Montana Peaks, Streams and Prairie by E. Donnall Thomas Jr

Author:E. Donnall Thomas Jr.
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: INscribe Digital
Published: 2015-03-15T16:00:00+00:00

Chapter 17

MOUNTAIN PLOVER

Charadrius montanus

I was glassing a remote, windswept stretch of prairie for antelope one hot August day when an unfamiliar bird appeared incidentally in my field of vision. At first glance, it appeared to be a shorebird, but there was no shore for miles around. Observing its behavior—standing rigidly upright and motionless, then darting quickly ahead to peck at the ground—supported this initial impression, as the bird’s behavior reminded me of a sandpiper on a beach. Further study revealed a rounded, robin-sized bird, tan on top and white on the belly, with a small black crown and short bill like a plover but none of the black neck markings of other Montana plover species. I was stumped. Only when I returned home and consulted my reference books did I realize that I’d seen a mountain plover, an uncommon bird that in its own way defines eastern Montana prairie habitat as surely as the antelope I didn’t see that day and the sagebrush through which I’d walked for miles.

Six species of plover occur in Montana, of which only the familiar killdeer can be considered common. With their piercing call and conspicuous territorial behavior, killdeer are easy to spot and identify almost anywhere in Montana, often, but not necessarily, near low-lying standing water in marshes and ponds. Observers will also likely encounter the tiny semipalmated plover—a bird not much bigger than its name—on shorelines or mud flats throughout the state. The rest will require some serious looking to locate, none more so than the mountain plover.

The bird’s name is misleading. In 1838, naturalist John Townsend (of the Townsend’s solitaire) observed a new species of plover in the Rocky Mountains. When the birds appeared at the same location the following year, he assumed the species preferred mountain habitat and misnamed it accordingly. In fact, the mountain plover is a bird of dry, flat, open shortgrass prairie, atypical habitat for members of the shorebird family. Recent studies have shown that when selecting nesting sites, mountain plovers prefer nearly barren ground with grass no more than three inches high and no more than 5 percent slope in elevation.

Such habitat was once typical of prairie dog towns and areas grazed by bison. Today, the bison are largely gone, but the mountain plover still prefers to nest near prairie dogs when possible, especially in Montana. One population study in north-central Montana showed that 74 percent of the mountain plovers in the area resided in prairie dog towns. There are several reasons for this affinity. Abandoned prairie dog holes offer shelter from weather and predators. Although mountain plovers feed predominantly on insects, they also eat seeds and forbs commonly found in open areas that prairie dogs have grazed. Predators may be the prime consideration. Eggs and chicks sustain a mortality rate of 50 percent during their first summer, primarily due to coyotes and foxes. Nesting birds and their eggs are well camouflaged on open ground, which also provides predators less stalking cover. To counter the high mortality rate among their young, mountain plovers produce several broods between June and August.

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