Birds in the Desert
12-22-2015 Desert National Wildlife Refuge (DNWR) - Visitors Center at Corn Creek.
I got a Facebook event invitation to attend a beginners bird walk at the visitor center and figured, what the heck, maybe we will see a road runner or two. I thought it will be nice to get out walk around in the desert even if we don't see much. I was sure surprised when we ended up seeing 17 different bird species, and saw a few birds that my wife and I had never seen before.
Western bluebird male watches over the other females nearby.
The Corn Creek Visitors Center is just a few miles north of Las Vegas, Nevada, just off of US95. I am told that it is one of the best places to see the most species of birds, particularly in Fall and Spring. We were assisted in identifying a list of birds by a DNWR Volunteer, Michele Reyes. She helped us find and identify the following: Ruby-crowned kinglet, Western bluebird, Sharp-shinned hawk, Verdin, Ruddy duck, Bufflehead, Say's phoebe, Cedar waxwing, Spotted towhee, Dark-eyed junco, Song sparrow, White crowned sparrow, American robin, Common raven, Northern mockingbird, Phainopepla, and one other bird which shall remain nameless because I forgot to write it down. Incidentally, we did not see any roadrunners.

A Say's phoebe looking for bugs.
Not only is the Corn Creek Visitor Center a great place to see birds but it is a nice place to walk around in shade and it is a great place to learn about the desert habitat and the plants and animals you might get to see while you are exploring.
I highly recommend a trip out to the DNWR and any of the bird walks and other interpretive activities they have going on.