Sunday, April 14, 2019

BIRD LAS VEGAS

We were hoping to see one Burrowing Owl on our outing, we ended the day with nine!
Rob and I recently returned from a 4 night/5 day trip to Las Vegas. It was Rob's first time there and only my second. We stayed at a hotel on the strip, and even though we enjoyed all of the fun Vegas offers, the highlight of our trip was our full day outing with Bird Las Vegas.

I had found out about the bird guide service from an Ontario birding Facebook Group page last year and they came highly recommended from a couple birding acquaintances in the group. I quickly made contact with them and plans for a full day outing.

It's hard to put into words the amazing time we had without sounding like I'm gushing, but it was just so awesome! Justin, our guide, was friendly, professional, and knowledgeable.  It didn't matter if I was asking about a bird, a plant, mammal or an area, he always had an answer. He let us set the pace of the day, and did all he could to make sure we saw as many target birds as possible. Rob and I were more interested in making sure we had good looks at all the new birds we were seeing instead of rushing off to try to get another one or getting the "wow" photo, and it made for a very pleasant day.  We visited three different areas with three very different habitats which made for a great variety of birds.

Here is a list of birds I added to my "Life List":

1.   Abert's Towhee
2.   Anna's Hummingbird
3.   Band-tailed Pigeon
4.   Bewick's Wren
5.   Black-chinned Sparrow
6.   Black-necked Stilt
7.   Black Phoebe
8.   Black-tailed Gnatcatcher.
9.   Burrowing Owl
10. Broad-tailed Hummingbird
11. Clark's Nutcracker
12. Cinnamon Teal
13. Costa's Hummingbirds
14. Crissal Thrasher
15. Eurasian Collared Dove
16. Gambel's Quail
17. Greater Roadrunner
18. Juniper Titmouse
20. Lesser Goldfinch
21. Mountain Chickadee
22. Phainopepla
23. Pygmy Nuthatch
24. Say's Phoebe
25. Spotted Towhee
26. Steller's Jay
27. Verdin
28. Vermilion Flycatcher
29. Woodhouse Scrub Jay


We also saw some sub-species; Audobon's Yellow-rumped Warbler, Slatey Fox Sparrow and a Grey-headed Junco. Rob got a few more lifers than I, he also added Yellow-headed Blackbird, American Avocet and Great-tailed Grackle.   

Below I have used a mix of Rob's photos and some from the Bird Las Vegas Facebook page with permission, as I really wanted to showcase some of the amazing birds we saw.

Anna's Hummingbird - Photo from Bird Las Vegas 
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher - Photo from Bird Las Vegas 
Yellow-headed Blackbird - Photo by Rob Mueller
Costa's Hummingbird - Photo from Bird Las Vegas 
Juniper TitmousePhoto from Bird Las Vegas 
Gambel's Quail - Photo by Rob Mueller
Steller's Jay - Photo from Bird Las Vegas 
Greater Roadrunner - Photo from Bird Las Vegas 
Burrowing Owls - Photo by Rob Mueller

Verdin - Photo from Bird Las Vegas 
Male Vermilion Flycatcher - Photo from Bird Las Vegas 
Female Vermilion FlycatcherPhoto from Bird Las Vegas 
Black-chinned Sparrow - Photo by Rob Mueller 
Rob and I with our awesome guide, Justin. See you in 2020!
People may not think of birding when they think of Las Vegas, but with Bird Las Vegas, they soon will.