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. Each prong (left, middle, and right) is the site of a small picnic area. Following the access road to the left picnic area 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 route, but the beginning is quite steep with loose dirt. Be sure to bring a spotting scope. Watch for ducks, grebes, cormorants, pelicans, coots, gulls, and the occasional Black-legged Kittiwake. The route descends the steep hillside and crosses a broad wash to a low ridgeline. Turning towards the lake atop the ridgeline, birders can walk out to bluffs overlooking the Las Vegas Wash delta. Link to map. |
 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 250215
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