BirdAnalyst
Bird Conservation Region 9

Great Basin

An ecological region spanning California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington, with 268 survey routes. BCRs are the natural unit for bird trends.

What Is Moving HereNotable signalsLong-arc shifts the engine flags automatically — sustained declines or increases large enough to stand out from year-to-year noise.Full methodology →

long arc declinecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Black Swift has collapsed in Great Basin: down 94% on the route-weighted index since 1970.

long arc increasecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

White-faced Ibis has surged in Great Basin: up 77× on the route-weighted index since 1973.

long arc declinecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Western Grebe has collapsed in Great Basin: down 92% on the route-weighted index since 1988.

long arc increasecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Canada Goose has surged in Great Basin: up 20× on the route-weighted index since 1971.

long arc declinecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Black Tern has collapsed in Great Basin: down 92% on the route-weighted index since 1970.

long arc increasecomputed indexTrend sourceWhether the figure is our own computed route-weighted index or an official USGS modeled estimate. The current build labels every trend as computed.Full methodology →

Common Yellowthroat has surged in Great Basin: up 17× on the route-weighted index since 1970.

How Guilds Are FaringGuild trendA mean-index aggregate across the species in this group — the structural direction of the guild, with individual-species noise smoothed out.Full methodology →

-55%

Arid-land birds

12 species
-27%

Game birds

12 species
-21%

Shorebirds

9 species
-15%

Grassland birds

9 species
-12%

Generalists

13 species
+7%

Forest birds

93 species
+13%

Aerial insectivores

25 species
+15%

Wetland birds

31 species
+37%

Birds of prey

23 species
+221%

Waterfowl

21 species

Survey Routes

Species By FamilyTrendPercent change in the route-weighted abundance index between a smoothed baseline window and the most recent one. It tracks direction, not absolute population.Full methodology →

Hawks, Eagles & Kites Accipitridae

American Goshawk -65%Bald Eagle +458%Cooper's Hawk -28%Ferruginous Hawk +315%Golden Eagle -14%Northern Harrier +10%Red-tailed Hawk +204%Sharp-shinned Hawk -78%Swainson's Hawk +369%

Bushtits Aegithalidae

Bushtit -32%

Larks Alaudidae

Horned Lark -6%

Kingfishers Alcedinidae

Belted Kingfisher -24%

Ducks, Geese & Waterfowl Anatidae

American Wigeon +88%Barrow's Goldeneye +53%Blue-winged Teal -59%Bufflehead -77%Canada Goose 20×Canvasback +205%Cinnamon Teal +58%Common Goldeneye -81%Common Merganser +42%Gadwall +958%Green-winged Teal +69%Hooded Merganser -48%Lesser Scaup +183%Mallard +109%Northern Pintail -77%Northern Shoveler +88%Redhead +64%Ring-necked Duck -21%Ruddy Duck +134%Trumpeter Swan -84%Wood Duck +70%

Swifts Apodidae

Black Swift -94%Vaux's Swift +223%White-throated Swift +264%

Herons, Egrets & Bitterns Ardeidae

American Bittern -23%Black-crowned Night Heron +80%Great Blue Heron +9%Great Egret -59%Green Heron +87%Snowy Egret +59%Western Cattle-Egret -57%

Waxwings Bombycillidae

Cedar Waxwing +0%

Nightjars & Nighthawks Caprimulgidae

Common Nighthawk +14%Common Poorwill -3%

Cardinals & Grosbeaks Cardinalidae

Black-headed Grosbeak +358%Blue Grosbeak -43%Lazuli Bunting +241%Summer Tanager +24%Western Tanager +134%

New World Vultures Cathartidae

Turkey Vulture +296%

Treecreepers Certhiidae

Brown Creeper +16%

Plovers & Lapwings Charadriidae

Killdeer -46%Snowy Plover +355%

Dippers Cinclidae

American Dipper -30%

Pigeons & Doves Columbidae

Band-tailed Pigeon -62%Eurasian Collared-Dove 134×Mourning Dove -46%Rock Pigeon +195%

Crows, Jays & Magpies Corvidae

American Crow +39%Black-billed Magpie -44%California Scrub-Jay +38%Canada Jay +26%Clark's Nutcracker -33%Common Raven +251%Pinyon Jay -72%Steller's Jay +63%Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay -31%

Cuckoos, Roadrunners & Anis Cuculidae

Greater Roadrunner -9%

Falcons & Caracaras Falconidae

American Kestrel +1%Merlin -39%Peregrine Falcon +501%Prairie Falcon +103%

Finches Fringillidae

American Goldfinch +39%Cassin's Finch +3%Evening Grosbeak -79%House Finch +2%Lesser Goldfinch +479%Pine Siskin -25%Purple Finch +41%Red Crossbill -25%

Loons Gaviidae

Common Loon -78%

Cranes Gruidae

Sandhill Crane +133%

Swallows & Martins Hirundinidae

Bank Swallow -42%Barn Swallow +13%Cliff Swallow +70%Northern Rough-winged Swallow +1%Purple Martin -45%Tree Swallow +45%Violet-green Swallow -14%

Blackbirds & Orioles Icteridae

Bobolink +54%Brewer's Blackbird -28%Brown-headed Cowbird +19%Bullock's Oriole +16%Common Grackle -19%Great-tailed Grackle +217%Red-winged Blackbird +47%Scott's Oriole -73%Tricolored Blackbird -86%Western Meadowlark -7%Yellow-headed Blackbird -20%

