Long-billed Curlew Numenius americanus This information was scanned from The Birds of British Columbia (Campbell et al.), Volume II, pages 158-161. Volumes I, II and III of The Birds of British Columbia can be ordered electronically at: orders@ubcpress.ubc.ca from UBC Press in Vancouver, British Columbia.

 

Range Breeds from southern interior British Columbia and the southern Canadian prairies south to Utah and Texas. Winters on coastal lowlands from California and Louisiana south to Guatemala.

Status Uncommon to locally very common spring migrant and fairly common summer visitant in the central-southern interior; casual in autumn. On the south coast, a rare spring migrant, casual in summer and autumn, accidental in winter. Accidental on the north coast. Local breeder.

Status Change No change.

Nonbreeding The Long-billed Curlew is widely distributed through the central-southern interior north to the Nechako Lowlands. On the coast, it occurs rarely on Vancouver Island and in the Fraser Lowlands. In the interior, the Long-billed Curlew frequents grassy steppes, not necessarily near water, as well as newly ploughed fields, green hayfields, meadows, and pastures. On the coast, it occurs in wetter habitats, especially on tidal mud flats and beaches, or in nearby fields. Most records on the coast are from the Fraser River delta. Spring migrants arrive in the interior earlier than any other shorebird except the Killdeer. Major influxes occur from late March to early April. Flocks of more than 50 birds may concentrate in good. feeding areas at that time. Most birds have arrived by late April. Coastal migrants occur later, mainly in May, which suggests the birds are mainly nonbreeders. On the breeding grounds, flocks of 6 to 15 Long-billed Curlews, probably nonbreeders, have been occasionally observed flying about in the evenings in May and June. Small, post-breeding groups of 5 to 10 birds begin to form in July and may disperse from breeding territories at that time. By late July, flocks of up to 20 birds assemble when most young have fledged. The autumn movement occurs from late July through August; sightings after mid-August are few. Most of the movement is south through the central-southern interior. The Long-billed Curlew does not linger in the province in late summer as do many other shorebirds. There are few autumn records; the last birds have usually gone by late October. There are no real staging areas in British Columbia. Populations are low and migrating birds usually move in small groups. The highest numbers in the province are reported from the Chilcotin-Cariboo region where the largest single flocks have been found on grasslands above Alkali Lake. Concentrations may occur there each spring and summer.

Breeding Nests Eggs Young The breeding range of the Long-billed Curlew is restricted to the dry grasslands of the southern interior between 280 and 1,220 m elevation. Highest numbers occur in the Chilcotin-Cariboo region. It also breeds in scattered locations throughout the Thompson-Okanagan Plateau, particularly the Lac du Bois, Douglas Lake, and upper Nicola areas. It is still a fairly common breeder in the north Okanagan valley, but less so in the south Okanagan valley. The most closely watched breeding area in the province is White Lake, near Okanagan Falls, where many of our breeding records originate. There, up to 8 pairs have bred annually since 1960 (Cannings, R.A. et al. 1987) although only 1 pair has been reported the last 2 years. Ohanjanian (1986b) reports a breeding population of 35 to 40 pairs in the east Kootenay from Grasmere north to Windermere, centred on the Skookumchuk prairie. However, we have no confirmed breeding records (i.e. nests with eggs or flightless young) for the east Kootenay, other than from the Wasa and Skookumchuck areas. We also lack confirmed breeding records for the Creston area (see Butler, R.W. et al. 1986). Breeding habitat requirements include large tracts of open grasslands with low vegetative cover (less than 20 cm); the presence of trees or large bushes inhibits breeding. Preferred nesting areas are flat grassy uplands or gravelly ridges and hillsides. Wetter areas such as seepages and hay fields are used for brood rearing.

Nests:  Nest building begins 1 or 2 weeks after the birds arrive on their breeding territories. Nests were situated on open ridges, hillsides, and flats (15 nests), or fields and pastures (2 nests). Tall, thick patches of grasses and sagebrush are avoided. The scrapes were lined with a bit of fine grass (11 of 17 nests), or twigs (2), thistle stems (1), and cow dung (1). Two nests were unlined. Nests were often placed beside a rock or clump of cow dung. Two nests measured 18 cm in diameter and 6 to 8 cm deep. Eggs: Dates for 50 clutches ranged from 11 April to 4 June with 56% recorded between 9 and 31 May. Calculated dates indicate that eggs could be found as early as 1 April. Sizes for 30 clutches ranged from 1 to 5 eggs (1E-1, 2E-2, 3E-6, 4E-20, 5E-1) with 66% having 4 eggs. Incubation period is 27 to 28 days (Fitzuer, J.N. 1978).  Young: Dates for 33 broods ranged from 2 May (Cannings, R.A. et al. 1987) to 26 July with 55°/O recorded between 1 and 18 June. Most have fledged by mid-July. Ohanjanian (1986b) reports a flock of 13 juveniles in late July 1986 on breeding grounds in the east Kootenay. Sizes for 19 broods ranged from 1 to 4 young (1Y-3, 2Y-8, 3Y-5, 4Y-3) with 13 broods having 2 to 3 young. Harrison (1978) suggests that adults may divide the brood between them, which could account for the high number of observations of broods of 2 young. The fledging period is 41 to 45 days (Fitzner, J.N. 1978).

Remarks The Long-billed Curlew is North America's largest shorebird. Its summer range has contracted considerably in the last century due to agricultural and urban expansion into natural grasslands. It appears on the "Blue Lists" of 1981 and 1982 (Tate 1981; Tate and Tate 1982). The fate of the Long-billed Curlew in British Columbia has been of concern since early in this century (Brooks 1918), and the problem of habitat loss and the resulting decline of this symbol of our vanishing natural grasslands continues. Some enhancement and expansion of Long-billed Curlew breeding habitat is planned for the east Kootenay by the British Columbia Wildlife Branch (Ohanjanian 1986b) which may help reverse those losses and declines. For a discussion of various aspects of the life history of the Long-billed Curlew in the northwestern United States, see J.N. Allen (1980), J.N. Fitzner (1978), Redmond and Jenni (1982, 1986), and Redmond (1986).