Curlews on the move

Recently there has been some curlew migration discussion on the Texbirds mailing list. Never one to let something cool slip by me, I e-mailed Joel about the project.

Nebraska Long-billed Curlew Tracking Project is following two female Long-Billed Curlews (Numenius americanus) - the site is amazing. One has not been heard from since December, but the other has made an early fall migration; she left the wintering grounds in April, and is almost back on them already and it's only mid June!

"Feel free to blog about the project and the website. It is a fun part of the curlew project and I think people find it interesting."

...Joel's suggestion that this study is interesting is an understatement. Take a look at Long-billed Curlew life history. First of all, it's a sandy colored bird about the size of a football. On stilts. With a long neck. And a beak that is longer than its legs. The curlew tracking project takes this fantastically proportioned bird and then adds a telemetry pack. The fine print also lists their life expectancy of 8-10 years.

Joel also offered some reassurance to my question of whether or not the transmitter interfered with mating: "I do not believe the satellite transmitter interfere with mating, other than the small battery, the rest of the transmitter is flexible."

And now for a paragraph of sage advice, and part of the wisdom behind all bird tracking (emphasis mine):

Why Track Long-billed Curlews?

Long-billed Curlew are migratory shorebirds that spend only a quarter or a third of their annual cycle on their Nebraska breeding grounds. While understanding Long-billed Curlew reproductive ecology in Nebraska is important and is part of the broader project, knowing where Nebraska curlews spend the rest of the year is equally important. For instance, the species' habitat and food resources may be secure in Nebraska, but curlews may face threats on their wintering grounds in Texas, California, or Mexico (we don't know for sure where Nebraska curlews go?). Linking birds breeding grounds with their wintering areas and migrations routes is key to conserving the species.

And so we end on a note of conservation: as guests on this planet, we need to make sure that what we do is not at the expense of others. Birds know no borders.