Birds Aren't Real are looking forward to hitting the trails in Nevada to see how many birds we can spot this year.

Support Great Basin Bird Observatory's desert thrasher research!

The Nevada Bird-a-thon is an annual state-wide fundraiser for bird conservation, like a walk-a-thon, but we are counting birds, not steps! Join us to raise awareness and conservation dollars for the imperiled Bendire’s Thrasher and Leconte’s Thrasher. Show your support by signing up to bird or by donating! Birders, click the "I want to fundraise for this!" button to get started (note: if birding as part of a team, designate one person to sign up and create your team page).

Visit our website for more information: Nevada Bird-a-thon. Individuals and teams will be competing to record the most bird species and raise the most funds with prizes awarded in several categories. All donations generated in 2025 will directly support our desert thrasher research. 

GBBO has been a leader in desert thrasher research and monitoring since 2011

In the 2025 United States State of the Birds report, North American Bird Conservation Initiative listed 42 “Red List Tipping Point” species, its highest threat level. This list includes two “desert thrashers”, the Bendire’s Thrasher and LeConte’s Thrasher.

As active participants in the Desert Thrasher Working Group since its inception in 2011, GBBO has been at the forefront of desert thrasher conservation. From leading range-wide survey efforts to assisting in the development of a conservation strategy and multiple survey protocols, from outreach efforts to unlocking funding for partners in Mexico to study resident and wintering birds in Sonora, and years of research and monitoring on populations in Nevada, GBBO is dedicated to reversing the declining population trends of these species.

Great Basin Bird Observatory has partnered with state and federal agencies and regional groups to further these efforts with projects researching the impacts of disturbance such as utility-scale solar projects on these species, monitoring important populations, and better understanding basic life history. These projects relied largely on federal grants and agreements; the ability to continue our desert thrasher program is being challenged due to federal funding cuts and diminished federal funding opportunities. Your support will be the way to successfully advance these accomplishments.

With your donation today, GBBO will continue this important work now and into the future to understand and protect desert thrashers.

Bendire's Thasher (photo by Carlos Gonzalez)LeConte's Thrasher (photo by Jeanne Tinsman)

Your conservation dollars at work:

These conservation dollars make a big impact! Since 2020, the Nevada Bird-a-thon has generated over $15,000 for Pinyon Jay and desert thrasher conservation. Thanks to our birders and donors in 2024, GBBO was able to put a significant amount of time, effort, and knowledge into our involvement with Partners in Flight and the Desert Thrasher Working Group. A major result of these efforts was the development of the Conservation Strategy for Bendire’s and LeConte’s Thrashers. This document is the result of 13 experts from 9 governmental agencies and non-profit organizations combining their knowledge into a concerted plan. With the help of other partners GBBO also worked to create a survey protocol (Clearance Survey Protocol) for thrashers at areas slated for development and have worked to come up with mitigation guidelines for desert thrashers within these construction footprints (Desert Thrasher Solar Recommendations). Additionally, GBBO staff worked with partners at USFWS to draft up exclusion zones for desert thrashers to be included in the Bureau of Land Management Utility-Scale Solar Programmatic Environmental Impact Statement. Funding will also be used to help leverage funds from a BioBlitz for desert thrashers and other bird species at the Avi Kwa Ame National Monument in southern Nevada. In particular, Avi Kwa Ame appears to be a critically important stronghold for Bendire’s and LeConte’s thrashers within Nevada. We believe that developing a finer-grained understanding of the distribution of these populations within Avi Kwa Ame will prove imperative to the continued existence of these species within Nevada, given the high concentration of birds in this region and the extreme pressure outside the monument that these birds are under due to loss of habitat through development.

The capture team of Nevada’s first banded and radio-tagged LeConte’s Thrasher. From right to left: John Mark Simmons, Chrissy Kondrat-Smith, Dawn Fletcher, Corrie Borgman, and Lauren Harter, photo by Chris McCreedy 

Additional information:

Great Basin Bird Observatory (GBBO) is a non-profit organization of scientists dedicated to furthering bird conservation in the Great Basin and adjoining regions. We do this through research, partnerships, and education. 

Partners in Flight (PIF) is a volunteer organization made up of volunteers from federal and state agencies, non-profit organizations, and others. PIF partners are dedicated to PIF’s simple, proactive mission: Keeping common birds common and helping species at risk through voluntary partnerships. 

Desert Thrasher Working Group (DTWG) is a volunteer organization that is a binational effort consisting of 82 members representing 41 different organizations including: Joint Ventures, Non-governmental Organizations, Federal Agencies, State Agencies and Universities. DTWG mission is to raise awareness about the species, enhance regional monitoring strategies, support research and produce tools for land managers for desert thrashers. 

Thank you for your continued support!