Birds of a feather flock together

Yumans may have seen people on the north side of 32nd Street stopped to feed the birds, but what you can't see from the road is a park that more than ducks and geese call home.

"What botanical garden?" curator Bob Rush said is the usual response when he tells them about what he does every day.

"They know about the ducks, but they don't know about the desert botanical garden."

Rush, who runs the Yuma Conservation Garden, said there are a couple hundred different types of plants at the garden.

Rush said it's a representation of the Sonoran Desert, which runs from Mexico through southeastern California west to about Tucson.

And from the prickly pear cactus to the namesake Sonoran Desert cactus, there are plenty of flora.

The park is also home to about 65 ducks and 11 geese, Rush said.

And that's what people normally associate with the park, he said.

It started in the early 1950s, he said, with an irrigation pond that was meant for the plants.

"People started throwing ducks over the fence," he said.

And the ducks like their new home at the park, located at 2520 E. 32nd St.

"Now it's kind of a way of life to bring your kids and bread crumbs," said Rush.

Then along came a goose - and the rest is history.

Baloo, a 74-year-old tortoise, also calls the park home. But these days, Rush said, Baloo isn't eating as much as he used to: He's stocked up for the winter, when tortoises hibernate, depending on location.

There's also more than flora and fauna, Rush said, with a collection of vintage farm equipment.

As a farmer for 35 years, everywhere from Dateland to Egypt, Rush said he likes his new job of running the park. Rush took over for Sheryl Christenson, who ran the park for nine years.

For the future, Rush said he'd like to get more animals at the park.

"So (people) can see them and feed them more and interact," he said.

For more information about the park, or to set up a group tour, call 446-6092.

Stephanie A. Wilken can be reached at swilken@yumasun.com or 539-6857.