Havasu National Wildlife Refuge

Wildlife Sanctuary · United States

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Photo © John Menard from Phoenix, USA

Photo © John Menard from Phoenix, USA — CC BY-SA 4.0 — Source: Wikimedia Commons

Where the Colorado River widens into a vast reservoir in the Sonoran Desert, Havasu National Wildlife Sanctuary protects one of the most critical wetland ecosystems in the American Southwest. The refuge's defining feature is the open water of Lake Havasu itself, fringed by riparian marshes, tamarisk thickets, and desert scrubland that create a mosaic of habitats in an otherwise arid landscape shaped by the relentless heat and aridity of the BWh climate zone. This hot desert environment receives minimal precipitation, making the permanent water body and its attendant wetlands an oasis of exceptional ecological importance. The sanctuary supports populations of waterfowl, waders, and fish-eating birds that depend on these shallow waters and emergent vegetation, alongside desert raptors and small mammals adapted to the harsh, sun-scorched terrain. The riparian corridor itself is a lifeline for migratory species, offering shelter and food during their seasonal movements across one of North America's least forgiving regions.

For wildlife photographers and ornithologists, the sanctuary delivers year-round appeal, though the cooler months bring the most concentrated avian activity as northern migrants arrive to exploit the refuge's abundant aquatic resources. The lake's shallow margins and extensive wetland margins create ideal conditions for observing water-dependent birds in their element, while the dramatic desert light—sharp and penetrating in the thin, dry air—renders detail with crystalline clarity. Access from Lake Havasu City makes this a logistically accessible destination for serious birders seeking to document the birds that thrive in this intersection of water and desert, where ecological richness persists only because human intervention maintains the lake in an otherwise rain-starved landscape. The relative lack of crowds compared to more famous reserves means patient observers can spend extended periods watching feeding, nesting, and courtship behaviors without the interruptions that plague busier wetlands.

