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I knew I'd have some time to myself (for bird watching) when I visited my son and his wife in Las Vegas this past May, so I brought along my Nikon P900. I'm glad I did; I was pretty excited about my discoveries! Come along with me as I take you through my desert bird encounters.

Western Wood-Pewee

This smart little flycatcher put on quite a show for me as he flew to-and-fro, snatching flying insects in midair.

Great-tailed Grackle

These big, beautiful, iridescent black birds are not shy in the least, and they made their presence known to me immediately. My son dislikes them because they are very noisy and often disturb him with their loud calls when he is outside studying. Above: Great-tailed Grackles frequently stopped in for a cool drink of water at the pool.

Great-tailed Grackles were plentiful in the area, and I discovered a multitude of females hanging out on the other side of the fence.

According to All About Birds: Because they're smaller (males can be up to 18 inches in length with a 22 inch wingspan) and require less food, female Great-tailed Grackle chicks are more likely than their brothers to survive to fledging. Likewise, adult females may outlive males, resulting in a "sex-biased" population with greater numbers of females than males.

Mountain Chickadee

We took an afternoon drive up to Mount Charleston just outside of Las Vegas, and that's where I spotted this little Mountain Chickadee. This is the only photo I was able to get...pretty lucky, I'd say!

Yellow Warbler

Yellow Warblers are even tinier than Chickadees, just 5 inches. I've seen these sweet little birds before - once in my own Missouri backyard - but I get so excited every time I see one that I just had to include him here!

MacGillivray's Warbler

Capturing this tiny bird was quite a surprise! When spotting a bird this small and quick, I pretty much photograph anything that moves and then identify it later. (The P900's zoom really comes in handy!)

I have no idea what kind of hummingbird this is but it was fun watching it pluck it's dinner from the air!

Eurasian Collared-Dove

While researching these relatives of the Mourning Dove at All About Birds, I was surprised to learn how vast their range is:

Eurasian Collared-Doves continue to expand their range and can now be found across much of the country. If you live in this species' range but haven't yet identified it, take a second look at your Mourning Doves: look for the collared-dove's prominent white patches in the tail, dark-tipped wings, and the black collar at the nape of the neck, as well as the overall chunkier size. The collared-dove's mournful koo-KOO-kook call is shorter, more impatient, and more frequent than that of the Mourning Dove.

I will definitely be looking a little more closely at my Mourning Doves from now on!

Verdin, 6.5 x 5" original watercolor

Verdin

One morning while photographing birds, I stood halfway up the outside steps thinking I'd have a better chance at catching the tiny birds flitting around the leafy trees. This Verdin, the tiniest of tiny desert birds - only 4 inches - flew straight to the tree trunk directly in front of me and proceeded to snatch some sort of fiber from the bark, presumably nesting material. Now that is what you call being in the right place at the right time!

A bit of trivia: The Verdin is the only bird in the genus Auriparus. Although it resembles members of the chickadee family (Paridae) superficially, it's in a different family altogether - the only representative of the Old World family Remizidae in all of North America.

This little cutie is one-of-a-kind!

Wilson's Warbler

Possibly my favorite discovery of the trip, this bright yellow warbler with a black cap seemed to be everywhere. It didn't make him much easier to photograph, though, according to All About Birds: These smallest of warblers rarely slow down, dashing between shrubs, grabbing insects from one leaf after another, and popping up on low perches to sing.*

I've included this poolside photo for context... the tiny warbler liked to hang out in that palm tree!

I enjoyed painting this Wilson's Warbler (see Spark of Joy - top of page, and Wilson's Warbler - below).

Wilson's Warbler, 6 x 4.5" original watercolor

Lazuli Bunting

On the last evening of my visit, I was walking down to the creek alongside the golf course in search of a Black-crowned Night Heron. I hadn't gone far when I spotted a flash of blue and orange in the trees. I was pretty excited when I discovered this gorgeous creature was a Lazuli Bunting!

Lazuli Bunting, original 5 x 5.5" watercolor painting

Black-crowned Night Heron

Here is the handsome guy I was looking for...I had seen him from the balcony and wanted to get a closer look. He seemed unconcerned as I snapped several photographs. Larger than a Green Heron, this stocky bird measures up to 26 inches with a 46 inch wing span.

Juvenile Black-crowned Night Heron

I also came upon several juveniles along the creek, this one perched on the bridge railing.

Thank you for allowing me to share my bird discoveries with you!

Photograph. Paint. Love. Repeat.