Prime Habitat for Plovers Occurred After Missouri River Flood

Partially flooded bottomlands along the Missouri River provided prime habitat for plovers this autumn, following the receding waters of the 2011 flood. Suitable habitat which is not typically present occurred at the Horseshoe Lake Flats (east of Fort Calhoun), the La Platte Bottoms, at Schilling WMA, Hamburg Bend mitigation area, and along southwest of Bartlett, in Iowa.

Few records are available for the September-November period, but observations indicate numbers exceeded any previously known occurrences.

A lesser number were present in late September, but by latter October, the magnitude of their occurrence became apparent, based upon the first report by Clem Klaphake, a birding enthusiast from Bellevue. A first visit of his east of Fort Calhoun was followed by trips to the Schilling WMA east of Plattsmouth and then to a mitigation area south of Nebraska City.

After reading the exciting news online, other birders visited the Horseshoe Lake Flats to see what was present.

The peak count was made on the lowlands near Bartlett, Iowa, as reported in an IABirds post by Keith Dyche. What a number of plover he saw, along with large numbers of other species, especially the huge gathering of the America White Pelican, with enough present that an Omaha newspaper photographer took pictures and the editors thought they were special enough that a reporter wrote a short and relatively insignificant article that provided trite comments of no importance to the "real" birding community.

The count of more than a hundred plover was contributed by Jon King, to the Missouri Birds online forum.

Each detail recorded indicates the occurrence of this species in a distinctive and important manner. The available counts indicate what is known of this plover's occurrence at a few sites. The big unknown is what might have been present at the many other places along the Missouri River bottoms which were not visited. There may have been thousands of these birds appreciating habitat conditions suited to their survival?

The following available records are grouped into particular districts to provide a succinct list.

Date - 2011	Horseshoe Lake District	La Platte District	Plattsmouth District	Nebraska City District	Bartlett District	Squaw Creek District
09/28	- -	45	- -	- -	- -	- -
10/17	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1
10/24	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	14
10/25	300-350	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
10/26	- -	- -	14	- -	- -	- -
10/27	338	- -	95	- -	- -	- -
10/28	125	3	33	- -	- -	- -
10/29	152	- -	- -	- -	543	- -
11/01	- -	- -	- -	27	- -	102
11/05	27	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
11/12	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	4
11/13	7	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -
11/19	- -	- -	- -	- -	- -	1
11/25	- -	- -	- -	- -	4	- -

The Horseshoe Lake Flats observations convey the best numbers as based upon repeated visits. These observations denote the most birds of this species to have been reported for the state. The November 13 date is also one of the latest known.

The first report from near Bartlett was a single view of what was probably a greater occurrence than what is now known. There were four present east of Bartlett on the 25th, with two of them reported as missing a foot, according to Keith Dyche.

A report of the drab colored plover of the season was one noted by Larry Lade, at Squaw Creek NWR. By the time of his visit, refuge staff had ended their shorebird surveys, so any notes on this group of species were dependent on visiting birders.

It was an exciting season to see the American Golden-Plover in the Missouri River Valley. More records might have been gathered, but the efforts of birders, paying for their own gas and on their own time, is always appreciated.

Plover morning at the Horseshoe Lake Flats, November 5, 2011.

Recent Occurrences

Recent reports can be included to indicate the extent of occurrence of large numbers of this species.

On March 25, 2000 about 150 were observed at Forneys Marsh SWA, in western Iowa.

There were 188 at Bigelow Marsh, in northwest Missouri on April 21, 2004.

Squaw Creek NWR had a reported 120 on April 17, 2007, according to a note submitted to the Missouri birds online forum.

There are a number of reports for lesser numbers during the past ten years.

Historic Occurrence

The first record of the American Golden-Plover is from the Engineer Cantonment, from some time during the stay of the Long Expedition from late autumn 1819 to late spring 1820.

There are several records during the 1870s, associated with the myriad of birds taken during club hunts in the spring and autumn. An October 13, 1874 hunt listed 34 birds as being taken by shootists afield in eastern Nebraska, in the vicinity of the river.

On October 21, 1886 a single bird of this species was included in the take from the club hunt at the Stillwater Bottoms, a historic name for the lowland east of Fort Calhoun.

In 1888, they were noted as occurring along the flats near the river east of Peru.

There are only a few subsequent records, mostly for the 1910s, until the 1990s, when sightings still continued to be occasional.

Another Plover Considered

Numerous Black-bellied Plover also took advantage of conditions on the river bottoms this autumn.

Larger numbers were noted at the Horseshoe Lake Flats, along Highway Two in western Iowa near the river and at Squaw Creek NWR, as seen during regular bird surveys done by refuge staff.

There are fewer records readily available in the region for this species than for the American Golden-Plover.