A Hundred Birds for a Hundred Years

By Joy Dingley
Early Birds Club
Desert Rivers Audubon

The Early Birds have set themselves a target in this Centennial Year for Arizona. They are going to try to find 100 bird species. They began in February and submitted their list to the Great BackYard Bird Count which is run by Cornell Lab of Ornithology and the National Audubon Society.

We are hoping lots of people will want to sponsor us at a few cents per bird. At one cent for each species the sponsor would pay one dollar if we manage to see 100 different species. What we would like to do with the money is buy a set of good field guides so we can all use them when we go out together.

These are the “rules” for adding species. We can only add a bird if it has been seen when we are out together as a group at our normal monthly meetings. So no birds seen while any of the children are on vacation. The counting stops after our meeting in January 2013 – that will be a year after we started.

So one hundred birds will not be easy to find. We have seen 55 different species since we began and we are keeping our record on E-bird. But we’ve only got Oct, November, December and January at the Gilbert Riparian Preserve and one other meeting when we have our annual picnic at a location that has yet to be decided. So it’s not going to be so easy!

If you would like to help us by sponsoring us,  email me, joy.dingley@cox.net. Wish us luck!

Sonoran Desert Monument: Birds, Bees & Archaeology

Sonoran Desert Monument, Gila Bend, Arizona.

Tuesday, January 10, 2012, 7-8:30pm at the Gilbert Community Center, 130 N. Oak St., Thom Hulen, Executive Director, Friends of the Sonoran Desert Monument, joins Desert Rivers Audubon to speak about the flora, fauna & archaeology found in the Sonoran Desert Monument and the threats these resources face.

Starting his career as a field archaeologist with first the Arizona State University & then Arizona State University, Hulen notes, “As a lifelong resident of Arizona, I have been keenly interested in the natural and cultural history of the Southwest.” Former manager of the Desert Botanical Garden’s Desert House conservation demonstration, Hulen also has a keen interest in what every Arizona resident can do to help preserve our natural and cultural resources.

Come early to browse our mobile book shop, visit, and discover the wide range of volunteer opportunities, including our municipal public Burrowing Owl & Hummingbird habitats, with Desert Rivers. Light refreshments will be provided.

On Saturday, January 7, 2012, Desert Rivers Audubon celebrates five years of free Family Birdwalks at Veterans Oasis Park, 4050 E. Chandler Heights Rd in Chandler. (NE Corner of Chandler Heights and Lindsay Rd.) 8am-noon.  Walks include free loan of binoculars, expert guides and children’s Bird Bingo games. Visit with live hawks, eagles and owls with Liberty Wildlife. This birdwalk is sponsored by Desert Rivers Audubon, The City of Chandler Environmental Education Center, Liberty Wildlife and Bashas Supermarkets.

Desert Rivers and Tropical Cats

by Mike Evans
Conservation Director 
Desert Rivers Audubon Society

The recent stories of jaguars and ocelots being spotted in Arizona got me thinking about the historic role that our desert rivers played in wildlife population distribution. My thoughts wandered to the impact the “dang fence” on the border would have in limiting the future distribution of these tropical species back into Arizona. I also got to thinking about how our modern system of canals has come to partially replace the role that our desert rivers historically played in wildlife distribution, especially here in the Gilbert, Chandler, Tempe, and Mesa area.

Jaguar, Panthera onca.

For those that missed the news reports, the Arizona Game and Fish Department confirmed through photographs that a mountain lion hunter treed a jaguar southeast of Tucson.  The Arizona Daily Star also reported that in June a helicopter pilot for Homeland Security spotted a jaguar loping down a forested hillside in the Santa Rita Mountains of southern Arizona. Arizona Game & Fish also reported that a further five reports by hunters have been confirmed and the department is now attempting to determine through photographic analysis how many jaguars may be roaming about southern Arizona. The Game & Fish believe that these individuals represent the most northern part of a population of jaguars living in Sonora, Mexico.

We were also recently briefly regaled with the story of a sighting of an ocelot. Upon further analysis, the Game and Fish Department believes that the cat was more likely a serval, or serval hybrid, an African cat popular in the pet trade. However, there were two other confirmed sightings of ocelots earlier in the year, both in the Huachuca Mountains.

