{"id":14602,"date":"2014-03-23T05:27:31","date_gmt":"2014-03-23T11:27:31","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/?p=14602"},"modified":"2025-11-17T10:14:36","modified_gmt":"2025-11-17T16:14:36","slug":"the-long-billed-curlews-are-back-in-utah","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2014\/03\/23\/the-long-billed-curlews-are-back-in-utah\/","title":{"rendered":"Long-billed Curlews Are Back In Utah!"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"CurlewLong-billed Curlew walking the shore of the Gulf of Mexico – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/1000, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 340mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

I saw my first of the year Long-billed Curlews two days ago on Antelope Island State Park flying overhead. They weren’t close enough to photograph but I know that soon I will have them in my viewfinder again.<\/p>\n

The first time I recall ever\u00a0seeing a Long-billed Curlew was in Florida and I was thoroughly enchanted by its beautiful warm colors, the grace with which it moved and the elegant curves of its body and bill.<\/p>\n

These curlews are North America’s largest sandpiper with a wingspan of between 30 to 39 inches, they tower over the smaller peeps that share its breeding and wintering grounds. Female Long-billed Curlews are generally a bit larger than the male and they also have the longest bill of the two sexes.<\/p>\n

\"Long-billedLong-billed Curlew with Fiddler Crab – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/1000, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 340mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

In Florida the long-billed curlews feed on small crustaceans like the fiddler crab pictured above, they also probe for insects, worms and small fish. The curvature of the bill is adapted to probing for food in wet sand, tidal mud, marshy areas of its wintering grounds and in the grasslands of the prairies of the western parts of North America.<\/p>\n

The bird pictured above didn’t go to the breeding grounds with the other curlews, instead it spent the summer on the north beach of Fort De Soto in Florida, which gave me ample opportunities to photograph it while I was still living there in 2009.<\/p>\n

\"Long-billedLong-billed Curlew near Sea Purslane and the wrack line – Nikon D200, handheld, f6.3, 1\/350, ISO 250, Nikkor 80-400mm VR at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

During the time I was able to observe and photograph the long-billed curlew in Florida I never once heard it call<\/span><\/a>. I watched it preen, bathe, hunt, eat and rest and was surprised at how close it would come to me as I laid in the sand photographing it or when I would sit quietly in the shallow waters of the lagoons. It seemed fearless of me. But my approach to photographing shorebirds is to not cause them alarm and allowing them to come closer to me while being very still.\u00a0My approach\u00a0paid off many times.<\/p>\n

\"Long-billedYoung male Long-billed Curlew in early morning light – Nikon D200, f5.6, 1\/640, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm<\/span><\/p>\n

The first time I saw a Long-billed Curlew in Utah was at Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge<\/span><\/a>\u00a0and I was utterly surprised to see one in such different habitat than I was used to seeing them in Florida. As I grow as a bird photographer I have learned that quite often migratory birds live in very different habitats during breeding season than during winter.<\/p>\n

Curlews seem to return to the Utah prairies around late March to early April. The young male pictured above was photographed on April 24, 2010 in the early morning.<\/p>\n

\"CurlewCurlew in the grasslands of Utah – Nikon D200, f7.1, 1\/500, ISO 400, Nikkor 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

It was in Utah that for the first time I heard the hauntingly beautiful call of the Long-billed Curlew. It is the kind of sound that once you have heard it you won’t ever forget it. For me, now that I live in Utah, I look forward to those calls early\u00a0in the\u00a0spring and throughout their breeding season.<\/p>\n

\"Long-billedLong-billed Curlew hunting in the grasses of Utah – <\/strong>D200, f7.1, 1\/1000, ISO 320, 200-400mm VR with 1.4x TC at 400mm, natural light<\/span><\/p>\n

If you have never heard the call of the Long-billed Curlew I hope that at some point in your life that you do because\u00a0it is as beautiful as the Long-billed Curlews are.<\/p>\n

Mia<\/p>\n

Click here<\/span><\/a> to see more of my Long-billed Curlew photos plus facts and information about this species.<\/p>\n

There are two shorebirds that can be mistaken for a Long-billed Curlew, they are Marbled Godwits and Whimbrels. They have similar coloring and all have long bills but the long-billed curlew has the longest bill. The Marbled Godwit’s bill is never as curved as the Long-billed Curlew and the Whimbrels bill is long but thicker. There are also differences in plumage. See below.<\/p>\n

