Birding Around Las Vegas, Lake Mead Area
 33 Hole Picnic Area in the not-so-old days (2004) |
Overview 33 Hole Picnic Area sits on a 3-pronged, flat-topped bluff overlooking Las Vegas Bay, and following the road to the right prong provides limited birding from a distance. When the lake level was up, water lapped at the edge of the picnic area, but now the picnic area provides an elevated position for looking down on waterbirds in the very far distance. To bird the area now, birders can follow fishermen trails out to the edge of the lake. The White Owl Trail (0.4 miles one-way) is good, but the beginning is quite steep. Be sure to bring a spotting scope. Watch for ducks, grebes, cormorants, pelicans, coots, gulls, and the occasional Black-legged Kittiwake. The landscape is sparsely vegetated with stunted creosote bush, white bursage, and few other shrubs, and the lakeshore is mud or grown up in saltcedar, depending on water levels. Link to map. |
 Entering the right-most picnic area (view N) |
 First table on right: shade with distant view of lake (view NE) |
 First table on right: shade with distant view of lake (view NE) |
 Second table on right: fisherman trail towards the lake (view NE) |
 Fisherman trail exits behind the shaded picnic table (view NE) |
 Edge of bluffs: fisherman trail runs to the lake (view NE) |
 View of the lake; bring a spotting scope to identify birds (view NE) |
 More to come ... |
Birding From White Owl Trail (for details, see Hiking the White Owl Trail)
 White Owl Trail Trailhead (2024); water is barely visible (view NW) |
 The route is visible from the trailhead (view NW) |
 Birders descending the steep trail (view NW) |
 Birders stay right at a fork (view NW) |
 Birders crossing the mud flats (view NW) |
 Birders approaching the low saddle (view W) |
 Atop saddle, birders turn right and head towards the wash (view N) |
 Approaching the edge of the bluffs (view N) |
 Atop the bluffs, it is a long way to the water (view N) |
 The lake stretches out to the right (view NE) |
 Birds in the Las Vegas Wash delta (view N) |
 Mixed water birds (view N) |
 American White Pelicans resting on a sandbar |
 Ducks, coots, gulls, and a pelican closer in |
 American White Pelicans, Ring-billed Gulls, and American Coots |
 American White Pelicans and Double-crested Cormorants |
Happy birding! All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate.
; Last updated 240613
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