Salton Sea Birding – What Birds You Might See by the Sea

As readers of my blog, you may notice by now that I absolutely love the Salton Sea.  This place is undiscovered by most, and that’s what I like about it.  In addition to the many things to do at the Salton Sea, in the southern California desert, and one of my favorite pastimes here is Salton Sea Birding – searching the near the shoreline and the surrounding desert for interesting birds.  There are dozens of types of birds, both permanent and migrating, that you can find near the Salton Sea. 

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All photos in this post were taken by me with a Panasonic Lumix Superzoom Camera.  I recommend this camera if you want a good balance between quality, zoom, price (I only paid around $300) and a reasonably small camera size and weight.

Burrowing Owls

Owls are one of the coolest birds, ever, but the thrill of spotting burrowing owls is one of the highlights of visiting the Salton Sea.   They look like little brown ovals with big yellow eyes and feet!  Like their name, you can imagine that they live in hole in the ground.  One of the best places to spot these cuties is on highway 111 between Niland and Calipatria, and on Sinclair Road heading from 111 to the Sonny Bono National Wildlife Reserve. 

California Quail

California Quails like to hang out in bushes and dart around when you go by.  A really easy place to find these is at the visitor center at the Sonny Bono National Wildlife Reserve, where they hang out in the bushed and by the bird feeder.

Water Birds

There are lots of wetlands around the south end of the Sea, near Sonny Bono.  I recommend you drive around the side roads and look for these makeshift ponds chock full of birdies!  Other great birding spots can be found along the east side of the Sea, from the Salton Sea Rec Area, to Bombay Beach.

Snow Geese

This is a flocking bird, it’s amazing to see 1000’s of these black and white Snow Geese in flight.  It’s common to see them near the sound end of the Salton Sea in the winter.

Sandhill Cranes

I’ve seen Sandhill Cranes as far north as Churchill, Manitoba and Fairbanks, Alaska in the summer, but you can see them this far south during winter time. 

White Faced Ibis and Other big beaked Birds

These birds have some impressive beaks.  Check out this ibis flying with another crazy beak in the background

Check out some of my other favorite birding spots in the world:

Bundala National Park, Sri Lanka

Kenai Peninsula Alaska

South Georgia

Falkland Islands

Torres del Paine National Park

If you really like Salton Sea Birding and Birding in North America and around the world, check out these great books from amazon:

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