A Sticky Day at Coon Bluff

Its an odd February this year, unusually warm and in stark contrast to last year's record freeze. Many birds are making their appearance early, as if its spring.  Yet when we go to photograph these lovely gems, they are perched in a menacing tangle of twigs.  Its too early and the trees have yet to bloom.

So instead of capturing the birds out in the open as they nibble on fresh green foliage, we must fight our way through the terrible "stick people" who try to block every shot, no matter what the angle. A group of gorgeous Western Bluebirds stayed constantly out of range and only revealed their magnificent blue feathers during quick bursts of flight in and out of the twisted twiggy mesquite trees.

This beautiful male Northern Cardinal took pity on me and stepped out in the open just long enough for me to get a halfway clear shot before retreating back into obscurity.

The Phainopepla continuously mocked me by perching alluringly out in the open, yet so high up as to thwart off any closeup shots.  Are they tired of the parade of bird paparazzis who track them down at every turn and rudely point big black lenses at them?

This Black Phoebe (cleverly disguised as a Northern Rough-winged Swallow ;-) see comments) brazenly sat out in the open, taking a rest from a busy morning of dipping and diving along the river's edge, too tired to care about the paparazzi below.

Finally the resident pair of Bald Eagles at Coon Bluff stopped by and chatted away atop the cliff.  A nice ending to a rather "sticky" day at the Salt River.

Photos (mediocre at best) by Peggy Thomas

Salt River Cleanup on Saturday Feb. 16th

Have you ever spent the day at the lower Salt River taking what you thought were magnificent photos of snowy egrets hiding among the trees, only to get home and download them and discover the "egrets" were white plastic grocery bags flapping in the breeze?  Or had the perfect shot of the wild horses posing majestically along the river's edge, then realize the shot is ruined by soda cans and trash accumulated at the shoreline?

Well now is your chance to get out to your favorite spot along the Salt River and clean it up! 

The Mesa Ranger District Office is holding a cleanup this Saturday from 8am to 12pm.  Registration is from 8 to 9 am at Blue Point Recreation area (see directions below).  Participants will sign-in and receive directions to trash pick-up locations.  The trash pick-up begins immediately after sign-in and will continue until about noon when lunch will be provided at no cost to volunteers

Tonto Daily Passes are not required for participation in this event. The Tonto National Forest will provide trash bags. The majority of the clean-up will occur in the river bed near water so participants must wear closed-toe, rubber-soled shoes that can be worn in rocky terrain. We urge you to wear sunscreen, hats, gloves, and bring trash pickers if available. Participants are also urged to bring plenty of water as bottled water may not be provided. Thank you for helping keep our waterways clean!

Directions to Volunteer Sign-In Location: The Blue Point Recreation Site is located 20 miles northeast of Mesa. From Mesa, travel east on the Superstition Freeway (US 60) to Power Road/Bush Highway and turn north. Follow Power Road which will turn into Bush Highway for 15 miles to the Blue Point Recreation site. The entire route is paved.

http://www.mrdvolunteers.org/hp.html 

Amy Racki, Volunteer Coordinator
 aracki@fs.fed.us

Its also a perfect time to gather up discarded fishing line before the birds start using the dangerous mono filament in their nests this spring.  Remember the "Roadrunner Rescue" at Desert Botanical Garden last spring? Momma roadrunner was hanging upside down hopelessly entangled in fishing line from her nest and would have died had she not been discovered by photographers and carefully cut free.

Wordless Wednesday

Photos taken by Arizona wildlife photographer Helmut Hussman, 

at the Salt River in the Tonto National Forest.  

Our Bald Eagles will be breeding soon, so remember that access to certain areas of the Salt River will be restricted starting Dec. 1st.  See Bald Eagle Management Program Seasonal Breeding Area Closures.

Heroes? Really??

Even the Turkey Vulture doesn't buy it - the "Heroes" of the Salt River are the Salt River Tubing company and their can-tossing customers???  The true heroes of the Salt River are the critters that thrive and survive there despite the constant barrage of litter dumped into their habitat year after year, mainly by the crowds of tubers.

