Mountain Plover: Prairie Ghost of the Great Plains
 Because
of its cryptic coloration, early settlers who commented on the
difficulty of seeing the bird also called the Mountain Plover
Prairie Ghost. Today this species has been recommended for protection
under the Endangered Species Act. There are a wide variety of
threats that have caused a drastic decline in the numbers of this
species, not the least of which has been conversion of most of
the nesting grounds to agricultural fields. In the late 1800's,
it was considered one of the most common shorebirds but by the
mid 1970's, they had declined to a world population of about 250,000.
The numbers have continued to drop to where by the mid-1990's,
the population may be only 5,000 individuals.
Mountain Plovers are not known to nest on Otero Mesa but they
do nest to the south in adjacent Texas and have nested in the
Roswell, NM area. The importance of Otero Mesa to this species
is its use as a passage area but also perhaps rarely as a wintering
site. In December 2002, a flock of over 300 Mountain Plover were
noted in fallow fields near Dell City, Texas on the southeast
side of Otero Mesa. One of the true unknowns is the extent of
use of this grassland to this rapidly declining species. Every
indication is there that the area is important to the species.
As Otero Mesa is one of the largest expanses of native grassland
left, the mesa may be the single most important resting area during
migration left for the declining Prairie Ghost.
While they have been noted using agricultural areas, Mountain
Plovers require short grass prairie for nesting. Winter habitat
is more variable but there is still a strong preference for grassy
areas. Mountain Plovers often associated with prairie dog colonies
as the more open areas and alarm calls given by prairie dogs also
help to warn plovers of possible dangers.
Much of the rest of their historic habitat is badly overgrazed,
altered for development or encroached on by shrubby species. Not
Otero Mesa, which is vitally important to this species.
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