Red Rock Audubon
Dedicated to the environmental stewardship of habitats in the Mojave desert in a time of climate change
MISSION STATEMENT
Red Rock Audubon’s mission is to protect and restore habitats for birds and other wildlife, promote sustainable practices, and engage communities in support of conservation efforts. Through education, advocacy, and outreach, we strive to inspire individuals to act as environmental stewards and to ensure equitable access to nature for all.
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By Alex Harper By November, most of the wintering songbirds have settled into their wintering territories for the winter months. In and around our neighborhoods and small parks, Northern Flickers, Ruby crowned Kinglets, Yellow-rumped Warblers and White-crowned Sparrows have become part of the urban and suburban winter makeup. Brewer’s Blackbirds arrive in force, joining grackles and hanging around parking lots and busy parks. Our Empidonax flycatchers, vireos, most species of wood-warblers, orioles, grosbeaks and tanagers have long-departed for the warmer Sonoran Desert, woodlands in Mexico, or tropical areas of Central and South America. We won’t begin seeing these birds again until March, April, and May. At our wetlands and artificial ponds and lakes, waterfowl diversity and numbers increase through the month. Redheads, Ring-necked Ducks, Buffleheads, and dabbling ducks stream in from waterbodies from the north. One can observe this movement from the bank of Clark County Wetlands Park, where birds follow the Wash as they explore new foraging areas. Parks like Sunset Park and Craig Ranch Park can be great places to observe some of the ducks at close range. At Lake Mead, check 33-Hole for loons and wintering gulls, and Boulder Beach for Greater Scaup and unusual diving ducks like scoters. Scoters feed on mollusks and take advantage of the invasive Quagga Mussel population at some parts of the lake. Geese also wander in the valley. Along with Canada Geese, search for Greater White-fronted Geese and Snow Geese at parks and athletic fields. Small numbers of Ross’s and Cackling Geese mingle at these sites with the larger geese. By the end of the month, it is not unusual for Tundra Swans to make brief visits to our watercourses. At our more well-vegetated parks, keep an eye and ear out for other wintering species. Northern Harriers frequent the bird preserve and the Wash. Hermit Thrushes and Spotted Towhees can be found anywhere with enough understory, though are a bit too shy for most urban parks. Some cultivated plants such as California Fan Palms and Russian Olives begin to produce fruit, which can lure in flickers, robins, waxwings, starlings, mockingbirds and more. Keep an eye out in your neighborhood for such plants. November is a great month for those looking for unusual and infrequent bird species. Corn Creek at Desert National Wildlife Refuge, Floyd Lamb, and any of our large parks can lure in species such as Eastern Phoebe, Pacific Wren, Varied Thrush, Gray Catbird, American Tree Sparrow, Swamp Sparrow, Harris’s Sparrows, Golden-crowned Sparrow, and Lapland Longspur all could show up in the Las Vegas area this November. These are all hardy species that can overwinter in the region and endure the occasional freezes. .
Carolyn Titus, a longtime pillar of the Las Vegas birding community, passed away this summer. If you've birded here long enough, you're likely to have crossed paths with her or picked up a copy of "Southern Nevada Birds: A Seeker's Guide,” which she wrote and published in 1991. She was an original member of Red Rock Audubon in the 1970s, having served as interim president, vice president, treasurer, education chair, field trip chair and was a longtime field trip leader. She held the long-term record of most Nevada species seen, 440, for many years. Carolyn is seen here on the left, along with Rita Schlageter and Je Anne Blackman. She's remembered by Je Anne, who met her in 1988: “I met Carolyn on my first field trip to Corn Creek. I saw a Gray Catbird. I was told very rudely by the trip leader that it was not what I had seen. Carolyn asked where I saw it, so she went back with me, and we refound the bird. Through the years, we had many birding trips. Carolyn discovered that no one had done a big day for every month in Nevada, so in 2006 we did. Our group of four consisted of Carolyn Titus, Rita Schlagter, Tracy Kipke and Je Anne Branca; needless to say, not only did we have some long days, but tons of fun.” Je Anne later traveled with her to Portland, where they found a lifer Falcated Duck and Emperor Goose. A few years later, they traveled to South Africa and New Mexico, where they saw a Brown-capped Rosy Finch, a lifer for them all. “I will miss Carolyn and all her bird knowledge,” Je Anne said. Carolyn passed away on her birthday, Aug. 16. We send our deepest condolences to Carolyn's loved ones.
By Alex Harper If there is a light at the end of the tunnel of the dog days of summer birding in the Mojave Desert, it begins sometime in September. The warmest and most uncomfortable days are mostly behind us, and the birds register this too. If you struggled to get outside in August, you’ll find the birding opportunities more motivating. The movements that began in August are only more amplified in September. Shorebirds have been engaging in southbound movement for weeks now, congregating around reservoirs, wetlands, the Las Vegas Wash, and ephemerally flooded dry lakes. Avocets, curlews and Wilson’s Phalaropes pour in from the kettle ponds of the Great Plains or lakes of the Great Basin. Yellowlegs and Solitary Sandpipers transit on their way from the spruce bogs of Canada and Alaska, and dowitchers and Red-necked Phalaropes may be coming from open tundra of the northern edges of the North American continent. Adults are the first to arrive in late summer; first of year birds tend to arrive later, needing time to learn how to feed and fatten up on their own after being born earlier in the year. Riparian areas and parks begin to invite and harbor more songbirds. These birds may be coming from breeding territories throughout the Western Lower 48. In the weeks that follow, we will see birds that are arriving from farther distances. This makes sense; songbirds that are departing from Alaska and Canada tend not to arrive before birds that started their autumn migration somewhere in northern Nevada, Idaho, or eastern Oregon, for example. It stands to reason that the Orange-crowned Warblers, some of the Yellow Warblers, Brewer’s Sparrows and Western Tanagers, and Black-headed Grosbeaks that we see in early September may not have come from too far away to get here. The first Wilson’s Warblers that we see are probably from neighboring states as opposed to ones coming from British Columbia or the Yukon. Additionally, it is the insect-eating birds that we observe the most in September. Flycatchers, vireos, warblers and tanagers need to vacate out of the areas where insect activity can be quickly shut down by the first cold fronts. These birds make haste to destinations that support insect and invertebrate activity year-round, such as the Sonoran Desert, lowland Mexico, and tropical regions of Central America. Birds that can rely on seeds have more flexibility since their food-sources aren’t affected by temperature in the same ways. Sparrows may begin to appear more in October while finches may not begin to peak until November. Interesting birds are often observed by the vigilant, and the vigilant are up early and at the “honey holes” at the right times. These sites include Cactus Springs, Corn Creek Field Station, Floyd Lamb at Tule Springs, Clark County Wetlands and Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve, but virtually any park can attract higher volumes of birds. Infrequently seen or rare birds are often at sites amongst the regularly occurring birds for the same reasons that the habitat is attractive-looking and may have “retentive qualities” such as water, reliable food sources, and safety from predators. Outside of the suburban and urban Las Vegas Valley, spring-fed canyons can be especially interesting to visit. .