Have you ever seen what it looks like at the Salt River recreation sites the day after Memorial Day?

Who made the decision to allow this area of the Salt River to be taken over each summer by trash-tossing flotillas of drunks?

The next time you stop by the Mesa Ranger Station to buy a Tonto Pass, consider suggesting strongly that they find a more environmentally friendly source of revenue than the slovenly Salt River Tubing company.  How about eco-tourism?  Let's attract visitors who care about the environment.

Wordless Wednesday

Photos by Arizona Wildlife Photographer Helmut Hussman, a.k.a. H5

Wordless Wednesday

Photos courtesy of Arizona Wildlife Photographer Becky Standridge.

See more of her incredible photography
at www.saltriverwildhorses.com

Learn About Arizona's Wild Horses

Horses along the Salt River, May, 2012.  Photo by LuAnne Hedblom

If you're interested in learning more about our wild horses in Arizona, then pack up your lunch on Thursday, June 14th or on Saturday June 30th, and head on over at noon to the Visitor Center at Usery Mountain Park.  There "Ranger B" will be sharing what he knows of the history of wild horses in the west, including the Tonto National Forest, and in particular the horses we see along the Salt River. Though he won't be touching on the controversy over the management of the Salt River Wild Horses, it will still be interesting to learn about the origins of these gorgeous animals and how they survive in the wild. Directions: Take McKellips east past Sossaman to Ellsworth, turn left (N) on Ellsworth which becomes Usery Mountain Pass.  Look for signs, park entry will be on your right (E).  $6.00 entry fee.  Lecture starts at 12:00 p.m. in the Visitor Center.

For a more in-depth history of wild horses in Arizona and the southwest, see University of Arizona professor Ed de Steiguer's book , "Wild Horses of the West: History and Politics of America's Mustangs."

(Usery Mountain Park is one of 10 regional parks in Maricopa County.  It is not part of the Tonto National Forest, and Ranger B is not an employee of the Forest Service or the BLM.)

Conservationist's View of Salt River Wild Horses

 

In response to my June 4th, 2012 post "Salt River Wild Horses in Peril":

“Wild” Horses in Arizona are all animals abandoned by previous ranch operations or simply dropped in the desert by people who did not want them anymore. A few populations actually have documented lineage back to Spanish settlement. The only bona fide herd that I know of that could connect to the era of Father Kino is the herd that was acquired by the US Fish and Wildlife Service when they purchased Arivaca Cienega. Those horses were dispersed to owners and locations (including Jane Fonda) that were protecting the “Spanish Horse” bloodlines. (Some of them were at Pioneer Village north of Phoenix for a number of years). These horses had the lineage papers dating from Spanish settlement in Mexico and Arizona kept by the owner of the Arivaca Cienega and Ranch that had been handed down through the generations of her family. So even those animals were not “wild” in that she knew they were hers.

Most “wild” horses trace back to ranches or the U.S. Cavalry. In more recent time various native American tribes have embraced horses as symbols of their heritage, including the Salt River Maricopa-Pima Indian Community and they do manage “wild” horse herds on their lands.

Unfortunately-there seems to be a much better campaign for protecting horses and elevating their status to “Wild” and “Free Roaming”, similar to the efforts to legitimize feral cat colonies, than there is for native wildlife habitat protection.

There are specific locations in Arizona and elsewhere in the West that are designated as “wild” horse or burro populations protected and managed under the U.S. Wild Horse and Burro Protection Act. The Salt and Verde Rivers are not one of those locations. I support the USFS removing these animals.

Horses and burros are incredibly damaging to the riparian habitats. Horses strip the bark from trees, killing them. Sonoran desert plants did not evolve defenses or adaptations to equines, as the last equine native to the Americas was eohippus in the Pleistocene- a very small animal.  I have seen the washes where these animals roam degrade over the past 20 years.

