Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Nevada

Nevada’s diverse landscape, which ranges from lofty alpine peaks to marshy wetlands, saline playas, sagebrush-covered steppes, and lush agricultural valleys, is home to a surprising number and variety of bird species. The Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Nevada documents the first-ever statewide survey of breeding birds, undertaken between 1997 and 2000. The book presents the 275 species of birds that breed in Nevada, with a description of each bird; an analysis of its breeding distribution within the state; discussion of its conservation status; a line drawing by artist Ray Nelson; a map illustrating its distribution throughout the state; and summary statistics on its breeding status, habitat distribution and abundance. The atlas, a project of the Great Basin Bird Observatory, has as its major objective the quantification of the diversity and grandeur of Nevada’s bird life. It also addresses questions about the management and conservation of bird populations in the state, range limits, the impact of bird population changes, and the future prospects of various species, given current and projected patterns of land use. The book reflects meticulous and lengthy research by some of the state’s most respected ornithologists and a corps of dedicated volunteers, and it is an invaluable resource for scientists, birders, conservationists, and anyone interested in the rich natural heritage of Nevada.

Ted Floyd is the editor of Birding magazine, the flagship publication of the American Birding Association, and served as the Great Basin Bird Observatory’s atlas project coordinator throughout the field survey period. He has published widely on birds and ecological topics and was the coeditor of the journal Great Basin Birds, Great Basin regional editor for the journal North American Birds, and list owner of the popular NVBIRDS listserver. Floyd is broadly involved in the birding community in his current home state of Colorado and has recently been appointed to the steering committee for the second-generation Colorado Breeding Bird Atlas.

Chris Elphick is a conservation biologist at the University of Connecticut. He earned his Ph.D. from the Program in Ecology, Evolution and Conservation Biology at the University of Nevada, Reno, for his work on the conservation implications of different methods of managing rice fields in California. His current research focuses primarily on the ecology and conservation of birds in wetlands and agricultural settings. Along with David Sibley and Barny Dunning, he writes the syndicated column "Sibley on Birds" and coedited the Sibley Guide to Bird Life and Behavior.

A birder since childhood, Graham Chisholm now lives in Berkeley, California, with his family and is the director of conservation for Audubon California. In his role as cofounder and first director for the Great Basin Bird Observatory (GBBO), Chisholm helped build the partnerships to get the Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Nevada under way. Previously Graham served as an aide in the U.S. Senate and worked extensively on land and water conservation issues in the West while serving as director of both the Nevada and California programs for The Nature Conservancy. He coauthored with Larry Neel The Birds of the Lahontan Valley.

Kevin Mack grew up in Queens, New York, where birds were the one accessible part of the natural world. After spending summers in the Catskills and along the coast, he headed to Orono, Maine, where his college years found him birding as a complement to mountain biking, cross-country skiing, and rock climbing. Mack has worked for Patagonia, Inc. and the Great Basin Bird Observatory as an intern and employee. He helped found the Nevada Wilderness Project (NWP), a nonprofit group whose aim is to increase the amount of congressionally designated wilderness on Nevada’s federal public lands. He now works on behalf of NWP in Washington, D.C., and has found time to volunteer as a fieldworker for the second generation of the Maryland Breeding Bird Atlas project.

Robert G. Elston is a Geographic Information Systems analyst and cartographer for the Biological Resources Research Center at the University of Nevada, Reno. In that role he supports ecologists and conservation biologists working in Nevada and the greater Intermountain West. His M.S. thesis examined the concept of island biography as applied to the high mountain ranges of the Great Basin.

Elisabeth M. Ammon did her dissertation research on habitat relationships and predictors of nest success in Lincoln’s Sparrow and Wilson’s Warbler at the University of Colorado, Boulder. At the University of Nevada, Reno, she later pursued research on riparian restoration projects in order to facilitate restoration of wildlife habitats and monitored bird and amphibian populations as the projects were implemented. Since 2002 she has been working for the Great Basin Bird Observatory as a bird monitoring coordinator and science director.

John D. Boone received his Ph.D. from the University of Colorado, Boulder, focused on habitat restoration for mammals and birds at the Rocky Mountain Arsenal. His work as a postdoctoral fellow, and an assistant research professor, at the University of Nevada, Reno, specializes in the ecological aspects of zoonotic host-pathogen systems. He now focuses on conservation-oriented projects in the Intermountain West.