Date: 12/26/25 7:41 pm From: Rose Strickland <rosenreno...> Subject: Pyramid Lake afternoon birding
We’re glad to report some interesting birds we saw yesterday afternoon at Pyramid Lake. A Prairie Falcon was flying along the south edge of the lake and landed on a log in the muddy area just east of the shore. A pair of Bald Eagles were sitting on sticks at the river mouth and two Golden Eagles were sitting close together on the mountain ridge above Marble Bluff. A Common Loon and a good sized flock of Canvasback were at the south end of the Lake, along with many Ruddy Ducks. A lone pelican stood out among numerous Canada Goose flocks on a bar at the river mouth. The surprise bird seen along the shore north of Popcorn Rock was a probable Barn Swallow. And two Sharp-shinned Hawks were seen in Sutcliffe near the houses. Some good birds for the CBC coming up next week.
Date: 12/24/25 6:43 pm From: Joel Geier <clearwater...> Subject: Hart Mountain CBC final tallies
Hi folks,
Here are the final totals from the Hart Mountain CBC last Wednesday, December 17th.
Hart Mountain National Antelope Refuge is the "sister refuge" to Sheldon NWR. A bit over half of the count circle is on the refuge, while the remainder is in the Warner Valley, including the Warner Valley Wetlands, Hart Lake, and Flagstaff Lake.
This count has a long history, running back to 1973, with 46 years of data (there have been a few cancellations due to severe winter weather, and one due to covid-19).
I think I "undersold" our results when I posted preliminary numbers on Wednesday night. This was truly a spectacular count, despite that we only had 6 volunteers, and we were dealing with 20+ mph winds all day (with gusts over 50 mph just before dawn). It turns out, our count-day total of 51 species is the 3rd highest count on record.
This was the first year in well over a decade when the Warner Valley lakes have been full of water *and* also ice-free. This resulted in some truly spectacular numbers of waterfowl, breaking numerous all-time records. We also had the first-ever count-day grebes for this count -- and not just one grebe species, but four (Western, Clark's, Eared and Horned -- surprisingly this count still hasn't had a Pied-billed).
We also had remarkable access to areas of the circle that often require slogging through snow. The biggest sparrow/junco numbers were along Guano Creek south of Post Meadows, which I doubt anyone has even managed to get to in most years. At Blue Sky, where most of the uniquely isolated patch of ponderosa pine forest burned in the 2024 Warner Peak fire, woodpeckers have moved in, in record-setting numbers.
But some species, particularly songbirds, were hard to find. We were lucky to come up with a single American Robin (seemingly scarce in the whole northern Great Basin this winter). We found just one kinglet, and zero finches.
Here are the full numbers.
Tundra Swan 770 not counting a couple thousand swans just outside the circle on Campbell Lake
Canada Goose 91
Snow Goose 1 first count record, on Flagstaff Lake where most waterfowl were found
Green-winged Teal 24
Mallard 27
Northern Shoveler 25 record high count
Northern Pintail 26 first count-day record (one previous count-week record)
Gadwall 2 first count record
American Wigeon 525 record high count
Canvasback 151 record high count
Lesser Scaup 2
Ring-necked Duck 2
Common Goldeneye 2
Bufflehead 2
Greater Sage-Grouse NONE found (notable miss and not for lack of effort)
California Quail 18
Western Grebe 1 first count record
Clark’s Grebe 1 first count record
Eared Grebe 2 first count-day record (one previous count-week record)
Horned Grebe 1 first count record, rare for region in winter
American Coot 403 record high count
Wilson’s Snipe 4 record high count
Great Blue Heron 1
Northern Harrier 10
Bald Eagle 2
Golden Eagle 4
American Goshawk 1
Red-tailed Hawk 3
Rough-legged Hawk 5
Great Horned Owl 2
Northern Pygmy-Owl
Short-eared Owl cw (seen evening before the count)
Downy Woodpecker 4
Hairy Woodpecker 16 record high count, all at Blue Sky
Black-backed Woodpecker 2 first record for count, at Blue Sky
Northern Flicker 12 record high count
American Kestrel 6
Prairie Falcon 1
Loggerhead Shrike 2
Northern Shrike 1 low count
