Birding at Patagonia Lake State Park, AZ, and the Elegant Trogon.

2015 Fall Travels of the Mercury, Nov. 30 to Dec. 3rd.

If you're traveling in southern Arizona it's worth the detour to go to Patagonia Lake State Park. Patagonia Lake was established in 1975 and supports a variety of recreation options and excellent wildlife habitat. The Visitor Center has information, maps and seasonal programs. We've come especially for the birding opportunities.

A 265-acre man-made lake has a small marina, several fishing docks, boat ramps, picnic area and beach. The Lakeside Market offers boat rentals, fishing licenses, bait and picnic supplies. The campground has paved interior roads, dump station, two large shower and restroom facilities,106 water and electric sites and 2 no-hookup sites. We have our solar so we take a no-hook up site with view of the lake. The no-hook up site is $20 and the hookup site is $25. All sites have covered picnic tables and fire pits.

Our no-hookup site with a lake view is 2 parking spaces wide.

The hookup sites are spacious and well spaced. The acacia trees are bare and the campground looks bleak but the filtered sun is welcome and the temps for this time of year are comfortable, 60's during the day and upper 30's to 40's at night.

Winter is a slow time of year. The campground is busiest in spring and on weekends during the summer so we enjoy a very quiet setting.

Water and electric hookup sites across from our site.

The marina has boats and paddle boats for rent. The upper half of the lake toward the inlet of Sonoita Creek is a low wake zone. The lower half of the lake toward the dam is used for water skiing and towing. Specific rules apply for different seasons of the year. Anglers can catch crappie, bass, bluegill and catfish.

A view of the marina from the top of the arched bridge over the bay.

The marina is in a bay near the campground. An arched bridge goes from the Visitor Center over the bay to a picnic area and is a great place to bird from. Our campsite is near the Visitor Center so after we arrive that's were I head.

Looking down from the bridge at a Great Blue Heron settling in for the night.

It's late afternoon and I'm rewarded with a Great Blue Heron roosting in the cattails near the bottom of the bridge. He's finished with his day shift and soon a Black-crowned Night Heron arrives for the night shift.

A Black-crowned Night Heron arrives at the bay for the night shift.

A flock of Red-winged Blackbirds moves through the trees to visit a feeder every day. A Coopers Hawk knows this and waits in a tree at our campsite.

A Coopers Hawk waits patiently in a tree at our camp. 

A trailhead at the upper end of the campground offers two trails through different habitats. There is also a bench overlooking the marsh and a seed and hummingbird feeder so you can sit and enjoy a variety of birds. Maps are available at the Visitor Center. One trail goes along the marsh and up Sonoita Creek at the upper end of the lake. This trail is about 3 miles round trip, flat and very easy to hike and bird for people of all abilities. The second trail, about 1.5 miles, goes up into the desert hills above the marsh, is rocky and may be difficult to hike for some.

During the winter there are ranger guided birding hikes on Friday and Monday mornings. In the spring they add a Wednesday hike. We arrived Monday afternoon and missed out on a productive outing. The ranger said they saw about 64 species.

Tuesday morning we set off on a hike along the marsh and up the Sonoita Creek Trail. We hope to see the Elegant Trogon which has been seen here through out the year. We didn't see it last year even though several other birders did. Maybe today we'll get lucky. We have a Panasonic point & shoot so we don't have a long lens but we managed to get a few bird shot. Here are some of the species we saw.

Cinnamon. Teal forge in the cattails along the trail.

A handsome juvenile American Black Duck watches us from the marsh.

For about half a mile the trail follows along the marsh and you can see lots of water fowl  among the cattails. A Cardinal, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, and Bridled Titmouse are easy to find.

A bright Cardinal decorates the tree.

What bird is this? We think its a Cassin's Vireo. It always perched facing us.

Sonoita Creek Trail.

Sonoita Creek flows into the shallow marsh at the upper end of the lake. The trail turns and follows the creek through bare willow trees for about a mile. The leafless trees look bleak but it makes it easy to bird and the creek with it's gentle music is delightful.