Vashti "Tice" Supplee
Director of Bird Conservation
Arizona Audubon
3131 South Central AvenuePhoenix, Arizona 85040

Salt River Wild Horses in Peril

Photo by Peggy Thomas, July 2011, near Coon Bluff, along the Salt River.

If you've ever birded, kayaked, fished, or tubed along the Salt River over the years you've likely encountered the "Salt River Wild Horses".  They seem to appear out of nowhere, around the bend on the river, peering out from the thick mesquite forest, or coming over a saguaro studded hillside.  Its always unexpected, enchanting, and even magical to see these majestic symbols of the west out roaming free.

Photo by LuAnne Hedblom, May 2012, near Coon Bluff, along the Salt River.

But now suddenly, without a public notice or hearing, without any attempt to humanely manage the herd, and without the required environmental impact study, the U.S.Forest Service seems to have decided to go ahead and round up and remove the Salt River Wild Horses.  The USFS claims the horses are "feral" even though documentation exists indicating that they are very likely descendants of horses brought here in the 17th century by Father Kino to the Pima.  Which means they should be protected under the Wild Free-Roaming Horses and Burros Act.

Photo by Peggy Thomas, July 2011, Coon'Bluff,  Salt River.

After all of the positive media attention these horses have received lately - Becky Standridge's study and gorgeous photography of them - and the awesome footage of Champ saving one of his fillies from drowning in the river, it is astonishing that the forest service would choose NOW as the time to remove the herd.  Such blatant disregard for public sentiment is galling, let alone the disregard it shows for the horses themselves and the history they represent.

So whether you are a horse-lover or not, such reckless behavior by a government agency calls for each of us to take some form of action.  The best thing you can do to voice your concerns is to contact:

The Tonto National Forest Supervisor Reta Laford
Telephone: 602-225-5200
Fax: 602-225-5200
2324 E. McDowell Road
Phoenix, AZ 85006
Email: tonto_webmail@fs.fed.us

Calls should be made immediately followed by a letter faxed to the 

2324 East McDowell office or emailed to that office.

AND

Your Congressmen and both of your Senators

To find contact information for US Congressmen and US Senators by State, by name, or by zip code, go to the link below:

http://www.usa.gov/Contact/Elected.shtml

Please call now, time is of the essence.  Otherwise on your next trip to the Salt River the only thing you'll ever see around the bend or have peering at you through the mesquite will be just another beer-toting tuber or another binocular-bearing birder.  The magic will be gone.

If you feel a bit shy or tongue-tied about calling, or just want more facts under your belt, go to the Salt River Horses Facebook page.  There you will see a post where Becky Standridge has outlined the facts for all interested parties to see.  Hmmmm.... why didn't the USFS do that?

http://www.facebook.com/pages/Salt-River-Wild-Horses/338636552850689

Photo by LuAnne Hedblom, May 2012, Coon Bluff, along the Salt River.

USFS document recently obtained through the Freedom of Information Act:

Coon Bluff Rec. Site on the Salt River

Kayaker startles a Great Egret on the
Salt River at Coon's Bluff.

I wish that was me on the  kayak, it would have been a much smoother ride than the one I took on the "trails" at Coon Bluff.  The area is very sandy and uneven, with lots of critter holes, ant hills, and javelina poop.  I wouldn't recommend Coon Bluff to anyone in a wheelchair unless they have someone willing to push, shove, pull, drag, and hoist their wheelchair around.  Be prepared to be jarred, bounced, torqued, jostled, and possibly catapulted from your wheelchair.

When I finally made it down to the river we did have fun watching 2 Blue Herons and a Great Egret compete for fishing rights, a pair of Green Herons fly up and down the river taunting the Blue Herons, and Black Phoebe's darting down catching flies along the water's edge.

Wild horses came right into the picnic area at Coon Bluff.



Wild horses returning to their herd.


