Now that a couple of weeks worth of rain have passed through, the floodwaters at Kokopelli WA are beginning to recede. Typically, the summer water levels at KWA are about two feet below sea level, held at bay by a dike with a top elevation of about 3.5 feet above sea level downstream of our property. This dike was constructed in the 50’s in order to make farming in the area a little bit easier. Our refuge is located at the bottom of a 50 square mile watershed. The watershed is all below 300 feet in elevation, so the only water receive is rainfall. But, 50 square miles of even moderate rainfall can add up in a hurry. Yesterday, our water elevation peaked at almost exactly 5 feet above sea level—quite a swing, but nowhere near our record level of just over 14 feet. As you can probably imagine, 16 foot swings in surface water elevation can create maintenance issues. We try to storm proof everything we can, but we always have some kind of spring clean-up to do ranging from repairing irrigation systems to removing trash and debris from water control structures to repairing blowouts on our dikes and roadways. The high water levels do make certain tasks easier though, such as trimming trees or repairing wood duck boxes from the comfort of a boat rather than a ladder.
staff gauge showing water at 5'--note how deep 14' would be!
The green behind the staff gauge is a summer road, the trees mark the summer creek bank, and behind that is another road!
this non-native red-eared slider didn't seem to mind the water. Catching a little sun.
Sometimes at this time of year, it’s hard for me to discern between winter and spring. One aspect about Kokopelli WA that differs greatly from the area I was raised is the concept of winter annuals. These are plants that germinate with the first rains and end up completing their cycle before spring really even gets started.
spring? or winter?
closer on the wild mustard
this groundsel is already done for the year
wild radish
I showed some photos of tree swallows utilizing our artificial nest boxes a while back, but these birds are also fond of natural tree cavities. In fact, when a tree dies or begins dying, it enters the period of its existence when it provides the most habitat value for other creatures. Insects begin infestations, providing food for others higher on the food chain, branches snap off leaving rotten cavities for nesting animals and dead snags provide high visibility perches for hunting raptors.
this dying cottonwood provides many cavities for the iridescent tree swallow
Wildlife Notes: Say’s Phoebes are still here—I saw one today. Also, the first Swainson’s Hawks of the spring showed up overhead. Yesterday, I saw two common ravens, which is a fairly rare bird for Kokopelli—this is probably the fifth record.
