Nebraska Ornithologists' Union
Date of this Version
12-1990
Citation
Clausen, "Mountain Plover Sighted in Kimball County," from Nebraska Bird Review (December 1990) 58(4).
Abstract
In late April of 1990 I went to Kimball Co. to search for Mountain Plovers. Over a period of a week I walked several sections where Mountain Plovers have been sighted in the past. No Plovers were found at that time.
After I returned to my office in Lincoln, Fritz Knopf (Avian Studies Biologist, U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Colorado) contacted me to discuss Mountain Plover nesting habitat and behavior. Fritz offered to make a quick drive around Kimball Co. to see how the habitat in Nebraska compared to that used by nesting Mountain Plovers in Colorado.
On 3 May 1990, Fritz and Jim Sedgewick sighted one adult in an overgrazed shortgrass prairie in Kimball Co., 5 miles west and 1.5 miles north of Bushnell. On 21 May I visited the Kimball Co. location and found an adult Mountain Plover sitting on a nest approximately 50 feet from the road. When I got out of my vehicle the adult ran from sight. The nest was a small depression in the ground, next to a cowpie, and contained three olive colored brown-mottled eggs. When I returned to my vehicle the adult reappeared. After about 20 minutes of running and stopping in a zigzag fashion, the adult returned to the nest. No other Plovers or nests were observed in the area.
Comments
Copyright 1990, Nebraska Ornithologists' Union. Used by permission.