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The golden days of fall are perfect for getting outside. While some people double down on getting their steps in or dust off their bicycles, the rest of us might be looking for a new way to breathe again. Enter: birding.
“When you start off birding, it’s like you’re being given all these puzzle pieces to the natural world,” says Morrigan DeVito, educator with the Red Rock Audubon Society. “The more you get out and observe, the more you start to connect those pieces and see this really rich tapestry of the comings and goings of all these different creatures in the Las Vegas Valley.”
You don’t need much to start. “You can observe and appreciate birds with nothing but your eyes and your ears,” DeVito says. Sure, binoculars help, especially for fast-moving flashes of color in the trees, but they’re not required. For the curious who want to level up, DeVito recommends checking the National Audubon Society’s binocular guide to find a pair that fits your budget.
Apps like Merlin Bird ID from the Cornell Lab of Ornithology turn your phone into a field guide, helping you identify species by color, song or shape. DeVito encourages beginners to also pay attention to details like a bird’s behavior, habitat, and time of year to learn who’s who out there.
But birding isn’t all about spotting species. “Bird watching fosters mindfulness and connection to nature,” DeVito says. “You’re connecting with other people through these shared moments of awe and wonder.” The activity, she adds, is a quiet way to unplug from daily life and get the most out of your surroundings.
“I’m just looking at this incredible being that has its own life, its own song. It’s a very grounding way to be present,” she says.
To dive in, join one of Red Rock Audubon’s bird walks (redrock
audubon.com) or head to a local park with water, which is a magnet for feathered friends. Small groups of 10 to 15 are typical on the group walks, intimate enough to learn without scaring away the stars of the show.
As for what you’ll find this season, the Las Vegas Valley plays host to both year-round locals like the bold great-tailed grackle, the tiny, chattering verdin, and winter visitors like the white-crowned sparrow and yellow-rumped warbler.
“Every month is different, which makes it really fun to explore those places regularly,” says DeVito.
Best Places to go birding around Las Vegas
Once you step away from the city noise and listen closely to nature’s hum, you’ll be surprised what you’ll find.
“It was a snowy egret I saw at the Wetlands Park that really made me think, oh, I didn’t know we had those birds here, what else do we have?” says Devito. “So, I got into birding, definitely for my own mental health and just my own curiosity.”
She recommends beginners start at Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve, which offers miles of quiet paths circling ponds alive with ducks, herons and the occasional migrating warbler. DeVito calls it one of her favorite local spots, along with the Clark County Wetlands Park, a green corridor where desert meets riparian life.
Up north, Floyd Lamb Park gives you old cottonwood trees, peacocks strutting around like they own the place and a front row seat to the shifting seasons. At Sunset Park, a surprising oasis near McCarran Airport, the lake attracts everything from geese to the iridescent Anna’s hummingbird.
Each location offers a slightly different mix of sights depending on the month—sparrows and kinglets in winter, tanagers and warblers in spring. Pack your curiosity, maybe a thermos of coffee, and take a look around.
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