Birding the Desert National Wildlife Range
Birding Around Las Vegas

The Desert National Wildlife Range (a federal wildlife refuge), located just north of Las Vegas (map), was set aside to protect Desert Bighorn Sheep. In doing so, they also protected the old homestead at Corn Creek, an oasis of streams, ponds, and trees in a vast sea of low-elevation Mojave Desert Scrub. Corn Creek is a magnet for birds, and virtually every species ever seen in southern Nevada has been seen here. This is the #1, best place to look for desert birds in the Las Vegas area (but finding bighorn sheep will take some serious effort in the backcountry). Birding can be quiet here, but if there are desert birds in southern Nevada, this is where to find them.

The main roads past refuge headquarters are rough and generally require a high-clearance vehicle (4-wheel-drive if the roads are wet). A careful driver could probably drive the main roads (Alamo Road to Hidden Forest Road; Mormon Well Road to Mormon Well) in almost any vehicle. Remember: it only takes one patch of soft sand or one deep rut to get stuck).

For access and other information, see the Desert National Wildlife Range overview page or the hiking overview page.

Corn Creek. A desert oasis with springs, ponds, running water, cottonwood and mulberry trees, the remnants of an orchard, and a pasture, all of which is surrounded by open desert scrub and mesquite-sanddune woodlands. This is the number one, best place to look for desert birds around Las Vegas. Yucca Forest. A middle-elevation, relatively flat Mojave Desert Scrub area with a dense forest of Joshua Trees. Because of the elevation and proximity to the mountains, the area gets a fair bit rain and the vegetation is relatively lush. This is a good place to look for resident and breeding desert birds. Mormon Well Road. This historic road passes through low- and middle-elevation Mojave Desert Scrub, sagebrush flats, Pinyon-Juniper Woodlands, a Yellow-Pine Forest, and rocky canyons, providing a variety of habitats with a variety of desert bird species. This long, rough road offers a bit of a backcountry adventure and some hard-core desert birding.

 
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© Jim Boone; Last updated 080719