The various Summer Lake habitats supports a diverse population of upland game birds, songbirds, shorebirds, waterfowl, and birds of prey. In the dry high desert country at the north end of the wildlife area, California quail and mourning doves are common. There is also a small breeding population of ring-necked pheasants along with greater sage grouse and chukars. Songbirds common to that area include Bullock's orioles, sage thrashers, canyon wrens, rock wrens, and sagebrush sparrows. Songbirds commonly found in the marshy areas of the lower Ana River include Brewer's sparrows, lark sparrows, marsh wrens, red-winged blackbirds, and yellow-headed blackbirds.Rakestraw, John, "Summer Lake Wildlife Area", Birding Oregon, Morris Book Publishing, Kearney, Nebraska, 2007, pp. 26."Summer Lake Wildlife Area", Basin and Range Birding Trail, Bureau of Land Management in cooperation with the Modoc National Wildlife Refuge and the Lake County Chamber of Commerce, Alturas, California, May 19, 2010.
