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| Great Horned Owl Nestling |
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| Greater Roadrunner |
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| Marsh Wren speaks his mind! |
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The Coachella Valley Wild Bird Center really surprised me!Before each bird watching trip, I make a list of multiple places to visit knowing that some
will be a bust. I must admit that I thought the CVWBC was going to fall into that category. I was pleasantly surprised! When
we first walked up we were greeted by Linda York with a Great Horned Owl Nestling in tow. Linda explained that the owl
had been brought in that morning by a maintenance crew from a local golf course. It had been windy the night before and the
small owl was blown out of his nest up in a palm tree. We followed Linda as she took us around back and showed us all the
birds that were either there to get mended up and released or birds that were going to have to be permanent guests due to
injuries. There were owls, falcons, hawks, doves, roadrunners, ducks, cormorants, pelicans, quails, and more. One of the little
Quails was too cute as he came right up to the side of the cage and talked sweetly to our faces. It was a real treat to see
these birds up close. The CVWBC is right
next to the Valley Sanitary District, a waste water treatment facility that includes a 25 acres of constructed wetland habitat
with three ponds. The area provides a great location for migratory and resident waterfowl and makes for a great shorebird
habitat. After checking out the CVWBC facility, we walked over to the beautiful marsh areas where all you could hear
was screaming Marsh Wrens. They were everywhere but tough to spot. I was going crazy trying to get a picture of one of the
little guys. We walked up all the viewing platforms and overlooked the marshland. It is an Oasis in the desert for many birds
and also for us bird watcher types. Recommendation: Call for the current hours as they may differ
from their web page. They are usually open daily from 9am-12noon expect for major holidays.
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