Desert Birding at Big Morongo Canyon Preserve
If you’ve driven out to Joshua Tree National Park as much as we have, maybe you have noticed signs off Highway 62 for this preserve along with the Sand and Snow Monument. Since Andrea started birding last year, we have discovered some great little out of the way places like this - nature preserves filled with birds and trails!
On our way out to camp at Indian Cove last weekend, we made a quick stop to hike around the Big Morongo Canyon Preserve and see if any fall migration birds were hanging out in the area. The temperature ended up being a lot warmer than we expected for the end of September, but we still got to see a few fun birds and enjoy an early morning walk in the shade of the growth at this preserve.
In order for this small trail system to stay open and safe during Covid-19, they have made the trails one way to help with traffic flow. When we pulled into the parking lot at 9:30am on Sunday morning, there were maybe ten other cars there so we weren’t too worried about it being crowded.
They have a great information booth at the entrance and hosts that greet and answer questions and give directions, specifically now on the one way status of the trails. They also have maps and brochures with info about what wildlife you may encounter.
Starting from the parking lot, we walked out on the boardwalk going counterclockwise on the Marsh trail to Mesquite Trail and then reconnected with the Marsh trail to return to the parking lot. This route was about 1.25 miles and, with a lot of pausing for bird watching, took us about an hour. For the most part, this quick hike was in the shade and most of the trail was in heavy tree coverage. If we had gone out on Yucca Ridge or Desert Willow trails it would be more desert terrain with less shade.
Over the short time we spent on the trails, we saw a good variety of birds… and a snake. We’re not so thrilled when we run into snakes, but this California Striped Racer seemed equally as displeased to see us. We were walking along the boardwalk, and this little snake jumped right up and slithered across to the other side! It paused only once to stare back at us and then shot off into the brush.
California Striped Racer
The birds were possibly a little hot while we were there, since the day had already warmed up to the high 80’s and was just getting warmer. Still, we got to see a few fun ones!
We can’t wait to go back to this little preserve when its cooler and hopefully we’ll see a greater diversity of birds during their winter migration. We enjoyed the easy to follow trails, with good signage, and the safety measures that were being implemented. It’s clear this is a “birder’s park”, so we’ll definitely be returning to see what else we can see here!