Website fws.gov/refuge/havasu

Haliaeetus leucocephalus

Anser caerulescens

Greater White-fronted Goose

Anser albifrons

Cygnus columbianus

Spatula cyanoptera

Blue-winged Teal

Spatula discors

Northern Shoveler

Spatula clypeata

Mareca strepera

American Wigeon

Mareca americana

Anas platyrhynchos

Northern Pintail

Aythya valisineria

Aythya americana

Ring-necked Duck

Aythya collaris

Melanitta perspicillata

Long-tailed Duck

Clangula hyemalis

Bucephala albeola

Common Goldeneye

Bucephala clangula

Hooded Merganser

Lophodytes cucullatus

Common Merganser

Mergus merganser

Red-breasted Merganser

Mergus serrator

Oxyura jamaicensis

Callipepla gambelii

Lesser Nighthawk

Chordeiles acutipennis

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Archilochus alexandri

Anna's Hummingbird

Greater Roadrunner

Geococcyx californianus

Eurasian Collared Dove

Streptopelia decaocto

Zenaida macroura

White-winged Dove

Zenaida asiatica

Rallus obsoletus

Rallus limicola

Porzana carolina

Common Gallinule

Gallinula galeata

Fulica americana

Pied-billed Grebe

Podilymbus podiceps

Podiceps auritus

Black-necked Grebe

Podiceps nigricollis

Aechmophorus occidentalis

Aechmophorus clarkii

Black-necked Stilt

Himantopus mexicanus

American Avocet

Recurvirostra americana

Charadrius vociferus

Long-billed Dowitcher

Limnodromus scolopaceus

Gallinago delicata

Wilson's Phalarope

Phalaropus tricolor

Red-necked Phalarope

Phalaropus lobatus

Spotted Sandpiper

Actitis macularius

Solitary Sandpiper

Tringa solitaria

Lesser Yellowlegs

Tringa flavipes

Greater Yellowlegs

Tringa melanoleuca

Stilt Sandpiper

Calidris himantopus

Least Sandpiper

Calidris minutilla

Western Sandpiper

Chlidonias niger

Sterna forsteri

Bonaparte's Gull

Chroicocephalus philadelphia

Leucophaeus atricilla

Franklin's Gull

Leucophaeus pipixcan

Short-billed Gull

Larus brachyrhynchus

Ring-billed Gull

Larus delawarensis

Yellow-footed Gull

California Gull

Larus californicus

American Herring Gull

Larus smithsonianus

Parasitic Jaeger

Stercorarius parasiticus

Red-throated Loon

Blue-footed Booby

Neotropic Cormorant

Nannopterum brasilianum

Double-crested Cormorant

Nannopterum auritum

White-faced Ibis

Black-crowned Night Heron

Nycticorax nycticorax

Tricolored Heron

Egretta tricolor

Butorides virescens

Great Blue Heron

American White Pelican

Pelecanus erythrorhynchos

Pelecanus occidentalis

Pandion haliaetus

Northern Harrier

Circus hudsonius

Parabuteo unicinctus

Broad-winged Hawk

Buteo platypterus

Red-shouldered Hawk

Red-tailed Hawk

Buteo jamaicensis

American Barn Owl

Great Horned Owl

Bubo virginianus

Belted Kingfisher

Megaceryle alcyon

Gila Woodpecker

Melanerpes uropygialis

Yellow-bellied Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus varius

Red-naped Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus nuchalis

Red-breasted Sapsucker

Sphyrapicus ruber

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Dryobates scalaris

Northern Flicker

Colaptes auratus

Colaptes chrysoides

American Kestrel

Falco sparverius

Peregrine Falcon

Falco peregrinus

Sayornis phoebe

Sayornis nigricans

Olive-sided Flycatcher

Contopus cooperi

Western Wood Pewee

Contopus sordidulus

American Grey Flycatcher

Empidonax wrightii

Western Flycatcher

Empidonax difficilis

Vermilion Flycatcher

Pyrocephalus rubinus

Tropical Kingbird

Tyrannus melancholicus

Western Kingbird

Tyrannus verticalis

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Myiarchus cinerascens

Loggerhead Shrike

Lanius ludovicianus

Bombycilla cedrorum

Phainopepla nitens

Auriparus flaviceps

Tachycineta bicolor

Northern Rough-winged Swallow

Stelgidopteryx serripennis

Hirundo rustica

Campylorhynchus brunneicapillus

Cistothorus palustris

Black-tailed Gnatcatcher

Polioptila melanura

Dumetella carolinensis

Northern Mockingbird

Mimus polyglottos

Oreoscoptes montanus

Crissal Thrasher

Toxostoma crissale

Mountain Bluebird

Sialia currucoides

Western Bluebird

Sialia mexicana

Anthus rubescens

Haemorhous mexicanus

American Goldfinch

Lesser Goldfinch

Spinus psaltria

Black-throated Sparrow

Amphispiza bilineata

Chipping Sparrow

Spizella passerina

Clay-colored Sparrow

Spizella pallida

Brewer's Sparrow

Spizella breweri

White-crowned Sparrow

Zonotrichia leucophrys

Harris's Sparrow

Zonotrichia querula

Artemisiospiza belli

Pooecetes gramineus

Savannah Sparrow

Passerculus sandwichensis

Melospiza melodia

Lincoln's Sparrow

Melospiza lincolnii

Melospiza georgiana

Melozone aberti

Green-tailed Towhee

Pipilo chlorurus

