Swainson’s warbler (Limnothlypis swainsonii) (Photo: Audobon Society)In 1986, Dr. Charles P. Nicholson, with help from the Tennessee Ornithological Society, began research on what would become the Atlas of the Breeding Birds of Tennessee.
The first comprehensive study documenting distribution patterns – or the geographical areas in which certain birds are found – of 170 species confirmed as breeding in Tennessee, it includes species now extirpated, such as the red-cockaded woodpecker.
After six years of field work and 36,000 hours of bird survey by over 200 participants, the Atlas was published in 1997.
Twenty years later, Nicholson is still on the Tennessee bird scene, regularly leading birding walks throughout the state.
Now, meet the birder behind the book.