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Status of Curlew Sandpiper Calidris Ferruginea in Canada and the United States of America, Excepting Alaska

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Status of Curlew Sandpiper Calidris Ferruginea in Canada and the United States of America, Excepting Alaska 28 International Wader Studies 19 Status of Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea in Canada and the United States of America, excepting Alaska JENNIFER W. HANSON 1104 Aspen Drive, Plainsboro, NJ 08536, USA Hanson, J.W. 2006. Status of Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea in Canada and the United States of America, excepting Alaska. International Wader Studies 19: 28–30. In the first half of the 20th century, most North American Curlew Sandpiper records came from Long Island, New York, with subsequent records from a number of sites. On the East Coast, there is a July peak in Curlew Sandpiper reports, and then reports tail off until October. Duting a smaller peak in May, in the Cape Hatteras area, North Carolina, multiple individuals are seen annually during northward migration. Most interior records come from the Great Lakes region, most frequently Ontario and Michigan. Curlew Sandpipers have been recorded all along the West Coast from British Columbia to southern California. Unlike most of the rest of North America, West Coast records are mainly on southwards passage; the peak is in September and most birds are likely to be juveniles. INTRODUCTION York City metropolis but had not yet been completely devel- oped. A cadre of knowledgeable and enthusiastic observers The Curlew Sandpiper Calidris ferruginea is a frequent avian was based in New York City; even though their reports tailed vagrant to North America. In some areas, it is more a rare off during World War II due to wartime restrictions, it was migrant than an accidental visitor. As a result, patterns of evident by 1950 that Curlew Sandpipers occurred almost occurrence are more easily noted for the Curlew Sandpiper annually in this area (Cruickshank 1942, Bull 1975). Other than for many less common species. These patterns differ areas that had their first Curlew Sandpiper records during this considerably in different parts of the United States and era were the West Coast south of Alaska, with a bird collected Canada. Although these patterns can be quite marked, espe- at Masset, British Columbia, on 31 July 1936 (Roberson cially in areas where Curlew Sandpipers occur most regularly, 1980, Godfrey 1986), and the south-eastern U.S., with a bird there are still many enigmas about the occurrence of this at St Augustine, Florida, in 1949 (Robertson & Woolfenden species in North America. In this paper, I provide an over- 1992). view of the Curlew Sandpiper’s status in North America out- With increasing numbers of birdwatchers during the side Alaska (Gibson & Kessel 2006). second half of the 20th century, more areas of North America Many of the reports and records in this article were were covered regularly and more Curlew Sandpipers were gleaned from Birders Journal, North American Birds/Field recorded. Frequently, these new spots proved to attract the Notes/American Birds, Western Birds and BirdEast. “Record” species consistently. For example, the first North Carolina refers to an observation that was accepted by a records record was 29–30 June 1971 at Morehead City (Teulings committee or author; “report” refers to an undocumented 1971), but before long observers realized that the Cape observation. Hatteras area, North Carolina, was the best place in North America to find Curlew Sandpipers, with multiple individu- HISTORICAL STATUS als seen annually during northward migration. Currently, descriptions of the Curlew Sandpiper’s North The Curlew Sandpiper was first recorded in North America American status are mixed. Writing of the species’ traditional by John James Audubon, who took two specimens at Great stronghold, the East Coast from New York to Delaware, Egg Harbor, New Jersey, in spring 1829. He also collected Boyle et al. (1996) said that it is “a species reported with a specimen on eastern Long Island, New York, “near Sandy decreasing frequency in recent years.” For many years the Hook” (Buonanno 1998). These areas subsequently proved Curlew Sandpiper had been reported annually in New Jersey, to be among the North American locations where Curlew usually with more than one report per year; there were single Sandpipers most regularly occur. reports in 1998, 2000 and 2002, and two in 2003 (and none A few more Curlew Sandpipers were taken by hunters and in 1999 and 2001) (BirdEast archive). On the other hand, in collectors during the 19th century. By the end of the century, both Missouri (Brock 1998) and Colorado (Truan & Percival specimens had been collected from the states of Maine and 1998) the first Curlew Sandpiper records were in 1998, and Massachusetts and the provinces of New Brunswick, Nova Nova Scotia had “an unprecedented fall” with as many as five Scotia, and Ontario (Forbush 1925, Godfrey 1986, Tufts reported on southward migration in 