Great Basin trip in February

Just found this thread while searching for places to go while on a business trip to LV :( in February. Since I don%26#39;t care for the strip, I have a need to get out , enjoy nature, and go birding. How is the Great Basin in February for birding, anyone know? Is it passable, i.e., do I need to rent a 4 wheel drive? And will there be an occassional car out there if I run into trouble?! Are the rangers on site all year? If I am repeating any questions which have already been asked, I apologize.

Great Basin trip in February

I would not attempt the drive in February. I don%26#39;t know for sure if the park is open then, but even if it is, it%26#39;s almost five hours from LV and there are no hotels in the vicinity that you would want to stay in! An additional concern would be winter driving conditions on the remote rural roads.

For an outdoor excursion, let me please suggest that you do a two hour drive east to Zion National Park in southern Utah. In February, it will be colder than LV but still reasonably pleasant weather, (highs in the 50s) uncrowded, and it is one of the most spectacular national parks in the country.

There are hundreds of bird species in Zion and I understand that winter is the best time for birding there because there are few people and the climate is reasonably mild. Check out the bird list at www.nps.gov/archive/zion/BirdList.htm

Although the list includes pelicans, coromorants etc., I%26#39;m skeptical about that (maybe some poor lost pelican took a wrong turn on migration and got on somebody%26#39;s life list :-) . The Galliformes species are very common (I%26#39;m sure you%26#39;d see Gambel quail) as well as the falcons and hawks. The canyon wrens have a beautiful descending trill and it echos off the canyon walls. In summer you%26#39;d never hear it over the crowds but in February it would be a real experience! There are a lot of the perching birds that are uncommon in the southeast like mountain chickadees etc., as well as jays that you might not have seen, so I%26#39;m sure that you would enjoy it.

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