This past Saturday, I attended the annual City of Prescott Wildflower Celebration at the Community Nature Center. Not familiar with the Community Nature Center? It is a hidden jewel in the city’s portfolio of Open Space.
The Community Nature Center is located at 1981 Williamson Valley Road, and is accessed from the same road that leads to the parking lot for Granite Mountain Middle School. This eighteen-acre parcel is wild and native and is the perfect place to host a wildflower celebration.
Other organizations helped sponsor the event, including the Prescott chapter of The Arizona Native Plant Society, and the Natural History Institute. There were free guided flower and plant identification walks, information booths, and even packages of native wildflowers for sale.
I have to admit, I got a little carried away, and purchased a lot of seed packets, including California poppy, firecracker penstemon, scented penstemon, wand penstemon, Rocky Mountain penstemon, showy goldeneye, scarlet gilia, butterfly weed and Rocky Mountain Beeplant.
As a passionate wild bird and nature lover, I understand the importance of creating a bird friendly yard—or in other words, a yard filled with native plants. If you want to turn your yard into a wild bird habitat, there are several upcoming events of which you should be aware.
On September 6th and 13th, two consecutive Fridays, the Highlands Center for Natural History (HCNH) is hosting a class titled “Gardening with Native Plants”. The objective of the class is to teach how “you can transform your garden into a haven for birds, bees, and butterflies, while conserving water, ending dependence on fertilizers, and reducing your gardening workload.”
Then, on Friday, September 20th, the HCNH will be hosting a class taught by Kathleen Dickinson titled “Creating a Backyard Habitat” with discussions on the hundreds of gorgeous native plants that also provide food, nesting material, and shelter for many species of wildlife. You can register for these classes at highlandscenter.org/adult-programs.
In other bird news, earlier this week I went to the south shore of Willow Lake at the end of the day, as I had heard there were terns at the lake earlier in the day. The numbers of birds at the lake were very impressive. I estimated there were probably seventy-five Forster’s terns, and I saw one Caspian tern.
Additionally, I estimated there were at least 250 black-necked stilts, and probably over 200 white-faced ibis. I also saw a semipalmated plover, which was exciting to see. Unfortunately, I was pushed for time as I was running out of daylight so I had to cut my birding short.
On another note, last week one of my employees observed a pack rat making a trip between a shed on our property and the dumpster. I used two live traps, hoping to catch the pack rat with my “special” bait—a Ritz cracker loaded with peanut butter.
In the last week, I have live-trapped 13—yes, thirteen!—rock squirrels and two pack rats. All of them have been humanely rehomed and were thrilled to be released. I wonder how many more I may catch!!
In spite of living just off of Rosser, I have a beautiful buck mule deer who has been hanging out in my yard. On Sunday, he was in my bird feeding area. This explains why my bird feeder has been going empty so quickly! It never occurred to me that I had a deer eating my birdseed!
Last, but not least, our 16th Annual Wild Bird Photography Contest submission period begins next week, on Tuesday, September 3rd and runs through September 30th. For more information, stop by The Lookout to pick up a flyer.
Until next week, Happy Birding!
Eric Moore is the owner of The Lookout, in Prescott, where you will find a Hallmark Gold Crown Store, wild bird products, and Swarovski and Vortex optics. Eric has been an avid birder for over 55 years. Eric can be contacted at eric@thelookoutaz.com.
