Clark's Grebe?

When I saw the Grebe above, I assumed a Western Grebe as it seems most I see are. Looking at these pictures again tonight, I've swayed myself into thinking that it is a Clark's Grebe. It's harder to tell them apart in the winter as the Western Grebe gets a little smudgy around the eye and the Clark's Grebe darkens above and to the sides of the eye, but I'm going mostly on field guide information than on experience.
Bill color is also an indicator, but isn't much help in this case, in my opinion, as the bill looks bright yellow in the sun and dark when it is shaded.
What's swayed me is the fact that the eye is only half covered with black, with some smudginess of the black around the eye. I may be wrong, I have been before, but that's my conclusion. As always, comments welcomed.

American Pipit

These American Pipets were the last of the 10 new life birds I saw on my trip to Las Vegas last month. They were difficult to shoot as they stayed between me and the low sun and would never let me get very close.
In the image above, two Pipits sit on top of water main similar to the one I walked atop to reach the White-faced Ibis earlier in the day.

Northern Pintail

A male and female Northern Pintail seen at Clark County Wetlands Park in Henderson, Nevada on January 31. The male is really showing off its long and elegant neck in the top image.

Snowy Egret

I've seen Snowy Egrets once before on the Rio Grande river in Albuquerque, NM last summer. They were standing out on sandbars in the middle of the river, so I didn't get very close looks. I did get pretty close to this Snowy Egret last Monday at Clark County Wetlands Park in Henderson, NV. Having seen Great Egrets many time here in Oregon, I was surprised that the Snowy's were quite a bit smaller. Sybley states that Great Egrets stand almost 40" while Snowy Egrets stand at only 24".
While these images don't reveal the black legs and bright yellow feet of the Snowy Egret, I did get some mediocre pictures of it flying away that did reveal this trait. That was the thing that struck me the most the first time I saw them. It kind of looks like they are wearing yellow shoes.

Black-crowned Night-Heron

I saw two black-crowned Night-Herons while in Las Vegas. The first was at Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve seen in the top image. It was quite a ways from me, so I wasn't sure what it was as it looked like a big white blob. It didn't help that it initially had its head tucked away.
On my last day, before heading to the airport, I saw my first juvenile Black-crowned Night-Heron seen in the bottom two images. It came flying towards me from a bend in the stream I was following. I was hoping it was something a little more exotic, but I finally concluded that it was a juvenile Night-Heron. Still a nice find!

White-faced Ibis

While walking around the ponds at Clark County Wetlands Park in Henderson, NV, I saw some Double-crested Cormorants. The night before, I had been updating my list for Nevada and noticed that Double-crested Cormorants are common in the area, so I was happy to have seen some so I could check them off.
Not long after, I saw one flying towards me. As I was taking pictures of it approaching and it got closer, I got a better look at its bill and realized this was not a Double-crested Cormorant.
As I watched it fly past I hoped that it would land nearby so I could get a better look. Good luck was with me as it set down in some reeds not far from where I was.
As I approached the area I saw it come down, I noticed an entry into the reeds that had been formed when some sort of vehicle had driven through (There is a fair amount of improvements being done in the park). One thing I discovered about birding in the desert, is that most vegetation you might step on is most likely bone dry and will make quite a loud crunch, so I tried to be as quite as possible so I wouldn't scare it away it it did turn out to be up ahead.
Luck continued to be on my side as the path turned towards a small muddy pond where the bird was scavenging for food. Unfortunately, this is where my luck turned towards the worse. The angle was awful as the bright sun was behind the bird. None-the-less, I took some pictures, if for no other reason than to help identify the bird later.
But then I realized that if I turned back and proceeded further down the main trail, I could approach from the other side and have the sun front light the bird. I had to walk atop a large irrigation pipe to reach the pond and was able to do so without flushing the bird. The top two pictures are the result of this effort.
Once I got back to my room and looked in my field guide, I discovered that this was a non-breeding White-faced Ibis. This is the first Ibis of any type I have seen. It was quite an interesting bird.

Abert's Towhee

I had business meetings today at 10:30 and at noon and since my flight back to Portland didn't leave until 8:30 PM, I took advantage and spent about two and half hours at Clark County Wetlands Park in Henderson, Nevada. The folks at the Henderson Bird Viewing Preserve had recommended it.
It turned out to be a great birding area and I ended up seeing four new life birds. The first new bird and first bird I saw was this Abert's Towhee. I didn't even know this bird existed, but It seems clear that this is the correct identification as even though the California and Canyon Towhees are possibilities, Sibley points out that these Towhees typically do not overlap ranges. The black face is also unique to the Abert's.