Birding Site: Southeast Salton Sea

Most recent visit: 7 May 2011
Latest web site update: 26 Jan 2011

Habitat

• Open Water (Various size lakes, ponds)
• Streams, drains, and canals
• Riparian
• Agricultural
• Marshes
• Urban
• Desert & sagebrush scrub

General Description

Two hundred twenty-seven feet below sea level. Searing summer temperatures that exceed 115 degrees Fahrenheit. Largest lake in California. Saltier than the Pacific Ocean. Breeding Burrowing Owls, Ruddy Ground-Doves, Gull-billed Terns, Black Skimmers, and Laughing Gulls. A magnet for rarities, wanderers, and snow birds alike! These all describe the Salton Sea and the Imperial Valley. No matter the season, birders can spend a day around the Sea and find thousands of birds of a hundred-plus species.

Every year sharp-eyed observers find unusual and choice birds to complement the numerous residents and migrants. Jaegers and scoters are an annual occurrence on the Sea. Fall 2006 saw a Ross’s Gull at Red Hill Marina and a Black-headed Gull at the north end of the Sea. Summer’s end may yield Magnificent Frigatebirds, Wood Storks, and Blue-footed Boobies. The list of rarities seen here over the years reads like a who’s-who of birds seen in all corners of the U.S.

It is not just rarities and regulars that define a birding trip to the area, it is also the overwhelming numbers of birds. A few of my favorite personal observations from the past few years include:

•   500+ Mountain Plovers in an asparagus field—a good percentage of the world population
•   Clouds of Black Skimmers, Caspian Terns, and California Gulls wheeling over Obsidian Butte
•   Thousands of White-faced Ibis and Cattle Egrets over Bermuda grass fields--¬the swirling mass blotting out the sun
•   Hundreds of American White Pelicans standing side-by-side at the mouth of the New River, along with countless waterfowl and waders of every description
•   An acre-sized mat of phalaropes swirling on the surface of the Sea

Target Birds

• Snow, White-fronted, & Canada Geese (w)
• Brant (w)
• all Western Waterfowl (w)
• Yellow-footed Gull
• Gull-billed Tern
• Black Skimmer (s)
• Sandhill Crane (w)
• Reddish Egret (r)
• Tricolored Heron (r)
• Wood Stork (s)
• almost any U.S. shorebird
• Prairie & Peregrine Falcon
• Ferruginous Hawk (w)
• Burrowing Owl
• Gila Woodpecker
• Red-naped Sapsucker (w)
• Ruddy Ground-Dove
• Gray Flycatcher
• Phainopepla
• Black-tailed & Blue-gray Gnatcatcher
• Crissal Thrasher

Birding Map

Birding Locations

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8

Earthrise Spirulina Algae Farm
- Access: from Blair & Hoover, drive 0.9 miles west just over the RR tracks; take dirt road that travels around the outside of the east and south side of the fence
- Habitat: freshwater ponds
- Expected birds: waterfowl, Black Tern, Bonaparte’s Gull, nesting Black-necked Stilts, Wilson’s & Red-necked Phalaropes, and Burrowing Owl along Hoover Road
- Bonus birds: Ruff, Wandering Tattler

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12

13

14

Schrimpf Road
- Access: best portion of this road is between Garst and Davis Roads
- Habitat: marshes, shoreline, ponds, the Alamo River on the north side of the road
- Expected birds: waterfowl, Wood Stork, “Yuma” Clapper Rail, Wilson’s & Red-necked Phalaropes
- Bonus birds: Red Phalarope, Tricolored Heron

15

Red Hill Marina
- Access: at the west end of Red Hill Road
- Habitat: shoreline and open sea
- Expected birds: waterfowl, terns, Yellow-footed & Lesser Black-backed Gulls, Marbled Godwit
- Bonus birds: Blue-footed Booby, Magnificent Frigatebird, Glaucous & Glaucous-winged Gulls, Piping Plove

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Site Notes

• Ownership: Federal government, California state government, Imperial Irrigation District, and private
• Vehicle Access : Most roads are 2-wheel drive, including dirt farm and levee roads. However, rains can turn dirt roads into slippery messes--best avoided by even 4-wheel drive. No matter the season, never ever drive along the shoreline of the Salton Sea--you’ll get stuck in the muck!
• Fees: None
• Restrooms: Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR Headquarters, Calipatria, Brawley, and Niland
• Food: Calipatria, Brawley, and Niland
• Gas: Same as above
• Camping: Several fee-based developed campgrounds in the Salton Sea State Recreation Area, plus several primitive camping areas
• Other Notes: All seasons offer superb birding, but fall through early spring offers the most pleasant weather. The summer season is usually hot and humid. Decomposing algae, rotting fish, and escaping geothermal gases add up to some mighty odiferous birding. And there are swarms of flies. When you step out to view the birds, a baker’s dozen will invade your vehicle in search of cooler air—most aggravating. Summer birding is usually best done from the comfort of your air-conditioned, multi-window bird blind. Always take along plenty of water—a gallon a day per person.
  
  The definitive reference on the avifauna of the area is the Birds of the Salton Sea, by Patten, McCaskie, and Unitt (University of California Press, 2003). Guy McCaskie had an exceptionally good year in 2006, seeing an incredible 294 species in Imperial County, including 26 species of gulls! A good Internet reference is the Sonny Bono Salton Sea NWR website: www.fws.gov/saltonsea.

Driving Directions to Salton Sea NWR Headquarters

• From Calipatria, drive north 5 miles on Highway 115 to Sinclair Road
• Turn left (west) onto Sinclair Road and drive 6 miles to the headquarters building (at corner of Sinclair and Gentry Roads)

Site Bird List

Common

Western waterfowl
Terns
- Black
-Caspian
- Gull-billed
Gulls
- Yellow-footed (s)
- California
- Herring
- Bonaparte's
- Laughing
- Franklin's
American Avocet
Black-necked Stilt
Stilt Sandpiper
Long-billed Dowitcher
Plovers
- Snowy
- Semipalmated
- Black-bellied
Wood Stork
American Kestrel
Peregrine Falcon (w)
Red-tailed Hawk
Lesser Nighthawk
Great-horned & Barn Owl
Burrowing Owl
Warblers (m)
- Townsend’s
- Hermit
- Black-throated Gray
- Wilson’s
- MacGillivray’s
- Nashville
- Yellow
- Yellow-breasted Chat
Flycatchers
- Willow
- Pacific-slope
- Olive-sided
- Western Wood Pewee  Western Tanager
Bullocks & Hooded Oriole
Black-headed Grosbeak

Uncommon

Surf Scoter (w)
Yellow-footed Gull (w)
Lesser Black-backed Gull (w)
Glaucous-winged Gull (w)
Pacific Golden Plover (m)
Sanderling (m)
Black & Ruddy Turnston (m,w)
Red Knot (m)
Short-billed Dowitcher (m)
Prairie Falcon (s)
Western Screech-Owl
Gray Flycatcher (w)
Crissal Thrasher

m = migrant
w = winter
s = summer

Rare

Black Scoter (w)
White-winged Scoter (w)
Tundra Swan (w)
Glaucous Gull (w)
Thayer's Gull (w)
American Golden Plover (m)
Ruff (w,m)
Wandering Tattler (w,m)
Magnificent Frigatebird (s)
Blue-footed Booby (s)
Ross' Gull (accidental)
Yellow-billed Cuckoo (m)
Hermit Warbler (m)

Ross's Gull