Birding King's Pool and Point of Rocks
Birding Around Las Vegas,
Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge
Birding over the King's Pool spring pool (view east).
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Description
There are several small springs and
thickets in the King's Pool and Point of Rocks area.
There is one spring pool (King's Pool), but the other springs flow from the hillside and
run directly into streams. There used to be a man-made pond here, but
refuge personnel filled it in, sculpted the outflow streams, and
revegetated the area with mesquite trees to make it similar to
pre-development conditions. The area should grow up into a nice
mesquite thicket.
Location
King's Pool and Point of Rocks is located on the Ash Meadows National
Wildlife, about 2 hours northwest of Las Vegas and about 3.4 air-miles east of
the Refuge Office.
From Las Vegas, drive out to the Refuge Office.
From the Refuge Office (Table 1, Site 691), drive out to the main
refuge road. Turn right onto the main road and drive east (the road
curves to the south and then back to the east) for about 2.3 miles to a
T-intersection. At the T-intersection (with mailboxes and signs), turn
right and drive south for about 0.5 miles to another T-intersection.
Turn left onto the well-graded dirt road and drive east for about 1.5
miles to a large parking area at the end of the road. |
This area was a pond, but the Refuge filled it in to restore
the habitat to a more natural condition (view southwest).
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The trail to the springs continues down the closed road. From the parking area, walk around the gate and east on the
closed road to the spring pool (Site 703), which is 2-3 minutes out.
From there, continue eastward and up the hillside following use-trails
to overlook the other springs and the marshy outflow streams.
Hours
The refuge is day-use only: open sunrise to sunset.
Fees
None. |
Ash Meadows Amargosa Pupfish in an
outflow stream. Arrows point to pupfish; if you see them in person, they are obvious.
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Specialties
King's Pool and Point of Rocks is a good place to see desert species when they
come in for water. Check the trees and shrubs for flycatchers,
House Finches,
White-crowned Sparrows,
Chipping sparrows,
Yellow-rumped Warblers and other warblers,
Chukar,
Gambel's Quail,
Mourning Doves,
Crissal Thrashers,
and similar species. Watch the marshy areas for and
Marsh Wrens.
This area is also good for finding migrants, but the
species mix depends on the season, and during migration it depends on
just who is moving through at the time. Review the refuge bird
list for some ideas on what to expect during the time of year when you will
be visiting.
Be sure to look for the rare Ash Meadows Amargosa Pupfish in
the spring pool and outflow streams. |
Table 1. GPS Coordinates for Highway Locations (NAD27; UTM Zone 11S).
| Site # |
Location |
Latitude (°N) |
Longitude (°W) |
UTM Easting |
UTM Northing |
Elevation (feet) |
Verified |
| 691 |
Ash Meadows Refuge Headquarters |
36.4220 |
116.3280 |
560243 |
4030764 |
2,188 |
Yes |
| 703 |
Point of Rocks Spring |
36.4018 |
116.2729 |
565197 |
4028555 |
2,304 |
Yes |
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