Piute Ponds facts for kids

Piute Ponds are a special place in the Mojave Desert in California. They are about 10 kilometres (6.2 mi) (6 miles) southeast of Rosamond, California. These ponds are found on the edge of Edwards Air Force Base. They are also near the dry lake bed of Rosamond Lake. Piute Ponds are part of the Harley Berhow Recreational Area. This area is very important for birds. Over 200 different kinds of birds stop here during their long journeys.

Discover Piute Ponds: A Bird Paradise

Piute Ponds are the biggest freshwater wetlands left in Los Angeles County. This makes them a very important spot for birds in California. Over 200 types of birds visit these ponds. They use the ponds as a resting place during their long migrations.

Some of the amazing birds you might see include:

• The great blue heron, a tall bird with long legs.
• The great horned owl, a powerful night hunter.
• The black-crowned night heron, which hunts mostly at night.
• The western snowy plover, a small shorebird.

What Makes Up Piute Ponds?

The entire area of Piute Ponds covers about 9,600 acres. That's a huge space for nature! It has many different ponds made of clay. Some of the main ponds are Big Piute, Little Piute, Teal Pond, and Ducks Unlimited Pond. There is also a creek called Amargosa Creek. The area also has smaller ponds, creeks, and low sand dunes.

The ponds were created by building a special wall called a dike. The water in the ponds is kept fresh. It comes from treated water from a sewage treatment plant in Lancaster. This treated water is pumped into the ponds. Channels help move the water around. This creates two main groups of large ponds.

In the late 1980s or early 1990s, about 170 acres of wetlands were added. This made the area even bigger for birds and other wildlife. People can visit Piute Ponds. There are special tours for tourists and bird watchers. Sometimes, hunting is allowed in the fall. But you need a special license to do it.

Learning and Studies at Piute Ponds

Many scientists have studied Piute Ponds. They want to learn more about the birds and other animals there. Bird experts, called ornithologists, have spent years collecting information. One famous ornithologist is Kimball Garrett.

Amazing Discoveries

In the late 1990s, studies showed something incredible. The marshes at Piute Ponds were home to over 150,000 frogs! That's a lot of frogs living in one place. In 1990, scientists also found old animal bones. These bones were from animals that lived long ago. They were found in the silts and sands near the ponds.

Education for Kids

The Mojave Environmental Education Consortium (MEEC) helps kids learn about Piute Ponds. They have special education kits for field trips. These kits are full of cool tools for exploring nature.

The kits include:

• A CD with night sounds from the ponds.
• Kits to make casts of animal tracks.
• Owl pellet kits to learn what owls eat.
• A field press and dryers for plants.
• Magnifying glasses to see small things up close.
• Vials and microscopes for studying samples.

These tools help young explorers learn about the amazing plants and animals that live at Piute Ponds.

Images for kids

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  This is an aerial view of Rosamond Lake and Piute Ponds from above.