Nesting of Long-billed Curlews on Cultivated Fields

During the spring and summer of 1986, I studied the distribution and breeding biology of five rare birds in the Oklahoma Panhandle: Ferruginous Hawk (Hrrtcv regalis), Golden Engle (Aquiln cht-pctos), Prairie Falcon (Fnlco incsicn~rzrs), Mountain Plover (Clmradrirrs nzontnirrrs) and Long-billed Curlew (N~rinriiirrs ainrricn~iris). Longbilled Curlewsare regular migrants through the western half of Oklahoma, and summer residents in the western two-fifths of the Panhandle as well. Local farmers told me of finding curlew nests on cultivated land, but I was unsuccessful at verifying this. 1 did, however, gather circumstantial evidence. Between 20 April and 13 July 1986,I found 33 territories with either nests, chicksor agitated adult curlcws at a total of 28 different sites. These 28 locations were in cultivated fields (141, native shortgrass prairie (13), and other grassland (1). The latter had been restded with non-native species. Most cultivated land was either fallow and plowed strictly for weed control or was planted to wheat (Triticuiri aestiz~urn). The wheat fields variously contained growing plants, stubble or plowed stubble, depending on time of year. Among the 28 locations with curlews, I found two nests, both in native prairie. At 13 locations, there were broods of young birds, seven of which were in cultivated fields (Fig. 1). Here, at least 18 chicks comprized eight broods. Six more broods at five other locations in native prairie totalled at least 12 chicks. I saw adult curlews that showed signs of agitation at 14 additional locations. Seven of these, (with probably