As mentioned earlier, one of my objectives here is to spend more time around Lake Mead. Two main roads run along the shore on the Nevada side, so I've spent time driving both of them. While the roads themselves stay mostly in the desert, with views of mountains and smaller rock formations, there are quite a few spur roads that lead to lake overlooks. Of course, with the lake level at only 40% of capacity, the overlooks aren't as close as they once were. Since water from the lake supports such a large and growing population, the annual outflow exceeds normal inflow, causing the level to drop every year unless there is above average precipitation. Colorado snowfall is the most important factor.
The Las Vegas Wash is the only drainage for the entire valley, but does contribute to Lake Mead.
Lake Mead offers numerous campgrounds and marinas for public recreation. Unfortunately, due to the low level, some marinas have been forced to move to another location, and some have shut down until the situation improves. On others, the boat ramps have been extended significantly.
I was caught off-guard by another nice sunrise, forgetting about it until it was well underway. With no time to go anywhere, I simply aimed above the RVs and buildings to get these.
There is a canyon south of town that reportedly has a large number of petroglyphs, so I made an early trip there one day. However, the entrance was barricaded, despite a sign saying it opens every day at 8 am. The only reward for 50 miles of driving, much of it in rush hour traffic, was a good view across the valley, the Red Rock Conservation Area, all the way to the Sierras.
Since the morning was unexpectedly freed up, I decided to visit more of Henderson's park system. More sightings of northern harriers were fruitless, as they were too far afield for photos. I did get one shot of a red-tailed hawk flying away from me.
Eventually I found my way to the Henderson Bird Preserve, a large facility with 100 acres divided into nine ponds with trails around each of them. The only problem was the ponds are so large, ducks can stay out of camera range. There was a pretty good selection of birds, however, and I do have a few photos to share.
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| Yellow-rumped Warbler |
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| Northern Shoveler |
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| Verdin |
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| American Avocets |
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| Eared Grebe |
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| Cinnamon Teal |
There was also a good view of the mountains from the preserve.
The Las Vegas Wash is the only drainage for the entire valley, but does contribute to Lake Mead.
Lake Mead offers numerous campgrounds and marinas for public recreation. Unfortunately, due to the low level, some marinas have been forced to move to another location, and some have shut down until the situation improves. On others, the boat ramps have been extended significantly.
I was caught off-guard by another nice sunrise, forgetting about it until it was well underway. With no time to go anywhere, I simply aimed above the RVs and buildings to get these.
There is a canyon south of town that reportedly has a large number of petroglyphs, so I made an early trip there one day. However, the entrance was barricaded, despite a sign saying it opens every day at 8 am. The only reward for 50 miles of driving, much of it in rush hour traffic, was a good view across the valley, the Red Rock Conservation Area, all the way to the Sierras.
Since the morning was unexpectedly freed up, I decided to visit more of Henderson's park system. More sightings of northern harriers were fruitless, as they were too far afield for photos. I did get one shot of a red-tailed hawk flying away from me.
Eventually I found my way to the Henderson Bird Preserve, a large facility with 100 acres divided into nine ponds with trails around each of them. The only problem was the ponds are so large, ducks can stay out of camera range. There was a pretty good selection of birds, however, and I do have a few photos to share. 
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