National Park Service Park News & Guide U.S. Department of the Interior Issue 20/Fall 2011 Issue 20/Fall 2011 Issue 20/Fall 2011 Mojave National Preserve N O NS E IM H T Y/ S RTE U CO Above: A Loggerhead shrike eating a lizard. Center: A Cooper’s Hawk perches on the fence along the Union Pacific Railroad tracks across from the Kelso Depot. The Mojave Desert is for the Birds Welcome to Mojave! Hilary Clark, Park Ranger As the new superintendent, I want to THE BIRDS IN THE MOJAVE DESErt ARE head shrike also dines on lizards, and pursues extend my personal welcome to Mojave unique and colorful as were the homesteaders its prey with equal vigor. Its method of captur- National Preserve. Although I moved here ing lizards seems unusually violent and has even that once staked their claim in this arid land. from Glacier National Park in Montana, I Regal golden eagles soar in the cobalt desert sky, earned it the nickname “butcher bird.” This began my National Park Service career in while a black-crowned night heron preens along black-masked predator with a gray cap catches the desert southwest, so it’s great to be the shoreline of Lake Tuendae at Zzyzx. A covey lizards with its sharp beak, and then proceeds back! The Mojave Desert is a place where of quail scurry through a desert wash, which, to impale them on a thorn or barbed wire fence. you can spread your eyes. to author Robert Bateman, resemble “ornately Male shrikes give the term being “a good pro- costumed Victorians at a banquet.” vider” a whole new meaning, impaling more liz- Cooler temperatures make fall and winter ards than they can eat to attract potential female a perfect time to visit the Mojave Desert, The character of these birds contradicts the age- mates. and the softening light as the sun passes lower in the sky offers a bolder, warmer old view of the desert as lifeless. They find inge- palate for desert photographers. We have nious ways of escaping the searing summer heat Shrikes are crafty in using their environment to several photography exhibitions planned and staying insulated in the bitter winter cold. capture prey, while ravens use their resources for the fall and winter months in the Desert in very clever ways. Perhaps poet Edgar Allan The Gambel’s quail has a body temperature of Light Art Gallery at the Kelso Depot Visi- 107 degrees so it can continue to release heat un- Poe saw cunning in their countenance when he tor Center. These exhibits run from two til the ambient air reaches the same temperature. described one in The Raven, “And his eyes have to three months, so stop in often to see While this keeps quails from overheating, owls all the seeming of a demon’s that is dreaming,” what’s new. use gular fluttering as a natural cooling system. for these birds use their beaks as scissors and Owls flap the loose skin under their throat. This they fashion hooks from twigs and rakes from Mojave’s landscape varies tremendously as moves air over their mouth cavities. stiff, dead leaves. They carry these tools in their you travel around the preserve, and I en- beak, from one place to the next, reusing them courage you to take short walks in various Along with adaptations for keeping cool, birds’ if needed. Raven populations have exploded in areas. Inside this guide, you’ll find informa- tion on how to visit the Kelso Dunes, Cin- ability to fly lifts them to higher elevations. This the Mojave Desert due to an increase in devel- der Cones Lava Beds, and the Joshua tree provides them an aerial view of natural water opment–you’ll see them at most every dumpster. woodland on Cima Dome. On the east side sources at desert springs and seeps, and also at This is bad news for tortoises. Ravens have been of the park, campgrounds, and hiking trails observed teaching their young to feed on tor- tanks and wells. Biologists believe that for birds, are available for those who have more time changes in vegetation from upland to riparian toise hatchlings. to explore. are a visual cue for spotting sources of water. Year-round residents learn from their parents Ravens are scavengers, and share that trait with Over one thousand miles of dirt roads where forage and water sources are located. NPS/HILARY CLARK turkey vultures. Perceived as unattractive ac- await desert explorers in street-legal ve- cording to societal conventions of beauty, the hicles, providing access to old mining sites, While some birds glide high above the land- turkey vultures’ bald red heads are highly practi- springs, and roadside camps. Some routes scape, others, like roadrunners, stay closer to cal for feeding on dead carrion. Having a