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Demography and Populations
Measures Of Breeding Activity
Age At First Breeding; Intervals Between Breeding
No data.
Clutch
See Breeding: clutch size, above and Breeding phenology, above.
Annual/Lifetime Reproductive Success
Estimated nest success of 117 nests (>1 chick) in n. Alaska 73% ± 2 SD (Moitoret et al. 1996).
Number Of Broods Normally Reared For Season
One.
Life Span And Survivorship
Generally unknown, but two band returns 3 and 7 yr after marking (Bird Banding Laboratory unpubl.).
Disease And Body Parasites
Specific diseases unknown, but at Salton Sea, CA, small numbers (1996, n = 73; 1997, n = 5; 1998, n = 8; USFWS, Region 1 unpubl.) of dead dowitchers (most likely Long-billed based on location; Shuford et al. 1999) detected during outbreaks of avian cholera and botulism. Body parasites are known to infest the Long-billed Dowitcher. Mallophaga detected include low numbers (1.3 ± 0.6 SD lice/bird) of chewing lice (Carduiceps cingulatus) found on heads of 3 of 4 individuals examined in nw. California (Hunter and Colwell 1994) and unrecorded numbers of Quadraceps klatti (Malcomson 1960). Nematodes and trematodes also detected. In a sample of Long-billed Dowitchers (n = 34) examined for Skrjabinoclava spp. (Nematoda: Acuarioidea), none infected; perhaps because of this species’ affinity for fresh water, where it does not come in contact with intermediate hosts (marine crustaceans) of Skrjabinoclava spp. (Wong and Anderson 1990). Large numbers of Himasthla (Trematoda) parasites reported in Short-billed Dowitchers (Didyk and Burt 1997).
Causes Of Mortality
Few data. Sixteen of 103 dowitchers (based on time of year, most likely Long-billed) wintering at Bolinas Lagoon, CA, killed by raptors (Page and Whitacre 1975). See Behavior: predation, above, and Disease and body parasites, above.
Range
Natal Philopatry
No data.
Fidelity To Breeding Site And Winter Home Range
Very little information. Of 23 Long-billed Dowitchers banded at a wintering site in Costa Rica, none seen again (Smith and Stiles 1979). In n. Alaska, of 5 banded adults, none returned to previous year’s nest site (Moitoret et al. 1996).
Dispersal From Breeding Site Or Colony
No data.
Home Range
No information. See Behavior: spacing, above.
Population Status
Densities And Numbers
Most counts during migration period. Peak counts of 100,000 of this species reported for Lahontan Valley, NV, during spring 1987 and 1990; numbers vary greatly among years (Neel and Henry 1997). At Copper River Delta, AK, up to “several” 10,000s during spring migration (Isleib and Kessel 1973:88). At Malheur NWR, OR, high counts in Aug >30,000 (Gilligan et al. 1994). Numbers of both dowitchers >60,000 on San Francisco Bay, CA, in Apr (Stenzel and Page 1988). Winter and spring counts of >100,000 dowitchers (most Long-billed) in Central Valley, CA, wetlands (Shuford et al. 1998). At Great Salt Lake, UT, >31,000 dowitchers (mostly Long-billed) in mid-Aug (Shuford et al. 1994b). Dowitcher numbers in coastal Sinaloa, Mexico, approach 70,000 individuals (Engilis et al. 1998). In spring, major sites in Great Basin and Great Plains include Great Salt Lake, UT (53,712); Carson Lake , NV (27,000); and Cheyenne Bottoms, KS (> 50,000). In fall, Lahontan Valley, NV (85,000, including Carson Lake and Stillwater NWR), Cheyenne Bottoms (>50,000), and Devils Lake, ND (45,000, including Minnewaukan Flats and sewage ponds; Neel and Henry 1997; Skagen et al. 1999).
Ten-year average of nest densities for Point McIntyre area of Prudhoe Bay, AK: 0.4 nests/km2; densities of breeding Long-billed Dowitchers varied from 1.3 to 11.8 birds/km2; no significant differences among years in numbers of nests or individuals (TERA 1993). Postbreeding-season densities for Point McIntyre area of Prudhoe Bay averaged 6.7 individuals/km2for a 6-yr period; no significant differences among years (TERA 1993); increase toward the coast (TERA 1994). Average density of 2–3 individuals/km2on Wrangel I., Russia (Stishof et al. 1991). Mean winter densities in flooded rice fields of California = 87.3 birds/km2± 39.0 SD (Elphick and Oring 1998).
Trends
World population estimated to be >500,000 (U.S. Shorebird Conservation Plan unpubl.). In Florida, upward trend in wintering populations in recent years (Stevenson and Anderson 1994), but not known whether this reflects shifting populations or true population increases. In Canada, population thought to be stable (Morrison 1993–1994). Breeding-range expansion in Siberia may indicate a population increase (P. Tomkovich pers. comm.) or a range shift. Significant negative trend observed in eastern populations of Short-billed Dowitcher (Morrison et al. 1994).
Population Regulation
No data. Avian predation on breeding and wintering grounds and severe weather on breeding grounds likely have major roles in regulating populations.
Takekawa, John Y. and Nils Warnock. 2000. Long-billed Dowitcher (Limnodromus scolopaceus), The Birds of North America Online (A. Poole, Ed.). Ithaca: Cornell Lab of Ornithology; Retrieved from the Birds of North America Online: http://bna.birds.cornell.edu/bna/species/493
