Birding Around Las Vegas, Birding Gold Butte
Gold Butte isn't the best place to go birding, and for birders visiting the region, there are some much better nearby places (Moapa NWR, Overton WMA). However, for birders visiting greater Gold Butte, there are a few places to investigate that are better than others. Driving in, birders will find about 1/2-miles of productive shrub thickets along the Virgin River. Inside Gold Butte National Monument, birders will find an interesting ecological gradient along Whitney Pass Road, and there are a few springs that are accessible and bring in birds from the surrounding desert. Spring is the best time of year for birding when migrants mix with resident species, and summer at the springs can be good because everyone comes to rare sources of water (but it gets hot -- over 110°F). At other times of year, something interesting is always flying about or scurrying among the shrubs, but never expect a big day. Link to Gold Butte Birding Map.
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Gold Butte Area, Horse Spring. This wild, remote, and scenic area is good for a variety of desert bird species. 4WD vehicles are required to drive all the way to the spring; otherwise, birders can walk 1 mile from Gold Butte Road and bird the desert along the way (3 hrs. from town). The spring area has been vandalized by local ranchers, so the conditions here are changing. |
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Gold Butte Area, Red Bluff Spring. Bird the riparian zone around the spring and outflow stream. This riparian area provides resting habitat for occasional migrants, breeding habitat for residents, and water for birds in the surrounding desert (3 hrs from town). |
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Gold Butte Area, Virgin River. Mesquite and shrub thickets line the Virgin River here, creating a riparian corridor that provides resting habitat for migrants and breeding habitat for residents (1-1/4 hrs from town). |
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Gold Butte Area, Whitney Pass Road. This wild, remote, and scenic area is good for a variety of desert species. Drive the steep Arizona Road as it climbs through several habitat zones from desert to pinyon-juniper woodlands with different species of birds (2 hrs. from town). |
Happy birding! All distances, elevations, and other facts are approximate.
; Last updated 240322
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