feath- require high-clearance vehicles and/or four- the ground. The roadrunner uses its zygodactyl erless head prevents vultures from contracting wheel drive, and road conditions change rapidly during rainy weather, so check with feet to run upwards of fifteen miles per hour. diseases and also helps dissipate heat. Along a ranger before heading out. Although, you won’t see a coyote chasing it, as with a bald head, turkey vultures get relief from the famous cartoon would have you believe, you the heat in a unique way. They urinate on their If you would like to learn more about what chicken-like legs which absorb the waste, and might see a lizard or rattlesnake dangling from to see and do, talk to the rangers at the its beak. Their featherless scaly legs, an attribute provide a source of evaporative cooling. Kelso Depot Visitor Center or Hole-in-the- that they share with thrashers and quail, help Wall. Visit our website, or call the head- release heat into the atmosphere. During cold Although some people might view the desert quarters information desk. Websites and nights, roadrunners enter a state of torpor, slow- NPS/RANA KNIGHTEN as devoid of life, for many birds, it is their life- phone numbers are listed on page two. ing their metabolism down to a snail’s pace. In Above: A Costa’s hummingbird is one of at blood. The next time you’re in the preserve, pull the mornings, they turn their backs toward the least 5 species that nests in, and migrates over and scan the surrounding desert with your through the Mojave Desert. Before starting sun, exposing their black-pigmented skin which their migration, hummingbirds will gain 25 eyes and ears. Watch for a great-horned owl absorbs heat. to 40 percent of their body weight, gorg- perched on a Joshua tree. Listen for the guttural Stephanie Dubois ing on nectar and insects. “kerr” of a hawk or the raucous call of a jay. Mo- Superintendent Much smaller than the roadrunner, the Logger- jave National Preserve is truly for the birds. 3. Mojave Roads 4. Looking Back 6. Campgrounds Essential Information…2 Getting around Mojave National Preserve, the Glenn DeVoge, now 86, remembers going to the Mojave National Preserve is a camper’s para- Nature & Science…4 third largest unit of the National Park System one-room school house at Kelso during the Great dise. Developed campgrounds, roadside, and in the contiguous United States, can be Depression. Now, the National Park Service is in backcountry camping offer opportunities for Faces & Places…5 challenging. It need not be. Plan ahead and the process of renovating this historic structure, so individuals and groups of diverse ages, inter- prioritize; familiarize yourself with Mojave’s visitors can learn about the lives of Glenn DeVoge ests, and skills. Careful planning and knowl- Camping…6 paved and dirt roads as well as the major sites and others who lived and went to school in this edge of camping rules and regulations will to see along the way. And remember—you’ll desert frontier town. help ensure an enjoyable and safe experience Hiking…7 never see it all in one day (but you can always for you, future visitors, and the fragile desert come back)... environment... Mojave National Preserve Map…8 Printed on 60% post-consumer recycled paper with soy-based inks National Park Service U.S. Department of the Interior A Hike with History Chris Mills, Park Ranger IF YOU WERE WONDERING HOW ANY- Exhibits near the spring describe the Mojave ONE could—or would want to!—live in the and Chemehuevi Indians who formerly lived Mojave National Preserve remote desert that is now Mojave National in the area, and Camp Rock Spring, an army Preserve, take a leisurely stroll along our outpost active briefly in the 1860s to protect Established in 1994, Mojave National Pre- newest park trail, the Rock Spring Loop, mail and early travelers that passed along the serve encompasses 1.6 million acres ranging to find some answers. The trail starts at the route. Water is almost always present here; in elevation from 800’ near Baker to 7,929’ Rock House, five miles east of Black Canyon whether it’s a slow trickle or several deep at Clark Mountain. Although most of the Road on Cedar Canyon Road. At the Rock pools depends on recent rainfall. N O park lies in the Mojave Desert, the south- I House, you will find a vault toilet and picnic T C east section grades into the Sonoran Desert, E LL table. O From the spring, the trail climbs a ridgeline C and elements of the Great Basin Desert are found at higher elevations east of the Gran- NPS overlooking Watson Wash with expansive ite, Providence and New York mountains.