BCR 33. 

Sonoran and Mojave Deserts

Yuma Clapper Rail. Photo: USFWS

The Mohave Desert is centered in southeastern California and southern Nevada and grades into the Sonoran Desert of southwestern Arizona, which extends south on both sides of the Gulf of California into the states of Baja California, Sonora, and Sinaloa. This arid region is dominated by creosote, cacti, and other desert shrubs and is the center of distribution of the Rufous-winged Sparrow, LeConte's Thrasher, Bendire's Thrasher, Lucy's Warbler, and Abert's Towhee. Riparian wetlands are habitat for the Yuma Clapper Rail and Southwestern Willow Flycatcher. The Salton Sea hosts large numbers of American White Pelicans, Eared Grebes, and other colonial waterbirds, shorebirds such as Black-necked Stilt and Long-billed Curlew, and waterfowl during both migrations and winter. The Colorado River and adjacent wetlands provide habitat for ducks and other wetland birds, including some of the most important habitat in the arid southwest for Western and Clark's Grebes and American Avocets.

Important Bird Areas in this BCR

Elf Owl. Photo: © Greg Clark, 2002

Anza-Borrego Desert State Park

Bill Williams River National Wildlife Refuge (Lower Colorado River)

Buenos Aires National Wildlife Refuge

Butterbredt Spring Wildlife Sanctuary

Cabeza Prieta National Wildlife Refuge and Organ Pipe National Monument

Cibola National Wildlife Refuge (Lower Colorado River)

Havasu National Wildlife Refuge (Lower Colorado River)

Imperial National Wildlife Refuge (Lower Colorado River)

Joshua Tree National Park

Madera Canyon

Mojave National Preserve

Otay Sweetwater and Vernal Pools Unit (San Diego National Wildlife Refuge Complex)

Salton Sea

San Bernadino National Forest

Upper Newport Bay Regional Park and Ecological Reserve

Vandenberg Air Force Base