Death Valley to Vegas

A short walk before everyone was up turned up a few birds, as did birding from the balcony before breakfast (it was already too hot to venture outside for long!) which overlooked the golf course where most of the birds centred. These included a a flock of White-faced Ibis and a single Marbled Godwit that flew over. Feeding on the course were small flocks of Kildeers and Yellow-headed Blackbirds as well as singles of Greater Roadrunner and Western Kingbird and a migrating Yellow Warbler and a Desert Cottontail.

After the boys had an early morning swim we took the scenic drive south. A hungry Coyote came to meet us and later, although Tom’s directions were generally spot-on throughout, a slight wrong turning took us to a small oasis at Tecopa Hot Springs. This was fortunate as it held a new bird for us in American Avocet. There were also other water birds there like Green-winged Teal and a Northern Harrier spooked a flock of Western Sandpipers.

 

I’d planned to do some birding more birding just outside the park, but a huge storm about 20 miles outside of Vegas ended that. Once in Vegas, we decided birding was over for the day, but I managed to add House Sparrow to the list.

Furnace Creek
30 August 2012
White-faced Ibis, Turkey Vulture, Killdeer, Marbled Godwit, Greater Roadrunner, Western Kingbird, Common Raven, Yellow-headed Blackbird, Brewer's Blackbird, Great-tailed Grackle, Yellow Warbler

Tecopa Hot Springs
30 August 2012
Green-winged Teal, Mallard, Northern Harrier, Black-necked Stilt, American Avocet, Western Sandpiper