Shorebirds in Nebraska: the invisible migration
Piping Plover
The Platte River valley is internationally renowned for the spring migration of Sandhill Cranes and their endangered cousins, Whooping Cranes. Millions of ducks and geese also use our Rainwater Basin wetlands south of the Platte as a staging area, where they can pause to rest and fatten up during their northward journey.
The migration season doesn’t end in March, when the geese, cranes and tourists move on. A less noticeable, but equally impressive, spring migration gets underway in April and May. This is the migration of millions of “shorebirds”, a term that describes a collection of many different species of wetland-foraging wading birds, primarily sandpipers and plovers.
Shorebirds migrate north in spring and spend a few brief weeks on their breeding grounds, then they head south again as early as mid-July. This southern migration is still underway and these birds may be spotted in the Rainwater Basin. Shorebirds don’t travel in family groups. Some species travel in small, loose flocks in spring, but most fly solo as they head south for winter.
These small, often long-legged birds are champion long-distance flyers. For instance, Pectoral Sandpipers winter at Tierra del Fuego at the southern tip of South America, but their breeding grounds are in central Siberia. Scientists are still uncertain about how birds find their way across the planet on their epic migrations, but most believe that the Earth’s magnetic field provides birds some form of guidance.
Shorebirds were heavily hunted by commercial and sport hunters in the 1800s and early 1900s. Most species are now protected by the migratory bird treaty between the US, Canada and Mexico. Limited hunting of snipe and woodcock is still allowed in Nebraska. Nearly all shorebird species recovered well after hunting was discontinued. One species, the Eskimo Curlew, which was once nearly as common as Killdeer, is believed to be extinct. Piping Plovers and Least Terns are still endangered but their mid-continent populations appear to be slowly recovering.
The primary threat to shorebirds today is no longer hunters, but loss of habitat. Their winter habitat in Central and South America is threatened by logging and pollution. Out-of-control snow goose populations are damaging the Arctic breeding habitat of some species. Habitat along the Platte River is being degraded by phragmites, an invasive species of wetland reed.
Identifying shorebirds can be a real challenge for birdwatchers. One wildlife biologist that I know refers to shorebirds as “LBJs”, which stands for “little brown jobs.” Many species share similar tan, brown and white color schemes. Birders are then challenge to distinguish them using other characteristics, such as their calls, the color and length of their legs and the shape and color of their bills. Identification can be further complicated by differences between adults and juveniles and changes in plumage within species from spring to fall. In my opinion, however, the difficulty of identification just enhances the resulting satisfaction when you do figure out the species of an LBJ you sight on a wetland.
Shorebirds are migrating south right now. Grab your binoculars and bird identification guide, and go visit the Platte, a nearby wetland or a sandpit. I bet you will be pleasantly surprised to find quite a variety of LBJs. You might even get to know some of them by name.
— John Thorburn
Manager
Tri-Basin NRD
Originally published in the Kearney Hub
About the Chicken Dance Trail
The Chicken Dance Trail is actually a collection of great bird watching locations in southwest and south central Nebraska, between the Platte and Republican Rivers. Because the area includes the narrowest section of the hourglass-shaped Central Flyway, the Chicken Dance Trail is uniquely situated for birders. Millions of different birds come through here during spring and fall migrations, making the Chicken Dance Trail one of the best places in the country to see a wide variety of species in a relatively small area.
Our bird watching sites were developed by local naturalists and birding experts and are collected into a series of bird watching “adventures” which are described in detail, along with interactive maps, on our Web site at www.chickendancetrail.com. Other resources include a birding chart, useful birding links, and guides to restaurants, lodging and activities in the area.
Our wildlife and bird watching sites were developed by local naturalists and are collected into a series of “adventures” which are described in detail, along with interactive maps, on our Web site at www.chickendancetrail.com. Other resources include a birding chart, useful links, and guides to restaurants, lodging and activities in the area.
Come and visit and learn why we say, “Birds love this part of Nebraska...and you will too!”
Special Thanks to:
Nebraska Game and Parks, Birds of Nebraska
www.ngpc.state.ne.us/wildlife/guides/birds/findbirds.asp