Yellow-breasted Chat Icteriidae

Yellow-breasted Chat +186%

Shrikes Laniidae

Loggerhead Shrike -35%

Gulls, Terns & Skimmers Laridae

Black Tern -92%California Gull +7%Caspian Tern -67%Forster's Tern +31%Franklin's Gull +153%Ring-billed Gull -11%

Mockingbirds & Thrashers Mimidae

Bendire's Thrasher -85%California Thrasher -4%Gray Catbird +3%Northern Mockingbird +1%Sage Thrasher -29%

New World Quail Odontophoridae

California Quail +134%Gambel's Quail +46%Mountain Quail -72%

Osprey Pandionidae

Osprey +789%

Chickadees & Titmice Paridae

Black-capped Chickadee +22%Chestnut-backed Chickadee +450%Juniper Titmouse +47%Mountain Chickadee -17%Oak Titmouse +356%

Wood-Warblers Parulidae

American Redstart -28%Black-throated Gray Warbler -7%Common Yellowthroat 17×Hermit Warbler +14%Lucy's Warbler +500%MacGillivray's Warbler +33%Nashville Warbler +575%Orange-crowned Warbler -21%Townsend's Warbler +27%Virginia's Warbler +33%Wilson's Warbler +9%Yellow Warbler +17%

New World Sparrows Passerellidae

Black-chinned Sparrow -4%Black-throated Sparrow -65%Brewer's Sparrow +50%California Towhee +539%Chipping Sparrow +35%Fox Sparrow +9%Grasshopper Sparrow +12%Green-tailed Towhee +186%Lark Bunting -64%Lark Sparrow +163%Lincoln's Sparrow -90%Sagebrush Sparrow -68%Savannah Sparrow +92%Song Sparrow +34%Spotted Towhee +308%Vesper Sparrow +172%White-crowned Sparrow +105%

Old World Sparrows Passeridae

House Sparrow -13%

Pelicans Pelecanidae

American White Pelican +66%

Cormorants Phalacrocoracidae

Double-crested Cormorant +7%

Pheasants, Grouse & Turkeys Phasianidae

Chukar -8%Dusky Grouse -67%Gray Partridge -58%Greater Sage-Grouse -53%Ring-necked Pheasant -43%Ruffed Grouse -42%Sharp-tailed Grouse -83%Sooty Grouse -49%Wild Turkey 18×

Woodpeckers Picidae

Acorn Woodpecker +566%American Three-toed Woodpecker -56%Black-backed Woodpecker +257%Downy Woodpecker -27%Hairy Woodpecker +18%Ladder-backed Woodpecker +9%Lewis's Woodpecker -72%Pileated Woodpecker +30%Red-breasted Sapsucker +442%Red-naped Sapsucker +44%White-headed Woodpecker -2%Williamson's Sapsucker +201%

Grebes Podicipedidae

Clark's Grebe -4%Eared Grebe +519%Pied-billed Grebe -5%Western Grebe -92%

Gnatcatchers Polioptilidae

Blue-gray Gnatcatcher +321%

Silky-flycatchers Ptiliogonatidae

Phainopepla -56%

Rails, Gallinules & Coots Rallidae

American Coot +55%Sora +122%Virginia Rail +31%

Avocets & Stilts Recurvirostridae

American Avocet +169%Black-necked Stilt +36%

Kinglets Regulidae

Golden-crowned Kinglet +32%Ruby-crowned Kinglet +43%

Sandpipers & Allies Scolopacidae

Long-billed Curlew +92%Spotted Sandpiper -23%Willet -16%Wilson's Phalarope -55%Wilson's Snipe +39%

Nuthatches Sittidae

Pygmy Nuthatch +137%Red-breasted Nuthatch +22%White-breasted Nuthatch +20%

Owls Strigidae

Barred Owl -40%Burrowing Owl -66%Great Horned Owl +34%Long-eared Owl -84%Northern Pygmy-Owl -62%Short-eared Owl -8%Western Screech-Owl -48%

Starlings & Mynas Sturnidae

European Starling +30%

Sylviid Warblers Sylviidae

Wrentit -49%

Ibises & Spoonbills Threskiornithidae

White-faced Ibis 77×

Hummingbirds Trochilidae

Anna's Hummingbird +34%Black-chinned Hummingbird +202%Broad-tailed Hummingbird +666%Calliope Hummingbird -66%Rufous Hummingbird -12%

Wrens Troglodytidae

Bewick's Wren +340%Cactus Wren -63%Canyon Wren +207%Marsh Wren +646%Northern House Wren +390%Pacific Wren +129%Rock Wren +236%

Thrushes Turdidae

American Robin +37%Hermit Thrush -11%Mountain Bluebird -11%Swainson's Thrush -30%Townsend's Solitaire -10%Varied Thrush -47%Veery -62%Western Bluebird 11×

Tyrant Flycatchers Tyrannidae

Ash-throated Flycatcher +70%Black Phoebe -11%Cassin's Kingbird -21%Dusky Flycatcher +102%Eastern Kingbird -19%Gray Flycatcher +614%Hammond's Flycatcher +149%Least Flycatcher -55%Olive-sided Flycatcher -36%Say's Phoebe +30%Western Kingbird +30%Western Wood-Pewee +32%Willow Flycatcher -61%

Barn-Owls Tytonidae

American Barn Owl -31%

Vireos Vireonidae

Cassin's Vireo +100%Gray Vireo +192%Hutton's Vireo -24%Plumbeous Vireo -52%Red-eyed Vireo -91%Warbling Vireo +221%

Source: USGS North American Breeding Bird Survey, retrieved 2026-05-22.