Vegas Wildlife

So, you all know we live in Vegas. What you may not know is that there are three lakes in our neighborhood that attract all kinds of wildlife. I have taken some pictures to demonstrate:

**We have two gorgeous black swans with bright red beaks...which I saw last week...once...and didn't have my camera. So visualize with me...no photos, sorry. I'm still hopeful I will see them again.**

We have one other swan-y looking guy. He's not as pretty as the black swans, but ya know.

These are your basic wood ducks. I love the iridescent green look of the male's head. The poor little mousy female is swimming behind him, but she sure has a lot of these gorgeous guys fighting over her!

There are about a gazillion of these guys. They fight a lot (or that's what I'm calling it in this family blog anyway), which is interesting to watch. They have very white beaks.

And we have a ton of pigeons. Not so beautiful, nor rare, but there are so many of them, I thought it worth a mention (and a picture).

Then there is this guy. He is the weirdest looking duck I've ever seen. He's got kind of a turkey-head thing going on, and we've named him Chuck. He has a wife (who has a little of the turkey-redness but is much better looking) named Mrs. Chuck, and this summer, they raised a family with two little Chucklets. Not very original, I am aware, but it provided much entertainment for us this summer.

Sometimes, we get a flock of Canadian geese who will spend a little time on our lake, but they don't stick around long. I will keep an eye out for the black swans - they are so beautiful, I'll probably have to blog about them again.

And last, but not least, Chuck gave me a little dance this afternoon when I was taking his picture. I captured it on film, and thought you would all enjoy it. Listen for his little "hissing" in between the sound of the passing cars and the sound of the ducks quacking. It was hilarious and I was thrilled!