bird feeders in the Palm Desert area

[exco]

I would like to take some bird pictures in the Palm Desert area. Unfortunately, most resorts and residential areas there are gated.
Would you know any locations near Palm Desert that have no restricted access and have bird or hummingbird feeders? If so, could
you pass those along to me please?

Thank you in advance!

 

[sue1947]

The whole Palm Springs area is a birding hotspot with multiple preserves and bird watching spots. For feeders, the easiest is the Visitor Center at Santa Rosa National Monument. Other good spots for birds are Whitewater Reserve, Big Morongo Canyon Preserve (has a weekly bird walk with lots of regulars who enjoy helping out newbies), or Coachella Preserve plus Joshua Tree NP. Any body of water in the desert is a good spot to photograph birds.

 

[LisaH]

We just returned from our stay at Marriott Desert Spring Villas. It’s such a treat to watch egrets, coots, ducks, pelicans and all kid of birds from my balcony every day. We even caught a Vermillion flycatcher on camera on our last day before we drove back. We took a few field trips to Joshua Tree (Oasis of Mara and Cottonwood Spring), Big Morongo Canyon and Sonny Bono National Wildlife Refuge, where we saw Gambel’s quails, cactus wrens, warblers, Scot’s orioles, burrowing owls, and flocks of ibis and snow geese...will go back in Jan to see more winter migratory birds especially sandhill cranes.

 

[LisaH]

We didn’t notice bird feeders. Just as sue1947 said, any body of water will attract birds there. Marriott hotel section has flamingos, black swans and we also saw a blue heron on its golf course. You should be able to drive to the hotel. If you want, you can walk over to the villas.

 

[BJRSanDiego]

When we were at Shadow Ridge last week, there was a juvenile road runner who was "mooching" chips. It got within 5 feet of me which is surprising. I'm used to them being more wary.

 

[exco]

The whole Palm Springs area is a birding hotspot with multiple preserves and bird watching spots. For feeders, the easiest is the Visitor Center at Santa Rosa National Monument. Other good spots for birds are Whitewater Reserve, Big Morongo Canyon Preserve (has a weekly bird walk with lots of regulars who enjoy helping out newbies), or Coachella Preserve plus Joshua Tree NP. Any body of water in the desert is a good spot to photograph birds.

Two years ago one of the employees at the Visitor Center in Santa Rosa and San Jacinto Mountains National Monument told me a volunteer
came to fill the two hummingbird feeders and the bird feeders every week the past ten years unless she was sick. This same volunteer also filled the bird bath saucer.

When I visited the Monument, I was very appreciative of all this volunteer's efforts. Not only she fed the birds, but by doing so it also made it much easier for me
to take pictures of these beautiful birds without without having to expend much effort trying to find them and walking a lot.

The Visitor Center at Santa Rosa National Monument is closed now because COVID-19, but one hummingbird feeder is still filled.
strangely, I did not see any hummingbirds or other birds when I visited in November this year.