Eye on Nature birds

We do a lot of birding on the Laguna Madre. We bird almost every day. It is a big part of keeping an eye on nature. We know birds individually and we see new ones all the time.
This time of year we get to see and meet so many species that just use this area as a migration stop over. They may stay a few hours, a few days or even a few weeks before they move on south.
One species in particular we watch for is the little shorebird called a Redknot. It is plain in the winter, a not so redknot. But one we see very few of. While we can see high numbers of other species, with this one the most I have seen at one time is a dozen.　　
　　Of all the species we see, we have seen only a handful of banded or tagged species. Ones that have been captured and banded are highly sought after as it helps researchers monitor the status of the species.
We have seen many banded piping plover, which is the species we have seen the most banded birds. We have seen a few banded brown pelicans; one osprey; one rose throated bicard, which is another story in it self; a few peregrines; and a few reddish egrets. But never a banded redknot.
As we were armchair birding the other day along the shore ooing and ahing over piping plovers and the variety of shorebirds just feet in front of us, I saw a light green tag on a bird just larger than the sanderling it was feeding next to. It was a redknot. Finally, a banded redknot.
So I took many photos and got some good ones to read what the tag said. I searched the flat for more redknots but only found pectoral sandpipers, ruddy turnstones, least and western sandpipers, a few more unbanded piping plovers but no more redknots, just this loner.
The wind was kicking up and we headed to the house. After uploading my photos and searching Google for tagged redknots, I found the website to report this bird, and map it, too. It was neat to see the history on this precious gem, a species that might be lost to us soon if we do not save the horseshoe crabs. Here is what we learned from the report that came back on the little redknot.
Capture on Oct. 7, 2009 at County Beach North on Mustang Island.
Resightings on Jan. 4, 2010 on Mustang Island at the Port Aransas Jetty and Beach, May 17, 2011 at the Padre Island National Seashore, and Oct. 27, 2011 in the Brownsville Ship Channel.
Keeping an eye on nature, Scarlet Colley, Dolphinwhisper on facebook. To book an armchair birding trip call 956-299-1957