11 June 2004

Amateur ornithologists solve missing bird mystery

In recent years there has been a sharp drop in the number of red knots at Delaware Bay each spring. Amateur ornithologists Patrick and Doris Leary may have discovered why. In a story in The News Journal at www.delawareonline.com/newsjournal/local/2004/06/09shorebirdsmayfi.html. reporter Molly Murray writes that the Leary's have spotted 1,500 red knots at a site on Florida's north coast just south of Georgia.

While this is a story in progress, it nicely illustrates the vital role that citizen scientists can play in monitoring wildlife. At a time when environmental groups and State agencies were unable to account for the missing birds, Patrick and Doris Leary may have found that the birds might simply be altering their migration pattern.

Why this is occurring has yet to be answered. Meanwhile, Murray reports that the Leary's have carefully documented and photographed their sightings of red knots at the new Florida site. Based on the outstanding record of amateur ornithologists, it's possible that the ongoing story of the missing red knots will eventually be resolved by further observations by Patrick and Doris Leary and other amateur ornithologists.