In the new year I started my county project in NC and quickly forgot about all my pics from our Xmas vacation in the Southwest. How I forgot about such an amazing trip is beyond me, but here comes the material albeit a little late.
I was browsing google flights for cheap tickets shortly before Xmas, looking at the usual candidates like the Bahamas or Costa Rica, but the ticket prices were out of reach probably due to post COVID travel revenge. I am not usually very cheap, but with a family of four, expensive tickets can get amplified to an astronomical number. So when I saw relatively cheap flights to Las Vegas, I figured why not go do the Grand Canyon again, but this time with my boys being old enough to appreciate it. The last time Melissa and I hiked the Grand Canyon was when Luke was a bun in the oven and George was just a gleam in my eye. I did some quick research and it looked like we could do a big loop in one week starting in Vegas then driving around the south and east of the Grand Canyon and then coming back around to southern Utah in the Canyonlands. I knew the birding would be slow and not bagging me any lifers except the one that has previously eluded me, the California Condor!
We arrived in Vegas very late, too late to enjoy any of the night life, but don't worry we saved that for the grand finale. In the morning we decided to get on the road early but not before a nice breakfast at a local cafe. I wolfed down my food and ran across the street to a small postage stamp park to bag a couple local Nevada birds.
Great-tailed Grackle
Black-tailed Gnatcatcher - If one of these showed up in Wilmington, we probably would not take the trouble to take a closer look due to resemblance with our Blue-gray Gnattie.
There are some minor difference in the tertial edging on the wings and the bill color which are subtle.
But the best ID clincher is under the tail. The Black-tailed has some white patterning but the Blue-gray is almost all white underneath with the exception of the outer retrices.
People out west have to learn both as they can overlap in range. In Southern California they also have the California Gnattie which is most similar to Black-tailed but doesn't overlap in range much if at all. So the lesson here is make sure you properly scrutinize your Gnatties.
Verdins are super cool little birds and the only member in the USA of the family Remizidae which includes the penduline tits of Europe. I can see the resemblance.
That was about a 5 minute stop, and the family was ready to go again.
Heading east out of Vegas it doesn't take long before you get to the Hoover Dam on the border of Arizona, so we just had to stop there.
There is a nice bridge that allows you to get above the dam and look down on it. Impressive in person. This dam controls the ever decreasing flow of the Colorado River and is the source of much controversy in the perpetual water wars in the southwest. Everyone wants a piece of this poor river.
Looking from the dam up to the bridge. Incidentally the bridge is dedicated to Pat Tillman, the professional football player that quit to join the military after 9/11 and died in Afghanistan.
Photo credit to Google search.
Way down the bottom I zoomed in on some Common Goldeneyes but otherwise the birds were few and far between. Sunset was going to be early in the winter so we hightailed it to the south rim of the Grand Canyon so we could catch it in time.
Obviously pictures of the Grand Canyon don't do it justice and you can't get the enormity of it without being there.
We stayed at the Thunderbird Lodge which was rustic but nice.
Sunrise was exceptional with the sun changing the colors of the cliffs by the minute.
The birding was a little slow but fun and full of quality birds.
Oak Titmouse
Hairy Woodpecker
This buck Mule Deer was staring me down big time.
The Grand Canyon is big!
Mountain Chickadees are small.
I believe this is an Utah Juniper Tree.
Western Bluebird - note the blue throat.
Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay
The mighty Colorado River at the bottom of the Canyon.
I spotted a large herd of Javelinas rooting through the underbrush.
My favorite bird the Bushtit only made a brief appearance and uncharacteristically was alone.
I don't know where Luke was for this photo, maybe taking a run.
Later in the morning we made the hike down the canyon on the Kaibab Trail which was still full of snow and ice but with Yak Trax was doable.
The good thing about doing the trail in the winter is you don't really have to worry about heat exhaustion, but hypothermia can be a problem if the weather changes unexpectedly. We were lucky and had perfect weather.
The mule train bringing supplied back and forth to Phantom Ranch.
The view from half way down. We didn't go all the way which is a pretty punishing day hike, but most people do it in a couple days staying at the ranch. We didn't sign up for the ranch because we weren't sure about the weather which was iffy right before we left home.
Woodhouse's Scrub-Jay
More posts coming soon.
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