Using Satellite Telemetry to Identify Long-billed Curlew Winter Habitat Use in the Southeastern Corner of the Chihuahuan Desert (Mexico)

Abstract

The Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus) is a species of national and international conservation priority due to its population declines. Little is known about their migration patterns and there is limited research on the species in Mexico which prevents conservation biologists from establishing effective conservation measures for the species in North America. The southeastern portion of the Chihuahuan Desert is one of the last areas of well-preserved grasslands in Mexico and supports a large number of wintering Long-billed Curlews. We tracked four Long-billed Curlews using satellite telemetry to determine their winter habitat use from October 2009 to March 2010. Locations were divided into foraging and roosting sites (seven habitat types each) with agricultural fields and fallow land preferred for foraging. We identified 14 roosting sites and characterized the vegetation of six of them. Tumbleweed (Salsola kali) was the predominant plant species at roost sites. Two main threats were detected on wintering grounds: exposure to pesticides and reduced access to water. We successfully documented fidelity to wintering, breeding and stop-over sites across three migratory cycles (2009–2012) of one of the marked birds.