The Desert Rivers Audubon really rocked it this year with their Tour de Bird 2016. I didn't make it to all the stops, but the ones I did see were spectacular. The pics above and below are a great example of maximizing the use of a very small yard.
This amazing habitat is in the narrow back patio / yard space of a
townhouse! It was a warm day, but as soon as we stepped into this
mini-paradise it felt 10 degrees cooler.
Photo by Kimberly White-Knight
The waterfall and recirculating stream and the lush growth around it attract a variety of birds, even an occasional Green Heron! This male Anna's Hummingbird thought it was a worthy habitat, flashing his colors in appreciation I am sure (birds are deep-thinkers).
The home-owners installed the stream originally, then later had it re-vamped by the Pond-Gnome. The Pond-Gnome is a locally owned business in the valley specializing in design and installation of backyard ponds and recirculating streams and waterfalls. They also convert old swimming pools into beautiful eco-friendly, water-conserving backyard ponds.
Photo by Kimberly White-Knight
Another backyard habitat on Tour de Bird 2016 also featured a recirculating stream installed by the Pond Gnome. This home had a much larger backyard with a wide assortment of trees and shrubs native to the Sonoran Desert. The large palo verdes and mesquite provide shade, and the dense shrubbery provides shelter for birds and other wildlife.
Photo by Kimberly White-Knight
I lingered far too long at my last stop on Tour de Bird, there were so many PLANTS! Even plants for sale - cholla, prickly pear, milkweed, agave, aloes and more. It was like a mini-Desert Botanical Garden! Butterflies were fluttering around everywhere, enjoying a variety of milkweed plants.
If you are bummed out that you missed out on this year's Tour de Bird, mark your calendars for next year, the event is usually held on the first Saturday in November. Maybe MY yard will be on Tour de Bird 2017!
There was even Devil's Claw available for purchase, singly or in bundles called "hats".
See one of the larger projects the Pond Gnome has done, utilizing and recycling the rainwater runoff from the apartment complex parking lot!
The Feathered Friends Festival at Gilbert Water Ranch had plenty of activities for kids, and adults. The Desert Rivers Audubon was there offering guided bird walks, and had a great selection of guide books for sale. Kids really had it made here - where else on earth could you go hunting for creepy crawly bugs, put paint all over your face, play with pinecones and peanut butter, dig in the dirt looking for dinosaur bones, and pick apart owl poop! Life doesn't get much better than that.
I told myself I wouldn't wander off and explore the many trails, but I couldn't resist - the weather was perfect, sunny, breezy, 75 degrees, and the wildflowers were in full bloom. Before I knew it I had spent 3 hours wandering the riparian preserve watching hummingbirds, warblers, herons, ducks, shorebirds, flycatchers, and even a Loggerhead Shrike!
Even better than a cup of Joe in the morning is a Bird Walk, especially when its led by expert birder Kathe Anderson from Desert Rivers Audubon. It was a cool foggy morning along the path at Tempe Marketplace overlooking the Tempe Marsh - a lush riparian zone of the Salt River (Rio Salado). Water levels are still high, but not at flood stage, so the usual cast of characters has returned; Killdeer, Least Sandpipers, various Sparrows, Great Egrets, Snowy Egrets, Blue Herons, Osprey, Red-tailed Hawk, Cormorants, Coots, Mallards, Green-winged Teal, Northern Shoveler, Pied-billed Grebe, Wilsons Snipe, Grackles, Hummingbirds, and Warblers. Kudos to Desert Rivers Audubon for organizing the walk, and to Kathe Anderson for leading the walk (and for being endlessly patient with those of us who can't tell one sparrow from another.)
