Date: 11/10/25 2:21 pm From: ned bohman <nbohman...> Subject: NBRC results and updates
Hello Nevada Birders, The Nevada Bird Records Committee (NBRC) just held its annual meeting. We typically meet annually to discuss various aspects of committee function. We typically do not vote on records, at these meetings, however a number of difficult records had accumulated. We did vote on these six records and continue the never ending discussion on how to get birds submitted to eBird to also be submitted to the committee.
In terms of records voted on, the committee endorsed four and chose to not endorse two. Among those endorsed include, a report of Snow Bunting from northern Elko Co, from back in March, 2024, Veery from Great Basin National Park in July, 2024, A Tropical Kingbird from Las Vegas Wash, July, 2021, and a Winter Wren from Corn Creek in November, 2022. A separate Winter Wren from Corn Creek, in November, 2023 was not endorsed, and a report of Black Rail from Lake Mead in March, 2024 was also not endorsed. All of these records have been circulated through the committee at least once, most were on their 3rd circulation.
The reason for the difficulty with these records include lack of media documentation and difficulty of assessing physical field marks. Winter Wrens are notoriously difficult to separate from Pacific Wren, and in this case one submission contained an audio recording sufficient to establish the identity, the other did not. Photos were inconclusive without supporting audio for both of these Winter Wren records. Tropical Kingbird is another species that can be difficult to identify without audio evidence, in this case the physical field marks were distinct enough to establish the identification. The other three records lacked media documentation.
The Veery is the first endorsed in Nevada that has not come from a "desert migrant trap" in the months of May or September, it is possible that this record represents breeding or attempted breeding, given that the sighting was in July in appropriate breeding habitat. The rest of the records fit the patterns expected for the species in the area. November is THE month for Winter Wren in Nevada, with 7 of the 12 endorsed sightings from that month, and nearly all from Clark County.
We have over a dozen pending records that will be voted on in the next month, these are primarily species seen over the course of 2025. Thanks to everyone who submitted reports to the NBRC. We appreciate your support. You can find more info on our website, including recent publications, and complete review list and state checklist. For an up-to-date list of NBRC submissions and decisions for those that have been voted on: https://gbboinfo.org/nbrc/FullReportDescending.htm
