Bird Conservation Region 18
Shortgrass
Prairie
Description: The shortgrass prairie lies in the
rainshadow of the Rocky Mountains, where arid conditions greatly limit
the stature and diversity of vegetation. Some of the continent’s
highest priority birds breed in this area, including the Mountain Plover,
Long-billed Curlew, Burrowing Owl, Lark Bunting, Grasshopper Sparrow
and McCown’s Longspur. Southern areas winter large numbers of three
longspur species: McCown’s, Lapland and Chestnut-collared. Reasons
for the precarious status of some these birds are poorly understood,
but could involve a reduction in the diversity of grazing pressure as
bison and prairie dogs have largely been replaced by cattle, and the
gradual shift from once expansive prairies to fragmentation by agricultural
interests. The BCR, along with BCR 19, hosts an endemic shrub community
known as shinnery which in southern portions of the BCR hosts one of
the species with the highest threats - the Lesser Prairie-Chicken. A
few large rivers, such as the Platte, Arkansas and Canadian,drain out
of the Rocky Mountains through this region toward the Mississippi. These
rivers created broad, braided and treeless wetlands that are heavily
used by migrating waterfowl, shorebirds and cranes. A hydrological simplification
has resulted in the invasion of trees and shrubs that support breeding
eastern riparian birds, but otherwise greatly reduce the value of the
area's wetlands. Playa lakes, the most numerous wetlands in the BCR,
are shallow, ephemeral wetlands that, when wet, support many wintering
ducks including Northern Pintail, migrant shorebirdsincluding Baird’s
and Least Sandpiper, and migrant Black Tern and Franklin’s Gull
among other waterbirds. Saline lakes in Texas and New Mexico support
important breeding species, such as the Snowy Plover and wintering populations
of Sandhill Cranes. For further information on this region, visit the
Playa Lakes Joint Venture website: www.pljv.org.
Bird
Conservation Plans
Landbirds
- New Mexico,
Colorado, Wyoming, Playa Lakes Joint Venture technical documents
Shorebirds - Central
Plains/Playa Lakes, Playa Lakes Joint Venture technical documents
Waterbirds - Central
Prairies, Playa Lakes Joint Venture technical documents
Waterfowl -Playa Lakes Joint Venture technical documents
All Birds - Playa
Lakes Joint technical documents
Note: Hawaii (not shown) is BCR 67