Wildlife

Confluence Park showcases a rare desert setting. Above the canyon walls the landscape is dry and wildlife is scarce, but here at the meeting of three waterways the habitat is lush and animals are plentiful. Tree-lined banks keep water cool for native fish and provide shelter birds and mammals. Grass and shrubs provide food and cover for amphibians and reptiles, while basalt cliffs house bat colonies and bird nests. The result is a rich and varied environment for inhabitants and visitors alike. Featured below are a few of the species that can be found in the park.


Birds

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Great horned owl
Bubo virginianus
Credit: Mick Thompson

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Western screech-owl
Megascops kennicottii
Credit: Cameron Rognan

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Red-tailed hawk
Buteo jamaicensis
Credit: Mike Schijf

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Yellow warbler
Setophaga petechia
Credit: Kristine Sowl

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Southwestern willow flycatcher
Empidonax traillii extimus
Credit: Rick Fridell

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Gambel’s quail
Callipepla gambelii
Credit: Cameron Rognan

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Greater roadrunner
Geococcyx californianus
Credit: Cameron Rognan

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Great blue heron
Ardea herodias
Credit: Courtney Celley

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Turkey vulture
Cathartes aura
Credit: Mike Schijf


Fish

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Woundfin
Plagopterus argentissimus
Credit: Brian Gratwicke

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Virgin River chub
Gila seminuda
Credit: U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service

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Flannelmouth sucker
Catostomus latipinnis
Credit: Mary Duffy


Reptiles

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Great Basin rattlesnake
Crotalus lutosus
Credit: Cameron Rognan

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Gopher snake
Pituophis catenifer
Credit: Cameron Rognan

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Desert nightsnake
Hypsiglena chlorophaea
Credit: Andrew DuBois

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Ground snake
Sonora semiannulata
Credit: Cameron Rognan

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California kingsnake
Lampropeltis californiae
Credit: Steven True

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Coachwhip
Masticophis flagellum
Credit: Andrew DuBois

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Western whiptail
Aspidoscelis tigris
Credit: Dylan Thomas

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Desert spiny lizard
Sceloporus magister
Credit: Dylan Thomas

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Side-blotched lizard
Uta stansburiana
Credit: Dylan Thomas

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Desert horned lizard
Phrynosoma platyrhinos
Credit: Cameron Rognan

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Chuckwalla
Sauromalus ater
Credit: Carmen Aurrecoechea

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Zebra-tailed lizard
Callisaurus draconoides
Credit: Carmen Aurrecoechea


Amphibians

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Red-spotted toad
Anaxyrus punctatus
Credit: Andrew DuBois

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Great Basin spadefoot
Spea intermontana
Credit: Grigory Heaton

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Woodhouse’s toad
Anaxyrus woodhousii
Credit: Ammon Teare


Mammals

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Coyote
Canis latrans
Credit: Jitze Couperus

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Gray fox
Urocyon cinereoargenteus
Credit: Cameron Rognan

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Porcupine
Erethizon dorsatum
Credit: Cameron Rognan

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Desert cottontail
Sylvilagus audubonii
Credit: Hannah Schwalbe

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Black-tailed jackrabbit
Lepus californicus
Credit: Alessandra Puig-Santana

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American beaver
Castor canadensis
Credit: Tom Murray

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Mule deer
Odocoileus hemionus
Credit: Kait Thomas

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Desert woodrat
Neotoma lepida
Credit: Naresha

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White-tailed antelope squirrel
Ammospermophilus leucurus
Credit: Cameron Rognan

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Canyon bat
Parastrellus hesperus
Credit: Alex Castelein

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Townsend’s big-eared bat
Corynorhinus townsendii
Credit: Mark Watson

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Fringed myotis
Myotis thysanodes
Credit: Jose Martinez-Fonseca