while crossing the Greenland icecap! Staying some three weeks on Ellesmere just enough time to lay eggs and recover enough to return while leaving the male to care for the chicks! The Dutch Institute NIOZ had fitted a microtransmitter on her of 2 g. made in California.
Ellesmere and Knots from NW Greenland belong to the race islandica so named by Linnaeus. So do Knots breeding in East Greenland which reach the breeding area after preparing for the journey along the West coast of Britain.
Another staging area during spring is northern Norway. These birds have been well photographed by Stein Nilsen, most Knots in his photographs seem to be males. Ellesmere males perhaps?



here is the link to NIOZ press release (in Dutch):


  https://www.naturetoday.com/intl/nl/nature-reports/message/?utm_source=newsletter&utm_medium=e-mail&utm_campaign=user-mailing&msg=22860



here are two links to Stein Nilsen’s pictures taken in northern Norway:


  https://500px.com/photo/155920953/red-knots-in-troms%C3%B8-norway-by-stein-nilsen


  http://tromsofoto.smugmug.com/keyword/knot/i-cpStmMf7



Here is a link to  David N.Nettleship’s article about the breeding biology of Ellesmere Knots:



  http://epic.awi.de/28020/1/Polarforsch1974_1_2.pdf
“


Also have a look please at the two males collected in East Greenland (plate 2), one of which had been ringed in Britain). These birds differ in colour from the Norwegian males. It makes me wonder if East Greenland Knots deserve a name of their own, see here


   http://radioactiverobins.com/archive/icons%20navipag/Report%20wader%20ringing%20Rhine-Meuse%20delta%201984-85.pdf




Cheers, Norman

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