steve_zodiac
Well-known member
After years of birding while on holiday in Europe my wife has decided she wants to go to Las Vegas next year. I appreciate its a city environment surrounded by desert but what birds am I likely to see while over there.
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Las Vegas (1 Viewer)
- Thread starter steve_zodiac
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birdboybowley
Well-known member.....apparently so ;)
Quite a bit - and remember the Grand Canyon is a must-see, with the added bonus of the condors of course (visible from the main viewpoint too!)
A great deal depends on the time of year, of course.
Here's the url for the local Audubon Society: http://www.redrockaudubon.org/
Some notable localities:
For montane species, the Mount Charleston National Recreation Area. It's reached from US Hwy 95 via Nevada 157 (Kyle Canyon, and be sure to stop at the visitor center) and Nevada 156 (Lee Canyon; bristle cone pines grow by the roadhead.) The road goes from Hot Desert around 3000 feet to coniferous forest at ca 8000 feet, and the Charleston Pk loop trail continues to alpine tundra, though it's a brutal climb, starting at over 8000 feet and gaining almost 3000 feet in the first two miles.
The Red Rock National Conservation area is good for high desert birds, with good paved roads, developed trails and a very good visitor center for orientation (and regional bird manuals for sale.)
The Springs Preserve, near the strip, has drought tolerant plantings, remnant desert riparian habitat, and a major exhibit on regional environmental concerns. The gardens are free, but there is charge for the exhibits.
Sunset Park (SE corner of Eastern and Sunset) has an artifical lake that attracts large numbers of wintering water fowl that are VERY habituated to people. (Photographers may have to shoo them away in order to get the whole bird into a wide-angle lens.) There is also an area of preserved dune habitat that supports desert specialities.
The Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve (aka tertiary treatment ponds of the Henderson Wastewater Treatment Facility) has a visitor center where you can use their library of regional bird guides, view their humming bird feeders, and walk the trails around the ponds. Even in summer there are quite a number of breeding species of waterfowl and shorebirds, and the vegetation around the ponds supports a rich population of the local desert birds.
The Lake Mead National Recreation Area provides over 1,000,000 acres of desert habitat with well developed and marked access, graded by the type of vehicle needed, whether passenger car, high-clearance, or 4 wheel drive.
What kind of birds and habitat are you most interested in? There are lots of nearby localities: all the above are actually, or effectively, inside the metroplex city limits.
Will
Here's the url for the local Audubon Society: http://www.redrockaudubon.org/
Some notable localities:
For montane species, the Mount Charleston National Recreation Area. It's reached from US Hwy 95 via Nevada 157 (Kyle Canyon, and be sure to stop at the visitor center) and Nevada 156 (Lee Canyon; bristle cone pines grow by the roadhead.) The road goes from Hot Desert around 3000 feet to coniferous forest at ca 8000 feet, and the Charleston Pk loop trail continues to alpine tundra, though it's a brutal climb, starting at over 8000 feet and gaining almost 3000 feet in the first two miles.
The Red Rock National Conservation area is good for high desert birds, with good paved roads, developed trails and a very good visitor center for orientation (and regional bird manuals for sale.)
The Springs Preserve, near the strip, has drought tolerant plantings, remnant desert riparian habitat, and a major exhibit on regional environmental concerns. The gardens are free, but there is charge for the exhibits.
Sunset Park (SE corner of Eastern and Sunset) has an artifical lake that attracts large numbers of wintering water fowl that are VERY habituated to people. (Photographers may have to shoo them away in order to get the whole bird into a wide-angle lens.) There is also an area of preserved dune habitat that supports desert specialities.
The Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve (aka tertiary treatment ponds of the Henderson Wastewater Treatment Facility) has a visitor center where you can use their library of regional bird guides, view their humming bird feeders, and walk the trails around the ponds. Even in summer there are quite a number of breeding species of waterfowl and shorebirds, and the vegetation around the ponds supports a rich population of the local desert birds.
The Lake Mead National Recreation Area provides over 1,000,000 acres of desert habitat with well developed and marked access, graded by the type of vehicle needed, whether passenger car, high-clearance, or 4 wheel drive.
What kind of birds and habitat are you most interested in? There are lots of nearby localities: all the above are actually, or effectively, inside the metroplex city limits.
Will
Runestone
Well-known member
Hi, sorry to jump in on the thread!
I am going to Las Vegas on 11th May with my non birding hubby. Any American birds would be of interest as I have not been there before. What I need is some places where birds can be seen quickly and easily before he gets bored. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Cheers, Sue
I am going to Las Vegas on 11th May with my non birding hubby. Any American birds would be of interest as I have not been there before. What I need is some places where birds can be seen quickly and easily before he gets bored. Any suggestions would be appreciated.
Cheers, Sue
Dale Sanderson
Member
Hi Desert Ratt, You are obviously local as I am. I just signed up for this forum so I can get some help in my backyard. I love birds and use to live in the northwest and have a list of the birds I saw there but I am excited about learning new birds here.
My question is: I hung a hummingbird feeder and they came very quickly. But then the house finches found it and the hummers haven't been back. I do not dislike the finches I enjoy watching them but I really really would like some hummers too. I know the hummers are very territorial so I would think they would chase the finches away. Anyway they can cohabitat? My humming bird feeder does not have perches. If I put a bowl of nectar in one corner of the backyard will the finch go there and leave the feeder alone? And if so, will the hummingbirds come back. The yard isn't very big but we just had it landscaped to attract hummers.
Thanks! Dale
My question is: I hung a hummingbird feeder and they came very quickly. But then the house finches found it and the hummers haven't been back. I do not dislike the finches I enjoy watching them but I really really would like some hummers too. I know the hummers are very territorial so I would think they would chase the finches away. Anyway they can cohabitat? My humming bird feeder does not have perches. If I put a bowl of nectar in one corner of the backyard will the finch go there and leave the feeder alone? And if so, will the hummingbirds come back. The yard isn't very big but we just had it landscaped to attract hummers.
Thanks! Dale
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