It is always interesting to find the origin of birds with bands or flags, and a red knot photographed on the Whanganui River Estuary last Saturday (7 November 2020) proved especially so. This female was first banded in Chukotka, Russia, in 2013, and has been seen back in the same area several times, including mid-2020 when it nested and hatched chicks. It was also seen in April 2019 in Bohai Bay, China, and at Mangere, NZ, in December 2018. A scientist from Moscow, Pavel Tomkovich, was able to confirm all this information with us. A real world traveller, and only a small bird. In the picture below it is the bird at left.