These are only the third and fourth reports of ocelots in Arizona since the 1960’s. It was generally agreed by most wildlife observers

Ocelot, Leopardus pardalis, also known as the dwarf leopard or McKenney's wildcat.

that the ocelot was extinct in Arizona until one was found dead along the highway in the Globe area in 2010 and one was photographed in 2009 by a trail camera belonging to the Sky Island Alliance.  There is a small remnant population of ocelots in Texas and the rest of the range was believed to be much farther south in Mexico, but now Arizona has to be added to the list of locations where the species is still holding on to some territory.

Historically, Arizona’s desert rivers have been corridors for wildlife. Although the exact locations of the traditional corridors used by jaguars and ocelots remain uncertain, there is good evidence that the prey species of both cats were originally found in abundance along our desert rivers. For these species to survive, movement corridors need to be maintained. Conservation efforts are crucial as habitat becomes more fragmented and isolated. The Sky Island Alliance is one organization working to maintain the connections north and south of the border through their Wildlife Linkages program.

One threat to the continued efforts to conserve both of these species is the proposed border fence. The Center for Biological Diversity  has been warning of the environmental catastrophe that the border fence would be for wildlife populations for five years. Back in 2006, the Center said:

More border walls, militarization, low-level aircraft and roads would further damage already-stressed wildlife and places, such as the Cactus Pygmy Owl and Sonoran Pronghorn in Arizona, Flat-Tailed Horned Lizard and Peninsular Ranges Bighorn Sheep in California, Jaguar and Mexican Gray Wolves in New Mexico, and the Rio Grande River, Ocelot, and Big Bend National Park in Texas. Triple walls are harmful to wildlife blocking critical migration corridors and destroying valuable habitat. The distance of the triple wall – 370 miles – is approximately the distance of the entire border in Arizona.

With two Arizona desert rivers having their headwaters in Mexico, the border fence will affect wildlife distribution. It seems clear that the northernmost range for the ocelot and jaguar would be cut off from the population in Mexico and stop any natural repopulation of these species in Arizona.

Roosevelt Water Conservation District

Closer to home, our canal system is the wildlife corridor for coyotes and other mammals. In the southeast valley, the four SRP canals (Consolidated, Eastern, Western, & Tempe) plus the Roosevelt Water Conservation District canal are regular coyote corridors. When we add in the Eastern Maricopa Floodway, we have a wildlife corridor that stretches from the San Tan Mountains in the south to the Salt River Recreation Area. So the next time you see a coyote in one of the East Valley riparian areas, or a coyote loping through a southeast valley neighborhood, remind yourself that it is the same mode of transit that wildlife has always used in the southwest: our riparian desert rivers. And, if you want your children and grandchildren to someday see jaguars and ocelots in the wildlands of Arizona, let your opinion be known to our elected officials the next time they start talking about building “the dang fence”.

Tourists on the Wing: Rufous Hummingbirds Passing Through Arizona Now

Rufous Hummingbird on the wing through Arizona.

by Eileen M. Kane
Communications Director
Desert Rivers Audubon

Heading from Mexico up to Alaska & the Pacific Northwest for the summer  (can you blame them), the Rufous Hummingbird is all about eating to gain weight for the big trip. So if they’re a little more aggressive than our laid-back Anna’s Hummingbirds at your feeders, well, you understand.

First spotted late this February in the still-snowy Huachucas, Rufous have been recorded at their earliest appearance in the Dragoons this year (2/26/11, record was 3/6/08). Saturday, Rufous were spotted at SaddleBrooke and then again at Boyce Thompson Arboretum Sunday.

As the Rufous Hummingbird needs to double it’s size for this migration, consider putting out an additional feeder. Ask Dave or MaryAnne at Mesa’s Wildbirds Unlimited for advice (and thank them for their ongoing support of Desert Rivers).

With their rusty orange heads, our distinctive hummer tourists should be buzzing about your garden at this time. Check our Bird Habitat guide for ideas on attracting hummers and other wildlife visitors to yard or patio.

We have also adopted the Hummingbird Habitat at Desert Breeze Park from Chandler Parks & Recreation and many hummer-friendly plants have been added recently by our volunteers. Check it out & tell us what you think.

Hummingbird Habitat at Desert Breeze Park, Chandler.

Hummingbird Habitat at Desert Breeze Park, Chandler. Public art by Joe Tyler.

Turn Garbage to Gold

Audubon @Home, Arizona

by Krys Hammers
President
Desert Rivers Audubon Society

The goal of course  is rich garden compost, which will help your vegetables or landscape plants thrive.  The most obvious advantage to composting is the nutrients that are added to the soils when you add compost, but it can also enhance pest control and eliminate diseases in plants.

