The Western Field Ornithologists established the Harry S. Swarth Award in 2011. The award honors a body of work that significantly advances field ornithology in the West. The award commemorates Harry S. Swarth (1878–1935), a giant in field ornithology who worked throughout much of western North America during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and who contributed more than 200 publications to the scientific literature.

The Harry S. Swarth Award was presented to W. David Shuford on June 7, 2025, at the 49th Annual Conference in Yakima, Washington.

Dave Shuford (left) and WFO board president Debbie Van Dooremolen (right). Photo: Michael Wilde.

Dave Shuford grew up in North Carolina, received his BA in Biology at Colby College in Maine, and moved to California in 1970 where he earned his MS from UC Davis. In 1975, Dave settled in Marin County and became a field biologist with the Point Reyes Bird Observatory (later to become Point Blue Conservation Science) where he remained for 45 years until retiring in 2019 as a Senior Scientist in the Pacific Coast and Central Valley Group.

Dave’s research and publications encompass a wide variety of species including gulls (especially California and Franklin’s), Black Terns, Caspian Terns, Double-crested Cormorants, White Pelicans, Snowy Plovers, American Avocets, Black-necked Stilts, Long-billed Curlews, Sanderlings, and long-legged wading birds. Most of his studies have focused on population assessments that are essential for developing comprehensive conservation plans which contribute to safeguarding species and their habitats. He has an intimate knowledge of myriad western ecosystems and their avifauna: coastal estuaries in central California; Great Basin terminal lakes and staging areas; the freshwater wetlands, croplands, and rice fields of the Central Valley; the Sierra Nevada; the Salton Sea; and particularly the birdlife of Marin and Sonoma counties. He’s also studied shorebirds on the tundra in northern Alaska, penguins in the Antarctic, and waterbirds in Nevada and eastern Oregon.

Dave has published over 100 books and papers on avian population status and ecology, distribution, and conservation; 20 of which have been published in Western Birds. The first book he published, in 1993 (and a project he also coordinated), was, The Marin County Breeding Bird Atlas: A Distributional and Natural History of Coastal California Birds. In addition to documenting the breeding avifauna of Marin County, this book is also an essential reference for the natural history and ecology of coastal birds found throughout the western U.S. [Editor’s note: Tim Manolis reviewed the book in Western Birds Vol. 25, concluding: “Because it contains an enormous amount of information on California’s birds, thoughtfully presented in an easily digested form, The Marin County Breeding Bird Atlas belongs on every western field ornithologist’s bookshelf.”]

Dave served as co-editor on two indispensable WFO compendiums:

• California Bird Species of Special Concern: A Ranked Assessment of Species, Subspecies, and Distinct Populations of Birds of Immediate Conservation Concern in California. 2008. (co-editors W. David Shuford and Thomas Gardali). Studies of Western Birds, Vol. 1.
• Trends and Traditions: Avifaunal Change in Western North America. (co-editors W. David Shuford, Robert E. Gill Jr., and Colleen M. Handel). Studies of Western Birds, Vol. 3.

Dave’s dedication to avian science and conservation has been recognized by his peers. In 2001, Point Blue Conservation Science presented him with the Outstanding Biologist Award and in 2008 he received the Special Conservation Achievement Award, also from Point Blue. In 2014, Dave was given the Science Excellence Award from the Central Valley Joint Venture, a 20-member management board that establishes bird population and habitat objectives in the Central Valley. Dave’s a Life Member and Patron of WFO. He served on the WFO board from 2001 to 2013 and was elected WFO president in 2010.

Dave was nominated by the authors, Catherine Hickey, Gary Page, and Daniel Gibson, and we were thrilled to present the award to him together with Debbie Van Dooremolen, WFO president, in Yakima.

WFO congratulates Dave Shuford, recipient of the Harry S. Swarth Award, for his distinguished body of work in field ornithology.

August 2025 | Christopher Swarth and Lynne Stenzel