Sonoita Creek.

 It's mid morning and the birds aren't very active. Even though we see few birds the hike along the creek is beautiful with temps in the 60's. The sun is bright and air fragrant with fall leaves

Sonoita Creek.

Along the creek we see a Black Phoebe and a Ruby-crowned Kinglet sallying out from their willow twig perches to catch insects above the creek. Sometimes the Phoebe chases the Kinglet when it en-couches on his air space. They're really fun to watch.

Jim birding along the creek.

The Black Phoebe on his willow branches above the creek.

Jim looks for the Trogon.

As we watch the Black Phoebe forging over the creek Jim hears a flutter of wings that direct his eyes to the tops of the willows. There high above like a vision is the Elegant Trogon.

The Elegant Trogon makes his appearance.

The Elegant Trogon can only be found in southeastern Arizona. Only a little bit of it's range extends north of the Mexican boarder into the U.S. A few individuals winter here but most migrate back to Mexico. At Patagonia Lake it may be found all year. It's an unmistakable bird related to the Maya emperor-gods, the Resplendent Quetzal. He's about 12 inches long with dark emerald-green upper parts, a white belly band, bright crimson belly and a copper-red tail. He's the Christmas bird, dressed in his best to match the season. A illustrious bird indeed.

The Elegant Trogon has noticed us and flies down from branch to branch coming lower and closer.

The Elegant Trogon has noticed us and flies to a lower branch, perches for a few minutes then flies lower, gradually working his way towards us. He's not shy and even seems curious. He comes into the open and perches on the broken branch of a fallen tree at eye level directly across the creek, watching us as much as we watch him. He has a dignified pose and doesn't fidget as we move around to get a better shot. He stays for about 15 minutes before fluttering out of view into the screen of tree trunks. Maybe he's the only one here and got lonely so he comes to see the birders.

The Elegant Trogon watches us with curiosity and dignity. Such a royal bird.

Our birding day's complete and we'll never forget being in the company of the Elegant Torgon.

Kayaking Patagonia Lake.

The next day we kayak Patagonia Lake. The shore has a few cliff but is mostly cattail habitat. We're going to bird the marshes at the upper end of the lake where Sonoita Creek flows in.

We kayak to the marsh at the upper end of the lake were Sonoita Creek flows in.

We watch a Great Egret catch fish in the marsh.

Flotillas of handsome Northern Shovelers are always a paddle stroke ahead of us.
 I think that's an American Black Duck in the foreground.

A juvenile Double-crested Cormorant let's us get close before making his dive.

And what birding trip to a lake hasn't bagged a Coot. 

The last bird we see on the lake is the ubiquitous Coot. I like Coots even if they're everywhere. There's a reason there are so many. They're a congenial bird and I'm amused by their humorous grunting conversations. Watch them for a while and they'll do some interesting things.

We hope you get to Patagonia Lake someday. It's a really special place in the desert. There's water here were there shouldn't be water and it's created a very special place for birds.

We saw 38 species. Here's our list:
Elegant Trogon, Cardinal, Cassin's Vireo, Ladder-backed Woodpecker, Hairy Woodpecker, Black Phoebe, Chipping Sparrow, Dark-eyed Junco, Ash-throated Flycatcher, Yellow-rumped Warbler, Bridled Titmouse, Northern Flicker, White-breasted Nuthatch, Ruby-crowned Kinglet, Red-winged Black Bird, Vermilion Flycatcher, Great-tailed Grackle, Great Blue Heron, Black-crowned Night Heron, Great Egret, Killdeer, Coot, Cinnamon Teal, Green-winged Teal, Double-crested Cormorant, Pied-billed Grebe, Western Grebe, Mallard, Bufflehead, Canvasback, Lesser Scrup, Ruddy Duck, Northern Shoveler, Coopers Hawk, Northern Harrier, White-winged Dove, Mourning Dove, Gamble's Quail.

Until next time,
Jackie