
LL3 LK1 LM7 LN4 LP8 LC8 4U* LL5 LK4 LA0
LN6 LC1 LH2 LL9 LK8 LA3 LP7 LC5 PHP
After carrying a tracking device for at least part of their migration, it is very encouraging to see these birds once again along the South Carolina-Georgia coast, behaving normally and successfully completing a full annual migration.
Here’s a look at LC8, who’s satellite transmitter fell off on its breeding grounds in the far reaches of the Canadian Arctic. LC8 has been resighted on Kiawah Island multiple times throughout the last couple of weeks.
_CaptainSamsSpit_20260313_MaxNootbaarSCDNR.jpg)
Photo by Max Nootbaar/SCDNR
We have some exciting developments on the tracking front for 2026, so stay tuned for the next update to meet this year’s tracking cohort!
As a reminder, this project is a collaboration between the South Carolina Department of Natural Resources, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Manomet Conservation Sciences, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, South Carolina Cooperative Fish and Wildlife Research Unit, and Clemson University.
Special thanks to Wildlife Restoration Partnerships for collaboration on the 2025 tagging project.
You can read more about our project and read past updates here.
Thank you for following the knots!