Madrona Marsh

Freshwater wetlands in southern California have been shrinking for a long time, ever since draining them for development became profitable. Kudos, then, to the city of Torrance, California for preserving, and even enhancing, a wildlife haven called Madrona Marsh. The city park is named not for any madrone trees on the property, but for a neighborhood road, one of many named after various types of trees.

I had the pleasure of visiting the park on May 17 with my friends Kim Moore and Emile Feisler. Emile has been documenting the flora and fauna of the park in images for several years. We managed to add at least one new organism to his list while on our outing.

Like most parks in the Greater Los Angeles area, this one comes complete with a nature center. The displays were museum quality, and the building also had meeting space, a library, and offices. Across the street from the nature center is the actual preserve, fenced at present, the gate locked in off-hours.

The morning started under overcast skies leftover from rain the night before, but the clouds eventually gave way to a bright, sunny afternoon. Inclement weather by human standards is often just perfect for other organisms, though, and we found plenty of insects, birds, and other animals. One of the first birds we saw was a female Blue Grosebeak, in fact.

The marsh is actually a vernal wetland, fed by rains in the winter and spring. By the end of August the pan is dry, and remains so until the rains resume. This cyclic phenomenon means plants and animals must adapt to annual extremes of wet and dry. The area is also a “back dune” habitat that is part of the extensive El Segundo Sand Dune System. You would be hard pressed to find any physical feature resembling a dune, however.

Unfortunately, the preserve is not immune from non-native species, and in fact that is what dominates the landscape in many places. Argentine Ants have displaced most of the native ants, for example. There is also a leaf beetle from Australia that feeds voraciously on the equally-invasive eucalyptus trees.

The human history of the marsh has been varied. Native Americans and early settlers utilized the natural resources of the area. Since the 1920s, the marsh was used for oil recovery (southern California is studded with tar pits, not just the famous La Brea Tar Pits). Ironically, petroleum salvaging kept the area protected from commercial development. The Friends of Madrona Marsh, a non-profit organization established in 1971, worked with other community groups to galvanize support for saving the marsh as a wildlife habitat and passive recreation site. Lobbying efforts and legal wrangling paid off with the dedication of of 35 acres. Later, state funds were allocated to purchase another eight-and-a half acres. The City of Torrance took over stewardship of the park in 1986, helping to stave-off development as part of Park del Amo.

I highly recommend visiting Madrona Marsh. Keep an eye out for waterfowl and other birds, as well as Pacific Treefrogs, dragonflies and damselflies, and Fox Squirrels among the other wild animals that call this place home.

Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch

I had the pleasure of joining my good friends Margarethe Brummermann and Ned Harris last Tuesday, April 27, for a trip “up north” to the Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch in Gilbert, Arizona. Gilbert is rather seamlessly connected to Phoenix, but it was well worth enduring the traffic to reach this wetlands gem.

There are seven ponds covering 110 acres here, with the berms between them providing comfortable trails for walkers, joggers, and wildlife-watchers. One pond is dedicated to fishing and stocked with a variety of game species. Not all of the remaining ponds are full at any given time, but draining some exposes mud flats for shorebirds like the long-billed dowitcher to probe.

While the preserve provides wildlife habitat and recreational opportunities for people (there are also manicured lawns, a playground and “dino dig” for children, and even a small observatory), there is another purpose to the area. “Reclaimed” waste water, already treated for sewage, is what fills the ponds, allowing for a further natural purification and recharge of underground aquifers (as I understand it, anyway). It certainly seems to agree with the likes of the American avocet.

Our personal bird tally for the morning and early afternoon included mallard, cinnamon teal, northern shoveler, ruddy duck, Canada goose, American coot, double-crested cormorant, great blue heron, great egret, black-crowned night-heron, green heron, killdeer, black-necked stilt, mourning dove, white-winged dove, cliff swallow, red-winged blackbird, and great-tailed grackle.

Dragonflies are plentiful, too. It is a bit early in the season for them, but we still saw common green darner, blue dasher, roseate skimmer, black saddlebags, red saddlebags, and Mexican amberwing (female above).

The area is planted with lots of native trees, shrubs, and wildflowers that provide plenty of cover and forage for all forms of wildlife. There is even a pollinator garden that attracts butterflies, bees, and hummingbirds.

Should you decide to visit, be prepared for the park’s popularity. By 9 AM on a weekday the parking lot can be full, and the trails crowded with people walking for exercise and school groups learning about wetlands. When the day heats up, you might consider taking a break indoors at the Gilbert public library. It abuts the preserve and overlooks the fishing lake.

Meanwhile, you can live vicariously by visiting websites like Tom Webster Photography that give a great overview of the preserve and its facilities. Also be sure to visit the website for the Riparian Institute which manages the Preserve.