Well-travelled bird spotted in New Jersey

Red Knot in summer breeding plumage, on the Gulf coast of Texas on April 22, 2005. (AP Photo/Heather Forcier)

  Eyewitness NewsREEDS BEACH, N.J. -- A famous bird that's flown more than 325,000 miles over nearly 20 years has been spotted in southern New Jersey, near the Delaware Bay.

The red knot was spotted Monday in Reeds Beach by the scientist who banded it nearly two decades ago.

The bird was last spotted in Argentina in November, as it began its 9,000-mile trek to Canada. The birds fly 18,000 miles a year.

This bird has covered a distance equal to flying to the moon and halfway back.

Experts say 80 percent of the red knot population has disappeared in the bird's lifetime. Conservancy groups are working to protect the Delaware Bay, where the birds stop to eat horseshoe crab eggs.

The bird is the subject of a book due out in July.

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