Ash Meadows National Wildlife Refuge.
Just 90 miles northwest of Las Vegas in the Amargosa Valley, this is another great birdwatching place if you want to get out of the city for a few hours. Over 240 different species of birds have been recorded on this refuge. A mixture of wetlands, sandy dunes, mesquite and ash groves, saltbush and creosote shrub gives a very diverse habitat. Migration periods are best for the greatest diversity and numbers. Spring migration usually occurs during April and May, and fall migration from mid-August through September. During the winter, marshes and reservoirs support a large variety of water birds.
Corn Creek Station/Desert NWR
Only 27 miles north of Las Vegas, this wildlife refuge is ideal for birders in Las Vegas who want to get out for a couple of hours. This oasis in the Mojave Desert is a migrant trap, and although it is still being developed, to date over 320 species have been recorded. Although birding is at its best during migration, all four seasons can be very productive. To reach Corn Creek from Las Vegas, take U.S. 95 North towards Reno or the Mt. Charleston area. Traveling on 95, drive past the turn to Mt. Charleston (Kyle Canyon Rd.), and continue on the freeway, while looking for the small brown sign CORN CREEK and a row of mailboxes on the R or E side, which is where you turn and head east. (If you reach Lee Canyon Rd on 95, you've gone too far -- turn around and look for the sign again).
Ruby Lake National Wildlife Refuge.
Located in the Great Basin of the West, this is one of the most remote refuges in the lower 48 states, but it can be very rewarding for the birder who likes to get away from it all. Ruby Lake Refuge is a wetland oasis in Nevada's high desert. This remarkable refuge lies along the eastern flank of the scenic, snowcapped Ruby Mountains. A pristine marsh, meadows, grasslands, and shrub-steppe uplands provide essential habitat for thousands of nesting and migrating waterfowl, waterbirds, songbirds, and native wildlife. The Ruby Mountains close by are the only place in the U. S. to see Himalayan Snowcock. In summer visitors can travel 65 miles south of Elko on State Highway 228 (paved two-lane) through Spring Creek and Jiggs to County Road 718. Part of County Road 718 over Harrison Pass is a steep, rough, and winding unimproved gravel road.
The Stillwater National Wildlife Refuge.
This complex of refuges, 60 miles east of Reno, consists of Stillwater Refuge, Fallon Refuge, and Anaho Island Refuge. Together, these refuges encompass approximately 163,000 acres of wetland and upland habitats. The refuges provide important migration, breeding, and wintering habitat for up to 1 million migratory birds, including waterfowl, shorebirds, colonial nesting water birds, and neotropical migratory birds, and to date, more than 260 species have been recorded here.