July 11, and a catch-up post

I'm back from my blog-cation, with 4 new life birds from my real vacation, and 1 "new" bird from the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve.

We went to Idaho and Utah to visit our families, and while we were in Idaho we went to Yellowstone National Park. My parents took us to LaHardie Rapids and we saw a MALE HARLEQUIN DUCK! (Oh, sorry, I'll calm down now.) I was really excited, it was a beautiful bird and as you can see was hanging out in some crazy water. I also added Clark's Nutcracker and a Gray Jay to my life list in Yellowstone, I'm sure I've seen them before camping in Yellowstone with my family, but I wasn't birding back then.

I also saw my first Gray Catbird in Idaho. I was poking around along the canal bank that runs down the back of my parents back yard when I thought I heard a cat mewing. I went to investigate and found not a cat, but a catbird! Pretty good when you get a life bird in your parents back yard!

Now for the bird that really counts on this blog: I saw an Indigo Bunting at the Bird Preserve! What a great bird! It's not on the checklist at the BVP, so it was pretty exciting to see. It was especially fun because the last few times I've been to the Bird Preserve, I haven't seen any "new" species and things get pretty quiet during the summer. However, there are still lots of babies at the Bird Preserve and they are always fun to watch.

This baby killdeer was scurrying away from me. I thought it was cute even if it wasn't in focus.

Here's a little quail family running across the road.

A pied grebe and babies, there are six in all.

An eared grebe carrying its baby on its back.

This pair of avocets was exchanging nest-sitting duties. The avocet in the rear had just come from the water, where I observed it feeding, drinking and dipping its belly feathers in the water. As it approached the nest it shook the water off its feet, and then lowered itself onto its nest. You can't really see them in the photo, but it looked like there were two eggs and one barely hatched chick. Its mate then went to feed and drink and dip its belly in the water, and then it returned and shook off its feet and lowered itself onto the nest. The water from their feathers evaporates off the eggs and helps keep them cool.

May 29

A life bird, four "new" species for the year, and some other cool stuff! Not a bad day of birding!

The first "new" bird I saw was the Least Bittern which I spooked out of some vegetation on the bank of Pond 9 first thing in the morning. He flew into the next clump of rushes and before I had the chance to get the camera on him he had disappeared.

Eurasian Wigeon, left, and a Ruddy Duck.

Later that day I saw my lifebird, a Eurasian Wigeon, also on Pond 9. A new life bird is pretty exciting, that makes two for this year.

A White-faced Ibis walking past a nesting American Avocet on Pond 9.

There was also a flock of Brewer's Sparrows flitting from bush to bush along the edge of Pond 9. And I finally found a White-faced Ibis! I can't believe it took this long!

I also saw this male (note the blue on his throat) Desert Spiny Lizard near Pond 7. He was doing "push-ups" on the rock. I later read on the Internet that it is a territorial display.

A Killdeer pretending to be injured.

A Killdeer nest.

A Killdeer cooling its eggs.

Then a couple of Killdeer and a Roadrunner put on a real show for me. I arrived just in time to see two Killdeer run off a Roadrunner from their nest. Then one of the parents pretended to have a broken wing to lead me away from their nest. I backed off, but before I left I saw the killdeer that was sitting on the nest do an interesting thing that I had just read about that morning in a birding magazine. She went over to the edge of the pond, wet her belly feathers and came back and crouched over her eggs. Apparently as the water evaporates it cools the eggs. I read that Killdeer eggs are only viable to 108 degrees. This nest was out in the open and the only protection from the southern Nevada heat was what the parents could provide with their bodies. Amazing that they can pull it off.

Why did the Turkey Vulture cross the road?

And finally, I saw a Turkey Vulture running around on the ground. I think he had been feeding on a dead coot that was nearby. Not something you see every day.

May 22

Wahoo! I saw a life bird Saturday at the Bird Preserve! That doesn't happen very often. It was a Yellow-breasted Chat. I even got a picture. All in all I added 5 "new" birds to my list for the year: the Chat, a Western Kingbird, a Hooded Oriole, Blue Grosbeaks, and Western Grebes. The chat perched on that tamarisk in Pond 4 for a few minutes before diving down into the brush and disappearing.

This Hooded Oriole started out my day. It was in the trees near the rear of the Visitors Center.

These two Western Grebes were on Pond 8. They were courting and it was fun to watch them. I didn't get to see them running on the water, but they were doing a synchronized head bobbing display.
I also thought this bright orange dragon fly was really neat. It was resting on a reed near Pond 9.

May 9

The white-faced ibis are hiding from me! I know they are there, but every time I go looking for them they disappear! I think it is so funny that I can't find a bird that is so common at the Bird Preserve.

