Tempe Lake

Leo had researched potential birding sites in our vicinity, so we visited Tempe Lake Park.  We were a little disappointed to find that it was a very urban park right in downtown Tempe, if Tempe can be said to have a downtown. (If any city in Arizona can be said to have a downtown. They are all pretty spread out and low rise with vast strips of mall after mall.)

The lake itself is just a man made reservoir inside the engineered flood channel that is the Salt River.  They have made a very attractive linear park along the dikes that is great for runners and dog walker, with a pedestrian bridge. 

But it didn't seem to have much riparian habitat.  Below the abrupt ending of the lake at the dam within the flood channel we found the riparian habitat, but no way to access it.  There were big signs forbidding access downstream of the dam and very steep slopes.  We were too high above the trees to get a very good look at the birds.  So we walked along the bank till we got to the highway bridge, crossed and returned on the other side.  They had done a very nice job of planting the dikes with native and xerophytic plants, and the large irrigated palo Verde trees were covered in yellow blossoms. 

And by the time we got back to the pedestrian bridge, we had seen quite a few birds.  A roadrunner as trotting down the sidewalk, a red-tailed hawk (Coopers hawk) flew overhead.  There were cliff swallow nests under the bridge and we watched them picking up mud for their nests in a puddle created by the sprinkler system (Bird of the Day).

We found a map that showed "Hayden Butte Preserve and it turned out to be a small rocky hill embellished with a large "A" for Arizona State University (located right next to the park).

There is a steep trail leading to the top and we joined the locals out for their fitness walk.  There was a fine view from the top of the City of Tempe complete with green roofs and parking garages covered in solar panels.

The peak is a small remnant of natural desert in the midst of miles of suburban development.  And there were also the usual desert birds - cactus wrens, thrashers,  along with the urban ones - grackles and house sparrows.

We also espied the Corner Bakery and Cafe right next to the Tempe Tourist Information so those were our next two stops.

In the tourist literature we found South Mountain Park, a short drive away, so we headed that way, passing through the small Hispanic municipality of Guadalupe, a little oasis of Mexico now surrounded by the suburban sprawl of greater Phoenix.

The park was another mountain park preserving desert,

(all the flat land in the region is covered in housing), busy with hikers and runners on the extensive trail network, but now it was noon and hot, and the birds were hiding, so we returned to our car and braved Phoenix freeway traffic to return across the city to our campsite and retreat to the shade for the rest of the afternoon.