There are plenty of birds to be seen by just sitting among the mesquite trees in the picnic areas and not going down to the water's edge.  Birds seen here included Vermilion Flycatchers, Lucy's Warblers, Brown-headed Cowirds, Abert's Towhees, Raven's, and Turkey Vultures.  I'm sure there was more to be seen, but it was geeting too warm to stay longer.

Speaking of sitting, tomorrow is the Bird Sit at Boyce Thompson Arboretum.  Rick Wright and Alison Beringer invite nature lovers to a very different birdwatching experience- a sedentary, peaceful, focused 'bird sit' in the Demonstration Garden from 6:30 to 9:00 am.  Maybe we'll see some of the rare birds spotted there this week -  Tufted Flycatcher, Yellow-Throated Vireo, Yellow-Billed Cuckoo, Blue Grosbeaks, or Varied Buntings!

Saguaro Lake Ranch

Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus)

The next time you bird along the Bush Highway, take a pit stop at Saguaro Lake Ranch.  The scenery is great and you can relax on the cool grass under the mesquite trees. You'll have a nice view into the mid-canopy of willows and cottonwoods along the Salt River.  In winter months there are a variety of ducks on the river.  Year round you'll see osprey, heron, egrets and flycatchers.  This April and May the Vermilion Flycatchers put on a good show, perching, swooping and diving around right in front of me.  Bald Eagles nest along the Salt and at Saguaro Lake, so you might see a flyby.

While you're here, check into the horseback riding and kayaking they offer, and the rental of the little pueblos.  It would be nice to be here to bird at sunset and sunrise, and bird by kayak or horseback!  The buildings aren't wheelchair accessible, and the rough cobblestone porch of the lodge makes for a bumpy ride.  But I still like to stop here to see the horses, and feel the cool breeze coming off the river.  The lodge and horseback riding are open October 1st through May 1st, and the kayaking is offered year round.  For Reservations:  Call  (480)984-2194

Saguaro Lake Ranch :   http://www.saguarolakeranch.com/
Horseback riding: http://www.saguarolaketrailrides.com/
Kayaking: You will get wet - Kayak from the top of the Salt River--float below thousand foot cliffs and beside majestic saguaros in the Sonoran Desert. The ranch offers kayaking during the fall, winter, and spring (summer kayaking is offered by the kayaking company). There are two options: (1) Kayak on Saguaro Lake. They provide equipment transportation. (2) Kayak on the Salt River between Phon D Sutton and Granite Reef. They provide equipment and transportation back to your car. Launch Times:  8am - 9am - 10am, reservations required, call 480-984-2194.  E-mail: SaguaroLakeRanch@gmail.com
Click image below to view slideshow:

Birding the Salt River Along the Bush Highway

Vermilion Flycatcher (Pyrocephalus rubinus)

If you live in the East Valley, head North on Power Road for a great quick escape from town. Power Road becomes Bush Highway and follows the Salt River. There are two riparian areas with wheelchair access - Granite Reef, and Coon Bluff. Both are good areas for seeing warblers, migrating waterfowl, and shore birds. The mesquite bosque is loaded with mistletoe - so its a great spot to see Phainopepla. On my recent visit (Feb. 18, 2010) I saw my first Vermilion Flycatcher! It was great fun watching him repeatedly swoop down to catch a bug, then return to his perch. Other birds seen included Pied-billed Grebes, a Common Moorhen, Verdin, Gila Woodpeckers, Northern Cardinal, and Cormorants (seen flying by. It was mid-day when I was at both sights. I'm sure if I had been there at more optimal birding times - early morning or late afternoon - the list of birds seen would be longer. WARNING - Unless you have completely taken leave of your senses, you do NOT want to bird here during summer months - the area is extremely busy with tons of people tubing the Salt River. Of course, you may see a bird of a completely different sort - the DrunkAndNakedAsAJay Bird (Homo sapiens).

You will need to buy a Tonto Day Pass, check for a vendor here...

Double-Click photo below to see ENLARGED version of slide show.