Yellow-breasted Chat

Western Meadowlark

Sturnella neglecta

Red-winged Blackbird

Agelaius phoeniceus

Brown-headed Cowbird

Brewer's Blackbird

Euphagus cyanocephalus

Great-tailed Grackle

Quiscalus mexicanus

Northern Waterthrush

Parkesia noveboracensis

Leiothlypis luciae

Virginia's Warbler

Leiothlypis virginiae

Common Yellowthroat

Geothlypis trichas

Northern Parula

Setophaga americana

American Yellow Warbler

Setophaga aestiva

Setophaga coronata

Black-throated Grey Warbler

Setophaga nigrescens

Townsend's Warbler

Setophaga townsendi

Passerina caerulea

Passerina cyanea

Passerina amoena

Branta canadensis

Branta hutchinsii

Cygnus buccinator

Eurasian Wigeon

Mareca penelope

White-winged Scoter

Melanitta deglandi

Melanitta americana

Barrow's Goldeneye

Bucephala islandica

Common Poorwill

Phalaenoptilus nuttallii

White-throated Swift

Aeronautes saxatalis

Costa's Hummingbird

Calliope Hummingbird

Selasphorus calliope

Rufous Hummingbird

Selasphorus rufus

Yellow-billed Cuckoo

Coccyzus americanus

Common Ground Dove

Columbina passerina

Antigone canadensis

Red-necked Grebe

Podiceps grisegena

Pluvialis squatarola

Semipalmated Plover

Charadrius semipalmatus

Hudsonian Whimbrel

Numenius hudsonicus

Long-billed Curlew

Numenius americanus

Short-billed Dowitcher

Limnodromus griseus

Phalaropus fulicarius

Tringa semipalmata

Calidris alpina

Baird's Sandpiper

Calidris bairdii

Pectoral Sandpiper

Calidris melanotos

Semipalmated Sandpiper

Calidris pusilla

Sternula antillarum

Hydroprogne caspia

Hydrocoloeus minutus

Black-legged Kittiwake

Rissa tridactyla

Heermann's Gull

Larus heermanni

Larus hyperboreus

Lesser Black-backed Gull

Long-tailed Jaeger

Stercorarius longicaudus

Pomarine Jaeger

Stercorarius pomarinus

Black Storm Petrel

Hydrobates melania

Least Storm Petrel

Hydrobates microsoma

Mycteria americana

American Bittern

Botaurus lentiginosus

Little Blue Heron

Egretta caerulea

Aquila chrysaetos

Sharp-shinned Hawk

Accipiter striatus

Zone-tailed Hawk

Buteo albonotatus

Swainson's Hawk

Buteo swainsoni

Ferruginous Hawk

Northern Saw-whet Owl

Aegolius acadicus

Western Screech Owl

Megascops kennicottii

Lewis's Woodpecker

Melanerpes lewis

Crested Caracara

Caracara plancus

Falco columbarius

Falco mexicanus

Willow Flycatcher

Empidonax traillii

Hammond's Flycatcher

Empidonax hammondii

American Dusky Flycatcher

Empidonax oberholseri

Cassin's Kingbird

Tyrannus vociferans

Dusky-capped Flycatcher

Myiarchus tuberculifer

Brown-crested Flycatcher

Myiarchus tyrannulus

Plumbeous Vireo

Woodhouse's Scrub Jay

Aphelocoma woodhouseii

Corvus brachyrhynchos

Eremophila alpestris

Riparia riparia

Violet-green Swallow

Tachycineta thalassina

American Cliff Swallow

Petrochelidon pyrrhonota

American Bushtit

Psaltriparus minimus

Golden-crowned Kinglet

Regulus satrapa

Salpinctes obsoletus

Catherpes mexicanus

Thryomanes bewickii

Northern House Wren

Troglodytes aedon

Blue-grey Gnatcatcher

Polioptila caerulea

Red-breasted Nuthatch

Sitta canadensis

Common Starling

Sturnus vulgaris

Townsend's Solitaire

Myadestes townsendi

Ixoreus naevius

Swainson's Thrush

Catharus ustulatus

Catharus guttatus

Turdus migratorius

Passer domesticus

Haemorhous cassinii

Lawrence's Goldfinch

Spinus lawrencei

Chestnut-collared Longspur

Calcarius ornatus

Cassin's Sparrow

Peucaea cassinii

Chondestes grammacus

Calamospiza melanocorys

Black-chinned Sparrow

Spizella atrogularis

Dark-eyed Junco

Golden-crowned Sparrow

Zonotrichia atricapilla

White-throated Sparrow

Zonotrichia albicollis

Sagebrush Sparrow

Artemisiospiza nevadensis

Pipilo maculatus

Yellow-headed Blackbird

Xanthocephalus xanthocephalus

Dolichonyx oryzivorus

Icterus cucullatus

Icterus spurius

Bronzed Cowbird

Molothrus aeneus

Black-and-white Warbler

Mniotilta varia

Prothonotary Warbler

Protonotaria citrea

Orange-crowned Warbler

Leiothlypis celata

Nashville Warbler

Leiothlypis ruficapilla

MacGillivray's Warbler

Geothlypis tolmiei

American Redstart

Setophaga ruticilla

Blackpoll Warbler

Setophaga striata

Setophaga occidentalis

Western Tanager

Piranga ludoviciana

Rose-breasted Grosbeak

Pheucticus ludovicianus

Black-headed Grosbeak

Pheucticus melanocephalus

Eurasian Whimbrel

Numenius phaeopus

Eastern Warbling Vireo

Troglodytes pacificus

Mangrove Warbler

Setophaga petechia

Desert Cottontail

Sylvilagus audubonii

North American Beaver

Castor canadensis

Mephitis mephitis

Northern Raccoon

Ovis canadensis

Eurasian Wild Pig

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