Arizona is For the Birds

 

Wherein Moominmama finds feathered friends in Arizona, with growing awareness of the threats to their future...

Moominmama has been surrounded by an abundance of birds, the cheerful songs of the curve-billed thrasher, the electronic chirps of the cactus wren, the squeaky-toy calls of the Gambrel's quail. And this year, add to that, the hummingbirds at the Boyce-Thompson Arboretum, blurs of color on their way to plentiful blooms, not bothered by the presence of plodding humans in the way. 

Turns out there are 14 different species of hummingbirds in Arizona, including the fuscia-throated Anna's hummingbird, which along with the purple-headed Costa's hummingbird, dominated the arboretum (photos from Cornell's Lab of Ornithology since I couldn't possibly capture these guys!)

One type of hummingbird not found in Arizona is the ruby-throated hummingbird because, as I learned, they're exclusive to the East.  

The Boyce-Thompson Arboretum in now my favorite arboretum in Arizona. Its paths wander through the magma uprisings and compressed volcanic ash that formed the Superstition Mountains and environs, creating nooks and crannies where water can pool and life can thrive. Hiking on broken rocks anywhere in this area creates a clinking music like walking over busted tiles.

The arboretum is home to many birds, also javelinas, and apparently at least one gila monster. So it was discouraging to learn that Arizona is one of the states seeing the greatest decline in bird populations. 

Per The New York Times, reporting on a recent study on Feb. 26, "The steepest losses were seen in Florida, Texas, Louisiana and Arizona. Generally, they correlated with warm places and, to a lesser degree, with places that saw rising temperatures over the past 30 years." Even more alarming is that the losses are accelerating.

Besides rising temperatures, the decline correlates with areas of intensive farming, and one theory is that the pesticides common to farming are killing insects and, by extension, reducing the food supply for birds. Because it turns out hummingbirds don't just live on flower nectar. When they are raising young, they eat gnats and other small insects to supply their little ones with protein. Apparently almost all birds need insects as a food source at some point in their life cycle.

The Boyce-Thompson Arboretum, in addition to featuring the plants and animals of the Sonoran desert (including a wonderful garden of medicinal plants), has species from deserts around the world.

For the first time, I got to see the giant Eucalyptus trees that I've read about in novels set in Australia. They are a striking size in a desert full of shrubs and bush-like trees like the palo verde or mequite.

Boyce-Thompson had an entire grove of eucalyptus trees, which shed bark over time and reveal a white underside. These trees have a host of adaptations that allowed them to grow tall despite arid environments and the risk of fire.

Many eucalyptus species, in addition to stretching their roots deep underground, produce chemicals that help to free up nutrients in poor soils. The roots also connect to fungi in the earth, with which they trade nutrients and water. Their bark is fire-resistant.

The largest of these trees in the arboretum (and likely in the U.S.) is 117 feet tall and 22 feet around. It was planted here as a 6-foot sapling in 1926! That's not even the tree in this picture. The arboretum has an entire grove of these trees, which provide welcome shade on a hot day.

In fact, Arizona is experiencing a heat wave and will be subject to a "heat dome" this week. That has reduced the hiking Moominmama was willing to try and increased the appeal of getting onto the water.

Moominmama has acquired a new folding kayak, one that is much easier to put together and turns out to be more stable than my old one.

I've tested it out on nearby Canyon Lake, which has narrow arms that are great fun to explore and where I met several great blue herons, including this bold fellow looking out from above. These birds actually stayed still long enough for me to get photos!

Moominmama is changing her travel plans to seek out higher elevation where there's a better shot at escaping the worst of the heat. Hope to have a new library photo for you once I reach my next stop!