If you ever have a chance to bird in Las Vegas I would recommend the City of
Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve. It's perhaps 20 minutes from the strip.
In 2 hours of birding Tuesday and again on Wednesday I saw 49 species (and
heard 2 - Great Blue Heron and Virginia Rail) of the 70+ species that had been
seen there the previous week. I don't feel bad about not seeing the Rail as
the preserve's staff had just heard it also, but surely think I should have
found the Great Blue. It was hot! At noon, when I quit on Tuesday it was 108
degrees per the preserve's thermometer. A more comfortable 94 on Wednesday.
The Red Rock Audubon Society also recommends three other spots in the Las
Vegas area, but I chose to spend my time at just the one.

Five life birds:
Verdin, Black-tailed Gnatcatcher, Crissal Thrasher, Lucy's Warbler and
Abert's Towhee.

Fifteen additional 2008 birds, some of which I have never seen in the
Northwest (Washington and Oregon) but have seen in California and Arizona:
Gambel's Quail*, Eared Grebe, Snowy Egret*, Green Heron, White-faced Ibis,
Common Moorhen*, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Wilson's Phalarope,
Black Tern, Black-chinned Hummingbird, Western Kingbird, Black Phoebe,
Black-throated Sparrow* and Great-tailed Grackle*. The ones with asterisks are
non-Northwest sightings only.

Two birds that I missed that I really would have like to have seen:
Greater Roadrunner and Blue Grosbeak.

Jeff Jendro
Longview, WA
_jeffjendro at aol.com_ (mailto:jeffjendro at aol.com)




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