\"Whimbrel<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

I saw my first of the year Long-billed Curlews two days ago on Antelope Island State Park flying overhead. They weren’t close enough to photograph but I know that soon I will have them in my viewfinder again.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":163992,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":true,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[511,124,27,1148,25,704,199,26],"tags":[4039,4008,4808,4809,3981,4070,2147,4109,4038,4077,3970,4132,4062,4133,3980,3982,4891,274,3996,815],"class_list":["post-14602","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-antelope-island-state-park","category-bear-river-migratory-bird-refuge","category-avian","category-box-elder-county-utah","category-florida","category-fort-de-soto-county-park","category-long-billed-curlews","category-utah","tag-beach","tag-box-elder-county","tag-curlew","tag-curlews","tag-davis-county","tag-female","tag-fiddler-crab","tag-grasses","tag-grasslands","tag-gulf-of-mexico","tag-hunting","tag-long-billed-curlew","tag-male","tag-numenius-americanus","tag-pinellas-county","tag-sea-purslane","tag-shore","tag-shorebirds-2","tag-water","tag-wrack-line"],"aioseo_notices":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-shoreline-mia-mcpherson-6031.jpg","jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p11Mom-3Nw","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":8503,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2013\/06\/01\/the-candlestick-birds-long-billed-curlews\/","url_meta":{"origin":14602,"position":0},"title":"Candlestick Birds – Long-billed Curlews","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"June 1, 2013","format":false,"excerpt":"I've been enjoying seeing Long-billed Curlews for several weeks now in northern Utah. These large shorebirds birds are also called \"Candlestick birds\" and \"Sickle Birds\" because of their long bills.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Long-billed Curlew in a field of Cheatgrass, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/long-billed-curlew-mia-mcpherson-7367.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/long-billed-curlew-mia-mcpherson-7367.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/long-billed-curlew-mia-mcpherson-7367.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/long-billed-curlew-mia-mcpherson-7367.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":51346,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2018\/03\/22\/long-billed-curlews-shorebirds-of-the-great-basin\/","url_meta":{"origin":14602,"position":1},"title":"Long-billed Curlews – Shorebirds of the Great Basin","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 22, 2018","format":false,"excerpt":"It was one year ago today that I saw and heard my first Long-billed Curlews of the year and this morning as I sit here knowing there are cloudy skies outside I am wondering if the curlews have returned to northern Utah today as well.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Long-billed Curlew in the grasses on Antelope Island, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/long-billed-curlew-male-grasses-mia-mcpherson-0604.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/long-billed-curlew-male-grasses-mia-mcpherson-0604.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/long-billed-curlew-male-grasses-mia-mcpherson-0604.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/06\/long-billed-curlew-male-grasses-mia-mcpherson-0604.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":45294,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2017\/03\/02\/listening-for-long-billed-curlews\/","url_meta":{"origin":14602,"position":2},"title":"Listening For Long-billed Curlews","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"March 2, 2017","format":false,"excerpt":"The first of March always makes me think of and listen for Long-billed Curlews, our largest shorebird of North America.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Long-billed Curlew in spring grasses, Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-grasses-mia-mcpherson-0324.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-grasses-mia-mcpherson-0324.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-grasses-mia-mcpherson-0324.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-grasses-mia-mcpherson-0324.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":24945,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2015\/05\/31\/growth-of-bills-in-long-billed-curlews\/","url_meta":{"origin":14602,"position":3},"title":"Growth of Bills in Long-billed Curlews","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"May 31, 2015","format":false,"excerpt":"I thought a post on the growth of bills in Long-billed Curlews might interest some of my readers.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Long-billed Curlew chick at Bear River NWR, Bear River Migratory Bird Refuge, Box Elder County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/long-billed-curlew-chick-mia-mcpherson-7781.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/long-billed-curlew-chick-mia-mcpherson-7781.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/long-billed-curlew-chick-mia-mcpherson-7781.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/07\/long-billed-curlew-chick-mia-mcpherson-7781.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":4785,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2012\/04\/14\/long-billed-curlews-a-territorial-encounter\/","url_meta":{"origin":14602,"position":4},"title":"Long-billed Curlews – A Territorial Encounter","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 14, 2012","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday on Antelope Island State Park I witnessed and photographed a territorial encounter between two Long-billed Curlew (Numenius americanus) males that occurred while a female was nearby.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Long-billed Curlew Appeasement behavior on Antelope Island State Park, Davis County, Utah","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-fight-mia-mcpherson-3803.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-fight-mia-mcpherson-3803.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-fight-mia-mcpherson-3803.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-fight-mia-mcpherson-3803.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]},{"id":38649,"url":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/2016\/04\/21\/male-long-billed-curlew-on-antelope-island\/","url_meta":{"origin":14602,"position":5},"title":"Male Long-billed Curlew on Antelope Island","author":"Mia McPherson","date":"April 21, 2016","format":false,"excerpt":"The Long-billed Curlews on Antelope Island are fascinating subjects to photograph and observe or anywhere for that matter.","rel":"","context":"In "Antelope Island State Park"","block_context":{"text":"Antelope Island State Park","link":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/category\/locations\/utah\/antelope-island-state-park\/"},"img":{"alt_text":"Male Curlew calling in Utah on Antelope Island State Park, Davis County","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-male-call-mia-mcpherson-0460.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200,"srcset":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-male-call-mia-mcpherson-0460.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1 1x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-male-call-mia-mcpherson-0460.jpg?resize=525%2C300&ssl=1 1.5x, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/long-billed-curlew-male-call-mia-mcpherson-0460.jpg?resize=700%2C400&ssl=1 2x"},"classes":[]}],"jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14602","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=14602"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/14602\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/163992"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=14602"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=14602"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.onthewingphotography.com\/wings\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=14602"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}