The Black-necked Swan (Cygnus melancoryphus)

I photographed this beautiful Black-necked Swan on 03/09/2011 inside the Wildlife Habitat area while staying at the Flamingo Hotel and Casino on the Las Vegas Strip. Because  the water is so clear and the reflection of the swan overshadows the rocks in the water, it appears that this one is actually ‘walking-on-water’.

Area Description: Amid the neon lights, slot machines and the hustle and bustle of the Strip less than 300 feet away, the Flamingo offers an oasis that will make you feel like you have been transported to a tropical island. Full of photo opportunities, the Wildlife Habitat is filled with lush foliage imported from around the world including many varieties of pines, palms and magnolia. As you stroll its winding walkways alongside streams and waterfalls, or on bridges over lagoons and ponds, you get to view more than 300 birds, including Impeyn and silver pheasants, Gambel's quail, a Crown crane, two ibis, various swans, ducks and parrots, Chilean flamingos, African penguins, turtles, Japanese koi, albino channel catfish, plus grackle birds, house sparrows, mallard ducks and hummingbirds in the menagerie.

Description: The Black-necked Swan (Cygnus melancoryphus) is the largest waterfowl native to South America. Males are 45–55 inches and weigh between 10 and 15 lbs. Slightly smaller, females range between 40–49 inches and weigh between 7–9 lbs. Their wingspan is about 70 inches. The body plumage is pure white with a black neck, head and greyish bill. It has a red knob near the base of the bill and white stripe behind eye. The sexes are similar, with the female slightly smaller. The cygnet has a light grey plumage with black bill and feet.

Ponderosa Pine - Dying, But not Gone

I encountered this beautiful old ponderosa pine on 03/07/2011 along the Robber’s Roost Trail off NV State Road 158, also known as Deer Creek Road. Though it certainly appears dead, you can see from the picture on the right that it was still firmly rooted in the ground stretching towards the heavens - clinging onto life. Surely a once majestic tree, one can only wonder what caused its early demise. Was it struck by lightening, caught in a fire or did it catch a form of blight or disease. “The oaks and the pines, and their brethren of the wood, have seen so many suns rise and set, so many seasons come and go, and so many generations pass into silence, that we may well wonder what "the story of the trees" would be to us if they had tongues to tell it, or we ears fine enough to understand.”  ~ Author Unknown To see yet another shot of the tree converted to a black & white photo, check out my  Ansel Adams Wannabe Series – B&W Photo No. 03

Crustose Lichens, Mt. Charleston Loop

On 04/07/2011, I found these brilliantly colored lichen covered rocks in a wash area on a hike along Robber’s Roost Trail off NV State Road 158, also known as Deer Creek Road. Some of the least known forms of life, lichens are among the most fascinating living organisms on this planet. Their very structure is unique: a symbioses of two organisms -- a fungus and algae -- so complete that they behave and look like an entirely new being. A lichen can literally eat stones, survive severe cold, and remain dormant for long periods without harm. Those that cover a substrate like a crust are called Crustose lichens. Lichens need sunlight, but because of their small size and slow growth, they thrive in places where higher plants have difficulty growing. They often settle in places lacking soil, constituting the sole vegetation in some extreme environments such as those found at high mountain elevations and at high latitudes.

View of Kyle Canyon

This view of Kyle Canyon was taken from the Mt. Charleston Village on a morning hike in and around Mt. Charleston on 04/02/2011.  It was converted to a “Tilt-Shift” picture using http://tiltshiftmaker.com/.

Beavertail Cactus (Opuntia basilaris)

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This page last updated on 04/19/2020

(Fig. 01) Picture Notes: On 04/02/2011, on a recent trip to the Techatticup Mine in Eldorado Canyon, NV, I was able to capture these pictures of one of my favorite cacti when in bloom, the Beavertail Cactus. Notice that the one in (Fig. 01) above actually has a bumble bee nestled in the center, gathering pollen from its stamen (click the picture to enlarge full size). The picture in (Fig. 02) was taken on 04/01/2020 on the way to the marina east of Searchlight. As can be seen in (Fig. 03) only a small portion of the hundreds of buds were actually in bloom due to the relatively cold spring we have been experiencing.

Description: Opuntia basilaris, or more commonly called, the Beavertail Cactus. This low, spreading cactus with short bristles grows 6 to 12 inches high and up to 6 feet wide. The gray-green, jointed stems are wide and flat resembling the tail of a beaver. Oval in shape, the stems are 1 to 6 inches wide and 2 to 13 inches long. The stems grow in clumps with flowers from the top edge of the joints. When in bloom from March to June, it has brilliant red-to-lavender flowers 2 to 3 inches wide with many petals. Flowers are followed by a brownish-gray, oval fruit more than an inch long with many seeds. It is found in southwest USA, mostly in the Mojave and Colorado Deserts, and also in northwest Mexico. The Beavertail Cactus is a smaller prickly pear cactus with hundreds of fleshy, blue-gray, flattened pads. They are usually spineless, but have instead small barbed bristles, called glochids, that easily penetrate the skin. (Fig. 02) (Fig. 03)