The Backyard Traveler: New Guidebook describes Nevada's best birding sites

Northern Nevada really is for the birds. At least you might think that after reading "A Birding Guide to Reno and Beyond," which was recently published by the Lahontan Audubon Society.

The 66-page, spiral-bound booklet serves as a useful road map to 20 locations in northwestern Nevada (within an 80-mile radius of Reno) that are host to dozens of varieties of birds.

The authors, which include nearly two dozen members of the Reno-based birding society, have written detailed descriptions about each of the featured sites and included maps and easy-to-follow directions as well as extensive information about best time of year to visit and the kinds of birds you're likely to spot.

For example, the first area mentioned in the book, the Carson Lake Wetlands, is described as a collection of shallow ponds and marshes located about 70 miles east of Reno. The narrative notes that it serves as one of the Pacific Flyway's major stopovers for migrating shorebirds and waterfowl and can be viewed from an auto traveling on a loop drive.

Birds likely found at the wetlands include shorebirds like Western Sandpipers and Black-necked Stilt as well as the White-faced Ibis (which nest here) and several duck species such as Cinnamon Teal, Redhead and Ruddy Duck. The locale is also home to Bald Eagles, Peregrine Falcons, Mountain Plovers and Rough-legged Hawks.

Additionally, readers are provided with optional side trips, which in this case were the Fallon Naval Air Station Nature Trail (located off Crook Road near the air station) and the Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge.

In the Carson City area, the book spotlights Washoe Valley, specifically the Scripps Wildlife Management Area, Washoe Lake, Little Washoe Lake and Davis Creek County Park. It notes that birders can spot several raptor species in the region including Golden Eagles and Red-tailed Hawks year-round.

Another nearby site is Spooner Lake State Park, about 10 miles west of Carson City, where birding enthusiasts will find Stellar's Jays, Clark's Nutcrackers, Brown Creepers and several species of sapsuckers and woodpeckers.

Among the more interesting (and challenging) locations mentioned is Peavine Peak, located about 15 miles northwest of downtown Reno. This trip, which requires a high-clearance vehicle, takes you up the dirt roads leading toward 8,300-foot-high Peavine Peak.

Along the way, however, you'll see six varieties of owls (Horned, Barn, Northern Saw-whet, Long-eared, Western Screech and Northern Pygmy) as well as the Common Poorwill, Lazuli Bunting and Blue-gray Gnatcatcher and Broad-tailed Hummingbirds.

For those wishing to watch waterfowl, it's no surprise that Pyramid Lake is the big bonanza of birding. In addition to being home of one of the largest nesting colonies of American White Pelicans (on Anaho Island) it hosts Common and Pacific Loons, a half dozen species of grebes, Sage Thrashers, Black-throated Sparrows, and Burrowing Owls.

In terms of urban birding sites, the Oxbow Nature Study Area, located on the Truckee River, just west of downtown Reno, is chock-full of migrant birds such as Anna's Hummingbirds, Green Heron and Sora, White-throated Sparrows and Bohemian Waxwings - by the way-who thinks up all the great names for these birds?

"A Birding Guide to Reno and Beyond" (ISBN 0-9703438-0-9) is available from the Lahontan Audubon Society, P.O. Box 2304, Reno, 89505, or visit www.nevadaaudubon.org. Cost is $10.00. All proceeds benefit the conservation and education projects of the society.

(Richard Moreno is the author of "The Backyard Traveler," "The Backyard Traveler Returns," and "The Roadside History of Nevada" which are available at local bookstores.)