Mesquites hold out until winter then quickly drop leaves

The mesquite trees are down for the season at my local park. It was jarring yesterday to see that they’re barren now. As can be seen by the photo here with the verdin, which I took in late November when I was last there, they were still primarily displaying green.

After doing some quick research on this, I discovered that mesquite leaves can remain on the tree until as late as March during mild winters. That’s according to the Arizona Cooperative Extension.

That’s right on the cusp of sprouting new leaves for spring, which, for mesquites, typically occurs in late March or early April, according to a report published by the extension, titled Mesquite and Palo Verde Trees for the Urban Landscape, by Ursula K Schuch and Jack J. Kelly.

In contrast, leaves on Fremont cottonwood trees begin changing color at the end of summer in Southern Nevada, says the website Bird & Hike, maintained by local ecologist Jim Boone. They begin growing new leaves at around the same time as mesquites: early spring, says the National Wildlife Federation.

On a closely related note, it was unusual with no verdins to be heard or seen at the park. The honey mesquites are their hangout of choice — meaning for perching and seeking sustenance (insects, seeds, berries). In addition, as far as verdins are concerned, mesquites are one of two primary choices in terms of places to build nests, with the other option being cholla cactus.

I wonder where the verdins are hanging out these days? Perhaps they’re hunkering down in the secondary nests they build specifically for roosting (vs. laying eggs). The entrances to these nests are oriented away from the wind during cooler months, according to Peterson’s Field Guide to North American Bird Nests. So it would be a cozier place than being perched on a branch in the cold.