Long-Billed Curlew

Long-billed curlews nest in short grass where they depend upon their cryptic coloration to fool predators.

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Within the bird world, there are some crazy adaptations. For instance, there are birds larger than a man that can kick a hole through a car door. There are birds with bizarre and amazing courtship dances and colorful and spectacular ornamentation to match. There is the crossbill, who’s crossed bill-tips allow it to pry open stubborn pine cones. There are birds that almost never land, ones that can dive to great depths in the ocean and withstand Antarctic cold. The fastest animal on the planet is a stooping peregrine falcon. No wonder birding is the fastest growing recreational outdoor activity.

In Eastern Idaho, and especially Island Park, we are blessed to have one of those very unique birds, equipped for a very specific lifestyle—the long-billed curlew. This long-billed and long-legged bird is North America’s largest shorebird. The bill alone is about eight inches long and it makes one wonder, which came first, the long legs or the long bill? Without long legs, the long bill would be cumbersome and likely a hinderance. Without the long bill, the ground would be a long way down from those long legs.

Long-billed curlews are birds of the West and Mid-West during the breeding season. Their range extends from northern California to central Nebraska and from central Utah to southern Alberta. Within this range, they are looking for shortgrass prairie habitat. At one time, southwestern Idaho was home to the largest population of nesting long-billed curlews in the United States. Today, they are still around, numbering about 200 individuals, but according to the latest State Wildlife Action Plan (2023), they are listed as a species of greatest conservation need as a tier 2 species: “ Tier 2 SGCN are secondary in priority and represent species with high conservation needs—that is, species with longer-term vulnerabilities or patterns suggesting management intervention is needed but not necessarily facing imminent extinction or having the highest management profile (Idaho State Wildlife Action Plan).” One of the greatest threats to Idaho’s southwestern curlews remains “recreational” illegal shooting.

Male and female long-billed curlews look similar. They are large, with nearly a three-foot wingspan, with a checked pattern of black, brown, and white on sides and back with a white to rufous belly, and show rusty red on the wings in flight. However, the female is larger and typically has a longer bill with a more decided downward curve at the tip.

The bill that gives the bird its name seems impossibly long and thin, but is capable of probing deeply for burrowing prey. The gentle downward curvature of the bill earned it the genus name of Numenius, which, according to Cornell’s All About Birds website, means, “of the new moon”, actually referring to the first sliver of a moon which the bill resembles in shape.

Male and female long-billed curlews take turns incubating the eggs, with the shift change occurring just after sunrise, when the female takes over duty from the male. This is a careful process and the female approaches the nest very cautiously, so as not to give away the location to a predator. It also gives observant biologists an opportunity to capture and band or even place radio-tracking devices on the females.

Male long-billed curlews remain actively engaged in raising the brood once it hatches. In fact, the female usually abandons the brood after two to three weeks, leaving her mate to finish raising them.

The largest breeding population of long-billed curlews in Idaho now resides on Henrys Lake Flat in Island Park. They are in the direct path of several recent development proposals. A significant reduction in habitat for these birds could be one tipping point toward a listing under the Endangered Species Act. Let’s hope we can keep development at bay and keep the Flats as intact habitat for these birds.

 

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Help Idaho Wildlife

When we traveled across the state in October 2017, most of the vehicles we saw using the wildlife management areas did not have wildlife plates. Buying wildlife plates is a great way for non-hunters and hunters alike to support wildlife-based recreation like birding.

C'mon folks, let's help Idaho's wildlife by proudly buying and displaying a wildlife license plate on each of our vehicles! 

See below for information on Idaho plates. Most states have wildlife plates so if you live outside Idaho, check with your state's wildlife department or vehicle licensing division for availability of state wildlife plates where you live. 

And tell them that you heard about it from Nature-track.com!

Wildlife License Plates

Great news! as of 2024, there are three NEW designs for license plates. They still are bluebird, cutthroat trout and elk, but they are beautiful.

Idaho Wildlife license plates provide essential funding that benefits the great diversity of native plants and wildlife that are not hunted, fished or trapped—over 10,000 species or 98% of Idaho’s species diversity. Game species that share the same habitats (such as elk, deer, antelope, sage-grouse, salmon, trout) also benefit from these specialty plates.

No state tax dollars are provided for wildlife diversity, conservation education and recreation programs. Neither are any revenues from the sale of hunting or fishing licenses spent on nongame species. Instead, these species depend on direct donations, federal grants, fundraising initiatives—and the Idaho Wildlife license plates.

Both my vehicles have Bluebird Plates. I prefer the bluebird because the nongame program gets 70 percent of the money from bluebird plates, but only 60 percent of the money from elk and trout plates - 10 percent of the money from elk plates supports wildlife disease monitoring and testing programs (to benefit the livestock industry) and 10 percent from cutthroat plates supports non-motorized boat access.

Incidentally, in 2014, the Idaho Legislature denied the Department of Fish and Game the ability to add new plates or even to change the name of the elk and cutthroat plates (very specific) to wildlife and fish plates, a move that would have allowed for changing images occasionally and generating more revenue. It would seem that they believe that we Idahoans don't want a well funded wildlife program.

I think it is time we let the Legislature know that Idahoan support wildlife funding and that we would like to see these generic plates come to fruition.