More than 5 million people call the Phoenix area home. By 2050, it could hit the 7 million mark. It means more housing, more cars, more planes and more run-ins with wildlife, which also call this region home. Still, the relationship between humans and urban wildlife is complicated — and getting more so every day.
A passenger plane is coming in for a landing at Phoenix Sky Harbor International Airport.
“So there's a flock of birds that just flew over here,” said Chris Tiffany, a wildlife biologist with Loomacres Wildlife Management, which oversees this 3,400 acre airfield and its wild residents. Tiffany is cruising the airport perimeter, his eyes scanning the horizon.
“And obviously that plane just came in right here so you can see how that could be an issue.”
Managing wildlife here means keeping birds, bats, coyotes — even stray dogs — away from one of the busiest runways in the country.
“So last night we just had a rash of bird strikes,” Tiffany explained. Bird strikes in the middle of a Phoenix summer is unusual, he says, because it's so hot.
Tiffany says these incidents are more common than people realize. That’s because strike reporting is voluntary, according to the FAA.
“And it was on short final, which is about, it could be anywhere from 100 to 50 feet. And that means it's going to be over the runway," Tiffany said.
So, on this day, one of Tiffany’s colleagues is on the airfield looking for bird remains.
“Because we want to identify every bird strike, or the remains of every bird strike, we can to get a better understanding of what we're hitting and that will give us a better idea of how to manage it," Tiffany said.
Like a lot of airports, Sky Harbor is full of wildlife-friendly architecture — ledges, rafters, vents and eaves.
The solution? Bird spikes so they can’t perch. Special fencing to prevent burrowing. And zeroscaping removes cover and potential food and water sources.
Everything here is managed with passenger — and wildlife — safety in mind.
Like a lot of airports, Sky Harbor is full of wildlife-friendly architecture — ledges, rafters, vents and eaves.
Nurturing Arizona’s nature
On the other side of the Salt River from Sky Harbor is Liberty Wildlife.
“Yeah, our mission is actually to nurture the nature of Arizona,” says Laura Hackett, the education manager and a wildlife biologist there.
And some of that nature lives at this sanctuary because of us.
“The animals were here first. And they can't compete with us,” explains Hackett. “We are just bigger and growing stronger every day.”
Last year alone, Liberty treated more than 10,000 injured or displaced animals: eagles, condors, woodpeckers, kestrels, quail, rabbits, squirrels — and Emmitt, a feisty red-tailed hawk.
“So somebody found him and didn't get him to a wildlife rehabilitation center right away. And so he is way too comfortable around humans," Hackett said.
That means Emmitt can’t be released back into the wild, which is the goal of Liberty Wildlife. So is relocating animals — like burrowing owls that might be nesting on a fully permitted construction site.
“Thankfully, we have other places that we can relocate them to and we've been successful with that,” Hackett said. “But it's getting harder and harder, right? There's less space and I just feel like every time I put new ones back out into the wild, ‘how long before that land is disrupted, again?’”
But it's not just land disruptions that bring wildlife here: window strikes, cars, poisoning, traps and even HOA disputes are hazards.
“We've actually gotten law enforcement involved a couple times where the HOA has known that there was a nest of herons in a tree and they've knocked the tree down anyway," Hackett said.
That's a violation of the Migratory Bird Treaty Act of 1918, which makes it illegal to disturb nesting birds — almost all of which are protected in Arizona.
Luckily, Hackett says they were able to save some of the babies and release them.
“The animals were here first. And they can't compete with us. We are just bigger and growing stronger every day.”Laura Hackett with Liberty Wildlife
Like a good neighbor
When it comes to coexisting with wildlife, both Hackett and Karen Bradshaw, a law professor at the Sandra Day O’Connor College of Law at Arizona State University and author of Wildlife as Property Owners: A New Conception of Animal Rights, say it’s about intentionality and observation.
“That simple act of observation begins the process of beginning to understand how much animals and wildlife are part of our daily life,” she explains.
They aren't just background creatures in our ecosystem. That's where the rubber meets the road.
“And rethinking animals as neighbors, as species that exist, sort of, in tandem with us and we can have good neighbors or bad neighbors, but they're part of our urban and home landscapes," Bradshaw said.
Stretching nearly 38 miles, the Arizona Canal is part utility corridor, part urban treadmill. It’s also teeming with life.
And that’s how this story came to be — an early summer jog along the water, and the quiet realization that everywhere you look, there was wildlife.
“We have lots of ducks throughout the canal system — they're just migratory. Some have adapted and started staying year round,” explains Brian Moorhead, an environmental scientist with SRP.
He says the utility takes a hands-off approach to the wildlife paddling around — and they hope the public will, too.
“The ducks have adapted to people. So they'll generally let you move past them fairly close. But yeah, we don't want people to be trying to handle the ducks.”
And it’s not just ducks. The canal draws in other wildlife in search of water, and sometimes food, which can include family pets.
It’s that ongoing push and pull — animals adjusting to us, and us deciding how much space we’re willing to share.
“That simple act of observation begins the process of beginning to understand how much animals and wildlife are part of our daily life."Karen Bradshaw with Arizona State University
Tips for creating a wildlife-friendly backyard
- Add a water source: Install a simple fountain or bird bath to provide fresh water for birds and other wildlife.
- Create shelter: Build small brush or stick piles to offer habitat for lizards and other small creatures.
- Use nature ID apps: Try apps like Google Lens or Merlin Bird ID to identify plants and animals — just snap a photo with your phone.
- Certify your yard: Apply to have your space recognized as a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the National Wildlife Federation (one-time $25 fee).
- Plant native species for pollinators: Choose Arizona native plants like Arizona Milkweed or Goodding’s Verbena to support bees and butterflies.
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