1999 (Bain & Shanahan 1986). There are some other reports from this era, but con- 1999). A possible explanation for Curlew Sandpipers appear- flicting details in the literature and lack of extant specimens ing almost regular at favoured sites may be due to the fact that make these reports difficult to assess. birds repeat a route that has worked for them in the past. In the first half of the 20th century, by far the most North When these birds die, the Curlew Sandpiper may abruptly American Curlew Sandpiper records came from eastern Long become less common or cease to occur at a site. The inevi- Island, New York. This area was conveniently near the New table fluctuations of weather patterns, breeding success, and 28 Hanson: Canada and the United States of America 29 habitat conditions at favoured sites certainly affect the spe- Curlew Sandpiper, far fewer than Nova Scotia. cies’ status. Much remains to be learned about these effects. Relatively little is known about the Curlew Sandpiper’s occurrence in the interior of North America, compared to the DISTRIBUTION coasts. Most interior records come from the Great Lakes region, most frequently Ontario and Michigan, which indi- The Curlew Sandpiper has been found in most U.S. states and cates that Curlew Sandpipers regularly move through this Canadian provinces. Mlodinow & O’Brien (1996) listed 35 area on their migrations. A number of interior states and prov- states (excluding Alaska and Hawaii) with published reports inces have had their first Curlew Sandpiper records recently; of the species. The species has since appeared in five addi- most of these are away from the Great Lakes area. It is pos- tional states (Colorado, Missouri, Nebraska, New Mexico, sible that Curlew Sandpipers fly over interior areas away and Tennessee). It seems likely that the Curlew Sandpiper from the Great Lakes, being found only occasionally if they will eventually be recorded in every U.S. state. In Canada, stop to rest and feed. As records accumulate here, the patterns only the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, and the Yukon have should become clear. Seasonally, interior reports show simi- no records yet, but all are large, sparsely-populated areas with lar trends to East Coast reports, with a peak in May and few resident birders. For purposes of discussing the occur- another slightly lower peak in July, tailing off through Octo- rence of the Curlew Sandpiper in North America, I will split ber. Southern parts of the interior on the Gulf Coast, such as the continent into three parts: East Coast, the interior, and Texas and Louisiana, show the same May peak in Curlew West Coast. Sandpiper reports as do more northerly portions of the region. Curlew Sandpipers visit the East Coast annually. The Curlew Sandpipers have been recorded all along the West regions with the most reports are North Carolina’s Outer Coast from British Columbia to southern California, with Banks and coastal Delaware, where the species is best clas- records from both the outer coast and from protected waters sified as an uncommon migrant. In both locations, multiple such as San Francisco Bay. Inland records for the West Coast individuals are seen during southward migration. In Dela- states and provinces are extremely rare, possibly rarer than ware, the species is also annual on northward migration, in the east. Unlike most of the rest of North America, West though it is much less common on the Outer Banks. The Coast records are mainly on southwards passage. It also maximum for North America is five birds seen at Portsmouth appears that a larger percentage of West Coast Curlew Sand- Island, North Carolina, 28 July 1992 (LeGrand 1993); four pipers are first year birds. Because the West Coast’s peak is individuals at a time have been seen in Delaware, New York, in September, and juveniles in North America are seen in this and in North Carolina (Hanson 1999). Other locations where month almost exclusively, this could be a real pattern, but age the species is annual or nearly so are Chincoteague, Virginia; information is frequently not included in reports in the litera- coastal Atlantic County, New Jersey; eastern Long Island, ture, especially older ones. Paulson (1993) recorded a juvenile New York; and coastal south-eastern Massachusetts. Curlew Sandpiper on 17 July 1983, at Tillamook, Oregon, but On the East Coast as a whole, there is a July peak in this seems too early a date and is likely to have been a mis- Curlew Sandpiper reports, and then reports tail off until identification, a possibility left open by the observer. October, with a few scattered reports later in the year. There is a second, slightly smaller peak in May. There are few DISCUSSION reports of birds spending the nonbreeding season in North America, mostly from Florida. An unusual report is of a bird The question remains why Curlew Sandpipers appear so fre- which stayed at Fort Myers Beach, Florida, from 14 October quently in North America. Another Old World wader with as 1993 to 15 May 1994 (Mlodinow & O’Brien 1996).
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