But I did have a good day birding and added another five species to my list. In my first picture you can see a Yellow Warbler, complete with reddish streaks on his breast. I also saw a Common Yellowthroat, but he really made me work for my sighting. I could hear him down in the reeds, but it took two tries and about 30 minutes of watching to get one quick glimpse! I also saw more Wilson's Warblers.

A Northern Mockingbird near Pond 4.

I added a couple of birds that are all over in my neighborhood, but I rarely see them at the Bird Preserve: a Rock Dove (pigeon), and a pair of Northern Mockingbirds.

A Western Wood Peewee in the parking lot.

I saw this flycatcher in the parking lot and took a whole bunch of pictures because I knew I'd have to consult a field guide to ID him. I am pretty positive he's a Western Wood Peewee, but shoot me a comment if you think I'm wrong. My friend Lupe and I conferred with Sibley, and decided that his lack of an obvious eye-ring, his two wingbars (the upper weaker than the lower one), his long wings and primary projection, and his dusky vest, seemed to narrow it down.

Western Wood Peewee from the front.

I also got some nice shots of this Black-chinned Hummingbird resting beneath the shade of the patio awning. All-in-all a good day at the Bird Preserve.

May 2

I took my boys birding on Saturday. Actually, I should say I took my kids lizard-ing, bunny-ing, bee-ing, ant-ing, and, lastly, birding. My husband had to work so I took my kids to the Bird Preserve so that we could all get out. They had fun, I got sunburned but they didn't, I felt like a good mommy, and, yes, I even saw two new species! Pretty good for birding with kids who were more interested in finding the perfect stick than in seeing any birds.

I do have to brag a little and say that my 6-year-old can now identify Northern Shovelers, Mallards, Ruddy Ducks, pigeons and grackles. He might not be the next birding prodigy, but I think that's pretty good for a kindergartner.

As for my new birds? I saw a starling on the wires above the visitors' center as we were coming in. (I know, it's just a starling, but it's still a new species for the year.) I also got a couple of quick looks at a pair of Bullock's Orioles in the trees along the out side of Pond 3. The male was stunning: bright orange and black! I tried to get a picture, but he was not cooperating (and by that point, neither were my kids). I also enjoyed watching a couple of Wilson's warblers flitting around in a tree while we sat on a bench and had a snack (gluten-free granola). The only bloggable picture I got was this female (no blue on its belly) zebra-tailed lizard.

April 25

I added 5 more species to my list on Saturday: This Spotted Sandpiper, which was feeding on the beach of Pond 1, a Wilson's Phalarope on Pond 9, and in the trees around the visitors' center, I found a Wilson's Warbler, a Nashville Warbler, and a couple of House Sparrows. (It's kind of funny that it took me this long to see a House Sparrow, but you don't see them that often at the Bird Preserve.) That brings my year-to-date total at the Bird Preserve to 90. And I have to admit that I'm feeling pretty good about that.

Usually you can identify phalaropes because they spin while they swim. But since this one was wading and not swimming, it took me a few seconds to realize that I was looking at a Wilson's Phalarope.
This male Ruddy Duck was taking a nap on the edge of Pond 9. I thought he might be hurt so I approached him to check (I wasn't as close as it looks, that picture is still zoomed in). Anyway, he was just annoyed that I was disturbing his nap. He hissed at me a couple of times and then swam away. When I came back around the pond he was resting in the same spot.

I also saw a couple of Great Egrets in breeding plumage on Pond 9. Check out his feathers!

The Crissal Thrashers were teed up and singing. If you look closely you can see his down-curved bill. The first time I heard one sing, I did a double take because I was so suprised that such a beautiful song could come out of that bill!

The cacti are blooming and I couldn't resist this yellow blossom against the purple and green of the pad. I love the macro setting on my camera. Speaking of my camera, I posted this later than usual because I couldn't find the USB cable for my camera; my husband was cleaning up after me.

April 18

Black-crowned Night Heron on Pond 4.

It was not a good day for birds. Well, I suppose that the birds had a good day, because it was sunny and about 80 degrees. But the only new bird I saw was a Brown-headed Cowbird (I know, I know -- scourge of the songbirds) and the bird I missed was a Eurasian Collared Dove (I know, I know -- it's introduced). But I had a fun day anyway. I saw the largest group of Black-Crowned Night Herons that I've seen so far this year. There were about a dozen of them that came in to roost in the tamarisk on Pond 4.

A Queen butterfly on quail brush.

It's a good thing my friend Lupe was around Saturday. She's actually the one who found the cowbird, and then she identified this butterfly for me (a Queen butterfly) and then she found this cool snake. If she hadn't been there, you'd be looking at pictures of coots!

Red Racer in front of the visitors' center.

I'm not a snake girl, but I believe this is a young red racer (Western Coachwhip). If you know differently leave me a comment. Actually, if anyone besides my mom is reading this, leave me a comment! Happy birding -- even on the days you end up looking at butterflies and snakes!