A Ribbon of Life in the Desert

The Rio Salado beckons. Like a ribbon through the desert, and despite the fact that Rio Salado (or Salt River) is named from the salty quality of the water, it still attracts things to its banks and beyond. The name is well earned, and is a result of a salt formation it runs through up-stream. The potency of the salt is dependent on the amount of water in a given spot, and it does impact what is found there, but a desert river remains an important source of life providing moisture to many native entities.

If you visit, you might see a wide variety of flora and fauna. The image of a ribbon is created by the vegetation of trees, shrubs and grasses growing on and around the banks of the river. Wetlands, natural and constructed, provide a water purification system that enables the plants and wildlife to flourish along the river. It is documented that in this 595-acre desert river habitat one might see over 120 species of birds, mammals, reptiles, amphibians…and let’s not forget the many uncounted insects making a living in the area.

Among the bird life, you might see are a cadre of water-loving birds including snowy, great, and cattle egrets. Green herons, black–crowned night herons, and great blue herons stalk their prey regularly along the shallows. Ducks of many species including mallards, wigeons, pintails, ringed necked, ruddy ducks and shovelers fly in on occasion. Black phoebes, Say’s phoebes, ash-throated flycatchers, and western kingbirds pop up during various times of the year. A belted kingfisher has been a common visitor of late. Hawks including Cooper’s, Harris’s, red-tailed hawks and ospreys make a living thanks to the water and its visitors. The night is visited by great horned owls, burrowing owls, and barn owls with an occasional visit by a screech owl. Vultures, song-birds, quail, sandpipers, stilts, and other wading birds can be seen enjoying and making a living on the waterway just to name a few.

Mammals, of course, are common visitors, and if you plan well and play your cards right, you might see a grey fox, coyotes, cotton tails, rock squirrels, black-tailed jackrabbits, various rodents including the largest rodent in America, the beaver. I have sneaked down to the river in the early morning hours to catch a sighting of our resident beaver, aptly named Lincoln by our staff (as in Lincoln logs). He preens on the banks until he takes one gander at me and with the swack of a tail, he vanishes…almost apparition-like. But, evidence of beaver dams up and down the river are proof that he and his extended family are more than just making a living. Their tireless efforts are protecting pockets of moisture all along the course of the river, throughout even the hottest summers.

A variety of reptiles including gopher snakes, king snakes and rosy boas might be spotted if you are lucky and a variety of desert lizards may dart across the Peace Trail as you explore the environs. I take great delight in watching the industriousness of the harvester ants that relentlessly and tirelessly carry seeds to the depths of their chambers to create a fermented food for the queen. The external mound, the ant hill, is made by the seed husks returned to the surface in a determined effort at “house cleaning”.

So visit the Rio Salado and take a chance to see some of those hundreds of species, and I’ve got the perfect date for you … March 2^nd’ when we’ll have our Art, Music and Nature Festival. Walk the river, then enjoy art and music throughout the day on our campus.

See you there.