Of particular importance in our desert, compost helps soils retain moisture longer.  According to the EPA, it can even help to clean up contaminated soils.  It has additional benefit of diverting organic solid waste from landfills, where it can contribute to production of methane, a greenhouse gas

and acidic leachate.

Most cities, including Chandler, Gilbert and Mesa can help you get started with composting.  They may offer classes with all necessary information to get you started.  They will also deliver a compost bin to your house.  Mesa charges $5 refundable deposit for the bin.  You can also buy bins in yard and garden stores.  The fancier models have mechanisms to help you turn the compost pile.

The concept is simple you add green and brown organic matter, dampen it and turn it over and before long you have compost.  The

Greens provide nitrogen.  This waste would include green yard clippings, fruits and vegetables, coffee grounds and filters and breads and grains.

The Browns provide the carbon.  They would include saw dust, straw, shredded paper, dried yard clippings, nut shells, egg shells, dryer and vacuum cleaner lint.   You do not want to add plastics, dairy products, meats scraps, oil or lard, pet waste, yard clippings that have been treated with pesticides, weeds, glass or metal.

You should have about 4 parts browns to every of part of greens.

The pile needs air and moisture. Most of the bins have ventilation holes and you will need to aerate the pile by turning the contents every week or every time you add to it.  You will need to dampen the pile to keep it moist.  The pile will actually generate warmth as the materials decompose.  In the summer, it may be necessary to keep the pile in a shaded or partially-shaded area.

Your compost is ready when the material is dark brown and crumbly.  You can sift your compost to get a finer soil additive.  If you find any materials that haven’t decomposed completely, you can add it to your new pile.

Your plants and garden will thank you and you can feel good about reducing your need for fertilizers, pesticides, as well as helping to reducing greenhouse gases.

Give a Valentine to Wildlife: Eat Local

Wild peach-faced lovebirds

Audubon @Home, Arizona

by Krys Hammers
President
Desert Rivers Audubon Society

One way to reduce your carbon footprint is to eat local.  According to the website, www.eatlocal.net, the average distance that food travels in the US from the farmer to the final consumer is 1,518 miles.  The fuel used and the pollutants generated from trucking your food can be greatly reduced if you buy local foods.

Additionally, when you buy food directly from the source, the farmer gets $.90 of every dollar you spend. The farmer only makes $.21 on the dollar on food he sells to food distributors.  The rest goes to transportation and distribution.   In turn buying locally supports your local farmers and your local economy.  Foods that don’t go into the distribution chain are also less susceptible to contaminants.

The East Valley area hosts a number of Farmer’s Markets. Most operate seasonally and the season ends in June.  That’s the case in Tempe and Chandler, but the Mesa Farmers Market; located at 263 N Center operates year-round.  They are only open on Fridays from 9am to noon.

If you can’t get to a Farmer’s Market, you may want to consider participating in a co-op or CSA (Community Supported Agriculture). You pay a fee and each week you receive a bag full of fresh local vegetables, sometimes with recipes or ideas for using them.  You can also preserve some fruits and vegetables for use when they are out of season.

The ultimate in eating locally is growing your own food.  We all know how harsh our desert can be.

Winter vegetable garden at University of Arizona Maricopa Extension, Phoenix

Yet some fruits, vegetables and herbs are well-adapted to our climate.  The soils can be treated to be more productive.   It gives you a use for that compost that you’re creating.  It doesn’t take a lot of space.  It’s amazing how much you can get out of a 5 foot square raised bed.   And if you plan well, you can have 2 growing seasons a year.

I’m trying my hand at gardening for the first time in this climate.  I expect to have all the cherry tomatoes and cucumbers that I can use this summer.  And I’ll have more basil, rosemary and oregano than I can use.  Not to forget my feathered friends, I also planted a sunflower with a huge seed head, just for the birds.  It is so much fun when cooking to go out to the garden for some ingredients.   It’s fresher, and you know it’s got to taste better.  When you grow it yourself, you can know for certain if you have used pesticides or chemicals.  I recommend the book, Extreme Gardening by Dave Owens to help you get started.

Not everyone may want to grow their own food, but we can all support markets and restaurants that use local foods. I challenge you all to become a locavore and go on a 100 mile diet.  The next time you’re tempted to buy that cantaloupe that was shipped all the way from Argentina, think twice about what it truly costs us.