Favorite Birding Places Far Away
Birding Around Las Vegas

This page presents an eclectic collection of birding sites outside the Las Vegas area that, for one reason or another, I found to be particularly interesting. To some extent, these sites are a better reflection of my wanderings than a concerted effort to select the best sites. None of the descriptions here do justice to these extraordinary birding sites, but they bring together a collection of sites, developed over two decades of birding, that should wet the appetite of birders and provide ideas on interesting places to visit.

This list is sorted alphabetically by state, but then by my personal preference within states. For example, I schedule vacations to visit Portal and Madera Canyon, and when I'm birding down there, I would stop at the Willcox playa if I had time, but I probably wouldn't stop at Willcox if I were just on a road trip across Interstate-10.

	Arizona
	Portal and the Eastern Chiricahua Mountains, Southeastern Arizona Mountains -- The islands-in-the-sky are the only place in the U.S. to find a bit of high-elevation Mexican subtropical forest. As such, these mountains mark the northern limits of the range for many species of Mexican birds. From the Elf Owls in the town of Portal, to the coatimundi and Elegant Trogons in Cave Creek, to the Mexican Juncos and Red-faced Warblers in Rustlers Park, there is nowhere else like this in the United States.
	Madera Canyon, Southern Arizona Mountains -- Santa Rita Mountains, another islands-in-the-sky mountain range in southern Arizona, rises steeply from desert valleys to high peaks covered in dense forest of oak trees. The change in elevation provides a variety of habitats, each with a different assemblage of birds. It is the high-elevation forest in Madera Canyon, however, that harbors species such as Elegant Trogons, Mexican Jays, Hepatic Tanagers, and other species more typical of Mexico.
	Hassayampa Rest Area, Western Arizona Riparian Corridor -- There are many riparian corridors in Arizona, but this is only roadside rest area when I would stop and expect to see Vermilion Flycatchers in the parking lot. I always stop here, even if I'm in a hurry and don't need a rest.
	Bright Angel Lodge, Grand Canyon National Park -- Where else can you go to watch California Condors from an ice cream parlor while dangling your feet over a 4,600-foot cliff?
no photos	Patagonia, Southern Arizona Riparian -- The Patagonia area is riparian valley where Sonoita Creek runs between the arid Patagonia and Santa Rita mountains in southern Arizona. The diversity of vegetation (riparian, desert, and mountain) provides habitat for many bird species, including Mexican species that reach the northern limit of their range in this area. More than 300 species of birds have been seen in the area.
	Arizona-Sonoran Desert Museum, Southern Arizona Desert -- The Desert Museum, located between the edge of urban Tucson and Saguaro National Park, is a wonderful nature museum and zoo. The caged animals are provided with realistic habitats, which not by coincidence, attracts an amazing variety of wild birds. If you can't spot the wild birds, visit the aviary to get close-up with the species you've always searched for in the bush. I don't much care for zoos, but this is a wonderful place; and when I get there, I try to stay for a couple of days.
no photos	San Pedro, Southern Arizona Riparian -- This riparian corridor runs north-south through the dry desert region north of the Mexican border, providing a well-vegetated corridor for breeding birds and migrants passing through on their annual journeys. Good birding for sparrows during winter.
	Willcox, Southeastern Arizona Playa --
	California
	Arcata Marsh, Northern California Coast -- Humboldt Bay, with the twice-daily ebb and flow of the tide, presents an extensive mud flat where thousands of shorebirds and waterfowl stop over on migration or to spend the winter. The Arcata Marsh and Sanctuary, a freshwater marsh located on the north end of the bay, is where many shorebirds go to rest during high tide when the mud flats are flooded; it is also the center of birding activity in the area.
	Big Morongo, Southern California Desert Riparian -- This riparian area in the desert mountains north of Palm Springs straddles the transition zone between the higher-elevation Mojave and lower-elevation Sonoran deserts. Springs feed small ponds, marshy areas, and a stream that provides water cottonwood trees, palm trees, and brushy thickets. These well-vegetated areas amid arid desert slopes, plus open grassy fields in an adjacent community park, provide habitat for a remarkable density and variety of resident, migrant, and vagrant species of birds. When I was learning to bird, this is where I cut my teeth on confusing fall warblers and winter sparrows.
	Elk Head, Northern California Coast -- While there are many headlands along the Pacific coast, this quiet place has always been special. Perhaps that is because the headlands overlook "College Cove," the clothes-optional beach we enjoyed in the 1970's, or perhaps it is because we could always find nesting Tufted Puffins in the springtime, but this nice, quiet walk in the woods leads to a shrubby headland that overlooks the ocean and several off-shore islands where sea lions, harbor seals, and birds come to rest and nest.
	Mono Lake, Eastern California Brine Lake -- Perhaps known better for the tufa towers and western water wars, this salty lake provides habitat for billions of brine flies. The flies, in turn, provide food for many thousands of grebes, ducks, gulls, shorebirds, and other species. This is the place to see Wilson's and Red-necked Phalaropes during migration.
	Salton Sea, Southern California Desert -- Despite the filth and stench of the Salton Sea, this is a wonderful place to bird during winter. This body of salty water and the surrounding farm fields and trees attract huge numbers of grebes, loons, gulls, and waterfowl, plus many other species of water and terrestrial birds. I'll never forget birding there one evening when we saw waves of orange snow geese (lit up from the color of the sunset) flying back to the sea for the night.
	Nevada
	Millers Rest Area, Western Nevada Desert -- This is one of the most amazing birding sites in all of Nevada, but it is disguised as ordinary roadside rest area, and most birders wouldn't recognize its value. Many places have been described as islands of green vegetation in a sea of dry desert scrub, but Millers defines what that really means. The rest area is in the bottom of a broad, flat valley sparsely covered by miles of saltbush in every direction. The valley is surrounded by mountains, but they are so far away as to be unnoticed from the rest area. The rest area has many trees and a lawn that is heavily irrigated every night. For migrant birds trying to fly across this inhospitable land, Millers must shine like a beacon on a dark and stormy night.
	Oregon
	Malheur National Wildlife Refuge, Southern Oregon Marshes -- Most of southern Oregon is sagebrush desert or mountains, but the middle of the state is a broad basin surrounded in the far distance by mountains. When it rains or snows on the mountains, water collects in this huge basin. The shallow marsh ponds and marshes provide habitat for a huge number of wintering birds, and the trees and shrubs at Malheur National Wildlife Refuge headquarters attract an amazing variety of migrants.