What is the Intermountain West Shorebird Survey?
Shorebirds represent a unique aspect of biodiversity that links isolated sites, often hundreds or thousands of miles apart, and thus, shorebirds are excellent indicators of environmental health across large and small landscapes.
 
Inland sites in the Intermountain West are oases for our migratory shorebirds. Our collective efforts will document changes to freshwater wetlands and saline lakes over the past 30 years by recreating the last comprehensive shorebird survey of the region in 1989-1995. By combining the efforts of professional and volunteer scientists, we will collect critical information to help sustain shorebird populations into the future, which is the purpose of the Intermountain West Shorebird Survey.
 
The project objectives are:

• Describe the distribution and abundance of shorebirds during migration by count all shorebirds at 189 sites during the spring and fall migrations for 3-5 years.
• Compare the current distribution and abundance of shorebirds with distributions from 1989-1995.
• Inform future management decisions by identifying local and regional factors that influenced the abundance and distribution of shorebirds.

Ideal shorebird volunteers:

• Have a passion for birds and time outdoors,
• Can commit to one survey day in the spring and one survey day in the fall, and allow some flexibility for scheduling around bad weather,
• Will be safety conscience and cooperate with field partners,
• Can collect high quality data in the field,
• Can count shorebirds and identify to species in breeding and non-breeding plumage, OR can assist an observer by recording data and/or providing transportation.

How can you help?
We need help collecting baseline site information (access points, observation locations, and potential hazards), designing routes and surveying sites. We will be providing more details on what information we need and how to collect it during our upcoming webinar sessions. Please fill out the online form below if you are interested in visiting a familiar or new shorebird site to help design surveys and count shorebirds during our migration windows (August 9th – 22nd and April 24th – 30th), any effort helps shorebirds count! Mileage reimbursement is available on a case-by-case basis.

Save the dates!

• July 20th, 2022 – Shorebird Site Reconnaissance Webinar
• August 2nd, 2022 – Survey Protocol and Training Webinar
• August 9th-22nd, 2022: Fall 2022 Peak Shorebird Survey Window – get out and count shorebirds!

Ready to get involved?
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We are honored to be participating as a guest at Mark Wellman Adventure Day. Mark Wellman Adventure Day is a free event for people with disabilities to try physical activities such as kayaking, cycling and now birding! The event will happen on Sunday, June 5th at Sparks Marina from 9am to 2:30pm. We are seeking volunteers for this event. These volunteers would help us with tabling, as well as showing guests how to use binoculars and spotting scopes, and taking guests on small walks where they can see the birds at the Marina, like Mallards, Cormorants and Coots. If you are interested in volunteering at this event, please send an email to contact@nevadaaudubon.org. ​

Did you know that Pinyon Jay populations have declined 80% since the 1960s? Here is your opportunity to help scientists understand why this species is in decline and how we can help to conserve them. ​Lahontan Audubon Society is partnering with the Great Basin Bird Observatory (GBBO) to recruit community scientists to conduct Pinyon Jay surveys. No experience is necessary and birders of all levels are welcome. This is a great opportunity to learn about a local species and support conservation efforts. Surveys require a smartphone app or a handheld GPS.

Each month we will host a field trip where new volunteers will meet our experienced surveyors to learn the survey protocol and share their experiences. Send us an email to RSVP. Click below to fill out our volunteer form or watch our Pinyon Jay presentation on our YouTube Channel.

The National Fish and Wildlife Foundation awarded a grant to the National Audubon Society (NAS) for its Saline Lakes Program on a project aimed at conserving shorebirds and their important habitat within the Lahontan Valley.  NAS, Lahontan Audubon, along with Manomet, will work closely with the Nevada Department of Wildlife and US Fish & Wildlife Service to identify habitat needs for 11 priority shorebird species;  examine the habitat management units at Carson Lake and Stillwater in order to identify impediments to and opportunities for improving shorebird management; and improve capacity for monitoring shorebird populations.
 
The Lahontan Audubon Society is focused on improving the capacity for monitoring shorebird populations.  Dr. Alan Gubanich and Mike Goddard are recruiting community science volunteers to monitor shorebird populations. We successfully conducted surveys during the fall migration and will be holding a training for new volunteers for spring surveys. The shorebird identification training program will focus on 22 species, along with some of the rare or uncommon shorebird species we might have the opportunity to see in the field. We will host two classroom sessions (2/19 & 2/26 at 2:00-4:00) at Moana Nursery and two field trips (3/12 & 3/19) to the wetlands as part of the program.  We will teach volunteers techniques for navigating to a point, conducting a point count, and accurately recording data. We can provide spotting scopes, binoculars, field guides and GPS units.

We are looking for volunteers to help us staff a table at the Youth Wildlife Conservation Experience (YWCE). We will have a demonstration table with taxidermy mounts, museum skins, wings, and binoculars for kids to participate in an "Identify the Bird" exercise. There will be hundreds of school children in attendance on Thursday and Friday and the general public is invited on Saturday. This is a great opportunity to share your love of birds with the next generation. Volunteers will be provided lunch and training on educational activities. If you would like to participate, please email education@nevadaaudubon.org with the dates and times that you are available. We are trying to fill the following time slots:

• 1/13 12:30-2:30 (plus set up in the am)
• 1/14 12:30-2:30
• 1/15 10:00-4:00​

For more details about the event see the flyer below:
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If you love birds, meeting new people, and learning while exploring in Nevada, this is the workshop for you. We are recruiting birders of all levels to join us as field trip guides. This workshop will provide you with all the details you need to lead or assist an LAS birding field trip. Experienced and novice guides are invited to join as we share ideas on how to lead birding walks.

The workshop will start with an meet-and-greet online webinar on Friday, February 11th at 4:30 pm. We will follow up the next day with an in-person field trip for a hands-on experience. Then throughout the month of March, our participants will be co-leading and leading their own recurring field trips at some of the many birding hotspots throughout the Washoe Valley.   
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If you are interested in learning more, send an email to field-trips@nevadaudubon.org or fill out our volunteer interest form.