Long-billed Curlew • Bird Accounts • Fraser Valley Birding

Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus)

Status in the Checklist Area - (11) - Accidental to rare

Information

Long-billed curlews are listed as a Species at Risk in Canada. The population in B.C. is estimated to be about 500 birds. They breed in Central B.C. in grasslands and migrate south to the southern States and into Costa Rica. Migration is the best time to see these amazing birds as they fly through our area. Currently, most documented records for our area are from April and early May. Check agricultural fields with short grass or dirt areas with some shallow pools. They are our largest shorebird, with a body size near a crow's. Their amazingly long bills can be up to 9 inches in length. Females generally are larger and with longer bills than males and young birds.

Similar species:
The Whimbrel, which is even rarer, is similar but has bolder streaks on the head, a shorter bill and smaller body.

Sources:
Ehrlich, Dobkin and Wheye, (1988)
Sibley, D. (2000)

Noteworthy Data

Date	Location	Source(s)	Comments
March 30, 2015	Hope Airport, Hope	C. McDonald 2015	Feeding on the airport's grass runway. Photographed. Earliest record for chccklist area.
April 19, 2013	Chilliwack Central Road, Chilliwack	J. Maljaars 2013	Also seen on April 20, 2013 until early afternoon (C. McDonald 2013). Photographed.
April 15, 2013	Hope Airport, Hope	M. Force 2013 T. Plath 2013	Two individuals seen together on the airport's grass runway.
June 2, 2012	Harrison Lagoon, Harrison Hot Springs	K. Loos 2012	Also seen on June 3, 2012. Photographed. Only June record for the area.
Early August, 2011	Delair Farm, Hope	J. Delair 2011a	Two birds in his pasture.
May 7, 2011	Sumas Central Rd, Chilliwack	G. Gadsden 2011f	A lone bird preening its feathers before flying. Photographed
April 7, 2010	Banford Rd, Chilliwack	R. Toochin J. Osterhold 2010	Three feeding in old corn stubble field. Seen until April 9, 2010. Single bird seen on April 10, 2010. Photographed.
April 21,2009	Banford Rd, Chilliwack	J. Osterhold 2009	Feeding in dirt field. Seen also on April 23, 2009. Possibly same bird as April 12, 2009. Photographed.
April 12, 2009	Gallanders Rd, Chilliwack	B. Maljaars 2009	A single bird flew out from a field.
April 27, 2006	Leary School, Chilliwack	J. Overduin 2006	Two feeding in field. Last seen on April 28, 2006.
May 7, 2003	Bell Road, Abbotsford	B. Schmor 2003	Spotted in farmer's field.
April 18, 2000	Sumas Central Rd, Chilliwack	G. Gadsden 2000b	Feeding in recently ploughed field. Flew after an hour in a southwesterly direction. Photographed.

Photographs

Audio and Video

None available.

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