Lights, Camera, Action!



No, it’s not a Hollywood movie but the lights of Las Vegas, which are always on, the cameras, which watch your every move and action on the black jack tables, roulette wheel and slot machines.

This was the beginning of a visit to the desert and eventually to Yosemite National Park, exploring Nevada and California in the winter from the desert to the mountain peaks.

After a night of watching human wildlife we were on our way to the City of Henderson where we birded for the morning.

The Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve is on the eastern edge of the Pacific Migratory Flyway which makes it ideal for migratory bird species.  There are many easy paths around the nine ponds that make up the preserve.

The following is the list of species observed in December 2011, in about 2 hours for a total of 31 species plus the 1 exotic: Brewer’s Blackbird, Budgerigar, Bufflehead, American Coot, Ruddy Duck, Purple Gallinule, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Great-tailed Grackle, Eared Grebe, Pied-billed Grebe, Horned Grebe, Ring-billed Gull, Red-tailed Hawk, Red-shouldered Hawk, Green Heron, Anna’s Hummingbird, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Mallard, Common Moorhen, Black-crowned Night-heron,  Say’s and Black Phoebe, American Pipit, Gambel’s Quail, Virginia Rail, Northern Shoveler, Sora, White-crowned Sparrow, Green-winged Teal, Verdin, Yellow-rumped Warbler and Marsh Wren.