We jumped out of Arizona and into Nevada just briefly to bird the beautiful Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve in Henderson, Nevada. We saw it mentioned on the internet, so we went. Turns out this was a truly fantastic birding venue. Eight large ponds, reed beds, tree lined paths, observation platform, observation tower and lots of birds. We give it five stars ★★★★★.
We had not got out the back door of the office and we bumped into great birds. There was a yellow warbler with an olive back. On its chest were faint red stripes, barely visible. This was a Yellow Warbler (Setophaga Petechia), flitting in the branches of a tree, about eight feet off the ground.
In each of the eight ponds there were small flocks of several species of dabbling ducks, diving ducks, geese and grebes. We identified the Horned Grebe (Podiceps Nigricollis), among them. This bird is a strong swimmer. It will sit still for you on the surface of the water, for identification purposes. Then suddenly, it will dive down under the water to catch small fish or aquatic insects with its bill.
There were large flocks of the American Coot (Fulica americana), a white beaked moorhen which we see all the time at any open water. Then Berry saw a moorhen with a red beak. This was a Common Gallinule (Gallinula Galeata). We only saw one in the whole facility.
We had not seen the White Faced Ibis (Plegadis Chihi) since our last birding trip to New Orleans. The one in front of us was delightful. It was iridescent bronze-brown with a dramatically downward curved bill with which it searches for snails, worms, fish, or frogs in the mud. This medium sized bird was standing amid the small flock of American Avocet which have upcurved beaks. Ten Gadwall (Anas strepera) swimming in a straight line parted as they reach the White Faced Ibis. They continued in two smaller lines on either side of the White-Face Ibis.
Most of the birds were resting on the surface water, standing in the water, or wading in the water. The temperatures had grown cooler as we came north. The atmosphere became unstable. There were dark clouds. The wind gusted to heavy today. This made all of the birds to settle down on the water. A large group of the waterbirds sought shelter from the heavy wind under the branches of a tree at the edge of the water.
Suddenly and all at once, a blue winged Merlin (Falco Columbarius) swooped onto the scene. The Merlin is a predatory bird. It was hunting. It flew over the White Faced Ibis; it scattered the American Avocet. The Merlin was like a local troublemaker, pushing people around. It flew into the tree and landed on a branch right above where the other birds had sought shelter from the wind. There was squawking and the Merlin left as quickly as he came.
Along the dirt path on the side of the park, we stopped next to a tree, when we saw movement in its branches. This was the American Pipit (Anthus Rubescens). It is a small, gray-brown bird with pale buff underparts. Its breast is faintly streaked. Nothing happened. It just popped around among the lower branches. We were tired and stopped at this point and went for lunch.
Berry and I found the old Route 66 and quickly found a restaurant. I had a Chef’s Salad and really horrible poppers. The cook obviously scraped the insides out of the jalapena peppers and made bell peppers out of them. Berry had a sandwich. We drove to Flagstaff and found a hotel. We are now in position to bird the Grand Canyon. The excitement is growing. We are stoked.
Robert and Berry
photos courtesy of wikipedia
Interesting at the Henderson Preserve...the ponds are man-made?Guess if you build it they will come??Also interesting with the drought in the West..hmmm. Anne
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