Black-billed Magpie 4 low count
Common Raven 4 low count
Horned Lark 28
Mountain Chickadee 16
Bewick's Wren 2
Marsh Wren 3 ties previous record
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 1
Townsend's Solitaire 1 low count
American Robin 1 very low count
American Tree Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 21
Lincoln’s Sparrow 3 ties previous record
White-crowned Sparrow 2
Slate-colored Junco 3 ties previous record, Guano Creek below Post Meadows
Dark-eyed Junco 195 record high count, almost all in Post Meadows area
Date: 12/24/25 1:56 pm From: ned bohman <nbohman...> Subject: NBRC decisions and upcoming presentation
Hello Nevada Birders, The Nevada Bird Records Committee (NBRC) just completed voting on its most recent packet of records. A few highlights include the state's 2nd record of WHITE-RUMPED SANDPIPER and the 3rd NBRC-endorsed RED KNOT. This species was never on the Nevada review list, there are an additional 12 confirmed on ebird, that have not been reviewed by the committee. Other birds in this packet were a 9th record of THICK-BILLED LONGSPUR, 8th record of RUFF, and 10th record of AMERICAN GOLDEN-PLOVER. There were other records as well, for more info you can review the records on the website: https://gbboinfo.org/nbrc/FullReportDescending.htm. I will also be giving a presentation at the Pigeon Head Brewery in downtown Reno on January 12th at 6PM that will cover these birds as well as the rest of the 56 records the NBRC voted on in 2025. Thanks everyone! Happy Holidays and Good Birding!
-- Ned Bohman Secretary, Nevada Bird Records Committee Reno, NV
Date: 12/23/25 11:35 am From: Carl Lundblad <carl.lundblad...> Subject: Painted Bunting at Corn Creek
After waiting about 75 minutes, the (I only saw one) female-type Painted Bunting, reported yesterday on Facebook, put on a good show in the orchard at Corn Creek (Desert NWR) around 11:15. It moved around a lot and was last seen flying back behind the houses and out of view on the west end of the Orchard. A nice #300 for my Clark County list.
Harris's Sparrow and Brown Thrasher continue at Floyd Lamb Park in North Las Vegas
Date: 12/22/25 12:33 pm From: Joel Geier <clearwater...> Subject: Sheldon CBC full results
Hi folks,
Here's the full list of birds from Friday's Sheldon CBC. It turns out that, in addition to adding 7 new species to the list, we set new high-count records for 20 species.
The biggest miss was Northern Shrike, which had been found on 8 consecutive counts prior to this one. Loggerhead Shrike was also missed on count day, but turned up on the day after the count, in calmer weather conditions.
This afternoon I found a Palm Warbler at the Tonopah Cemetery in Esmeralda County.
It popped up in trees in the center of the cemetery, where the road runs narrowly between the two juniper hedgerows, and later reappeared in the northwest corner before disappearing. I got a few terrible but identifiable photos that will be in eBird later this week.
Today's Sheldon CBC turned out exceptionally well. Despite windy weather and occasional rain (even a bit of sleet), we benefited from open water on all reservoirs and ponds, temperatures well above freezing all day, good road conditions, and a record-high 11 volunteers to find a count record 44 species.
That includes 4 new species of waterfowl not found in previous years (Greater White-fronted Goose, American Wigeon, Northern Pintail, and Lesser Scaup). We set new record high numbers for 17 species.
Surprisingly we found no shrikes (for a count that has produced as many as 8 Loggerheads and 3 Northern Shrikes in past years.
The most notable bird from a Nevada standpoint was a single American Tree Sparrow, found by one team Alex and Paul Linton and Ian and Clayton Peoples when they followed up on a owl roost found by Brendan Bucy earlier in the day (most or all apparently Long-eared Owls but there's a chance that one of them might turn out to be a Short-eared Owl, once Brendan has a chance to view his photos on a larger screen).
I'll post full results after I get back home tomorrow. Meanwhile thanks to all of the volunteers for a great count despite the wind and rain.
Joel Geier Writing from Sheldon National Wildlife Refuge
