Rio Salado Update November 1998

The following also is provided in Spanish. Lo siguiente también es provisto en Español .

Which wildlife will call the Phoenix Rio Salado home?

Imagine. It is dark and you have been traveling at an altitude of 5,000 feet for eight hours over arid desert. You have been flying on your own two wings, fueled by body fat and guided by the celestial map of the constellations. The sun begins to rise, and the dry, treeless expanse appears below. A serpentine river slithers through the flat valley, shedding off green fields of alfalfa and cotton. You are hungry and tired from your journey. As you descend, you notice that the trees and bushes are no longer there. You continue on your flight, hoping that before you run out of fuel, you can find some trees to land on. Unfortunately, this scenario is real to more and more birds with each passing year.

Riparian areas, meaning "relating to a riverbank," form at the shores of lakes and reservoirs, banks and floodplains of intermittent or year-round streams, rivers and springs. It is the plant and animal life that depends on riparian areas that makes rivers so important in the desert. The loss of riparian areas throughout Arizona has caused the disappearance of so many birds, animals and trees. Riparian habitat supports 60 to 75 percent of the wildlife species found in the state and is home to a diverse array of reptiles and amphibians; small mammals such as woodrats, skunks and bats; and large mammals such as coyotes.

Which wildlife species will call the Salt River home once the Phoenix Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Project is complete? Through research and other projects like Tres Rios, we expect several species of wildlife to return to the river. So, for this special edition, and with help from the Arizona Game and Fish Department, we’re introducing you to a few of the creatures that we expect to share our Rio Salado Project.

Great blue heron

Open water areas along the channel support fish and the birds that prey on them, among them the great blue heron and great egret.

The largest of our herons, the great blue heron is a common sight at almost any permanent water body in Arizona, but especially in the central, southern and western parts of the state. With a hearty "gronnkk," the great blue takes flight when approached. Flapping its wings heavily, like a human trying to fly, the bird eventually picks up speed and then moves along at a very strong clip. Later, the bird returns to the water’s edge to stalk fish and frogs or most anything it can spear with a lightning thrust of its bill. The huge nests this species builds are easy to see in tall trees lining the river’s edge.

Marshland communities historically occurred on old oxbows where cattail or bulrush vegetation grows. Wetlands can provide a high-quality habitat for wildlife. Common birds found here include song sparrows, long-billed marsh wrens, common yellowthroat, clapper rails, yellow-headed and red-winged blackbirds, various waterfowl, great blue heron, green heron, snowy and cattle egrets, and coot. Typical small mammals include the Arizona cotton rat, muskrat and beaver.

Beaver

Surprisingly to many of us, beavers are among Arizona’s many native mammals. The beaver is one of a handful of aquatic mammals that live in Arizona. Historically, the beaver was abundant along many of Arizona’s waterways, including the southern Arizona desert rivers.

The largest rodent in North America, a beaver may weigh up to 80 pounds. They may be three to four feet long and 15 inches in height. Beavers use the two front teeth on each jaw to cut down trees. They are gregarious, tend to be monogamous and may live 20 years or more. The female has one litter a year, usually between two and four young. Long exploited for its fur, the beaver is almost extinct in Europe from overhunting, but it is becoming reestablished in Canada and in protected areas of the United States.

Yuma clapper rail

Officially listed as an endangered species in 1967, the Yuma Clapper Rail species name means "thin, long bill or beak," while the subspecies name refers to Yuma, which is the general locality of the first specimen found. Yuma clappers are one of the smallest clapper rail types. They weigh about nine to 10 ounces, stand eight to nine inches high, and exceed one foot in length (including their orange-toned bill).

Yuma clapper rails are found in wetland vegetation such as stands of cattails and bulrush. They spend so much of their time within dense plant cover that humans may be unaware of their proximity.

The riparian woodland community consists primarily of streamside vegetation such as Fremont cottonwood, Gooding willow and velvet and/or honey mesquite.

Cottonwood/willow habitat supports a wide variety of neotropical migrants such as yellow warblers, summer tanagers, Bell’s vireos and yellow-billed cuckoos. Other avian species include white-winged doves, Vermillion flycatchers, cardinals, Abert’s towhee, Cooper’s hawk and the great blue heron.

Small mammals that inhabit the riparian woodlands include the silver-haired, big brown, and yellow bats; white-throated woodrats; and the cactus and western harvest mouse. Reptiles and lizards include the common kingsnake, desert spiny lizard, tree lizard, western whiptail lizard, Colorado river toad and the lowland leopard frog.

Western banded gecko

Banded geckos are abundant in the deserts, occupying a wide range of habitats. The western banded gecko is medium-sized, growing four to six inches long. This beautiful, delicate-looking lizard has pale pink-and-brown-banded translucent skin. The bands change into blotches and spots with age. It has supple skin, uniformly granular back scales and slender toes with no pads. The western banded gecko has movable eyelids and its pupils are vertical, distinguishing it from other lizards.

Geckos store fat in their tails which, like those of most desert lizards, can break away and grow back. Because geckos maintain a reduced metabolism at low temperatures, tail fat can sustain them for up to nine months. When protecting its territory against other males or when captured, it emits a squeak or chirp. When threatened, a gecko stands tall on its legs and waves its tail over its back.

(Articles and pictures within were provided by the Arizona Game and Fish Department. A special note of thanks to William Werner and photographer George Andrejko.)

If you have any questions or comments, or would like to meet with our staff to discuss the project, call Karen Williams in our Neighborhood Services Department at (602) 262-4717.

Visit us on the Internet
The Phoenix Rio Salado Habitat Restoration Project may be viewed on the Internet. Check us out and tell others to look us up at: www.ci.phoenix.az.us/NBHDPGMS/rioproj.html.