Finally, we arrived a Patagonia Lake State Park in far
southern Arizona.
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A never heard of this place when I lived in Arizona |
As I stated when I started this blog series, I wanted to go
down there to see new (for me) bird species, especially the Elegant Trogon.
And, I discovered just before we left that I had misread some info and it might
be too early for this gorgeous bird.
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Patagonia Lake |
Still, the weather was pleasantly warm in the daytime and
cold, but not too cold, at night. We could not get three nights in a row for
camping because the weekend was totally booked, so we just had two nights. The
site was nice with trees ...
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Our site; Photo: Scott Stevens |
I would have liked a bit more separation from other campsites, but it wasn’t too bad. Like the rest of southern Arizona, the set-up seemed to favor RVs more than tents or teardrop trailers. But, the park has marvelous hot showers. Spacious, easy to access and (did I mention?) hot! So, it is a nice place to camp.
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Lesser Goldfinch |
And our site regularly hosted birds, filling the air with lovely song.
Sometimes after being
in winter for a while, you forget how beautiful birdsong can be.
The lake was lovely and some trees were starting to leaf,
but it was still the brown/gray of winter most places.
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End of the lake |
While we were there, I hiked the nature walk at the end of
the campground twice – once a relatively short distance and once a pretty long
way. Right at the beginning of the trail
there is an area with a bench that faces a platform covered with birdseed ...
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I like when parks have feeders to attract birds |
... and
several Hummingbird feeders ...
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A nice touch |
That’s where I got many of my new bird shots.
I was particularly thrilled with the Northern Cardinal (I
have seen many in my life, but had no photos). This one is actually an Arizona
subspecies …
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Arizona Northern Cardinal |
The Pyrrhuloxia (I had only briefly seen one before) …
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Male |
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Female |
The absolutely gorgeous Broad-billed Hummingbird …
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A new bird for me |
… that looked like a little jewel in the trees …
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Gorgeous |
I also got pictures of a Gila Woodpecker, but he only showed
his full self at the feeder …
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The red indicates male |
And, I saw many Lesser Goldfinches, including the
Green-Backed variety …
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Green-backed Lesser Goldfinches |
I also got some pretty good shots of the Curve-billed
Thrasher, which has an obvious name ...
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That bill makes him look like a grumpy old man |
And, one sad picture of a Violet-crowned Hummingbird, which
I later learned that I am unlikely to ever see again unless I go back to
southern Arizona. Almost every time this cutie tried to feed, the Broad-billed
Hummingbird chased it away.
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This is seriously the ONLY shot I got |
Hiding behind feeders is popular -- I had the same problem with a White-winged Dove at the Visitors Center ...
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At least he showed his face! |
As I hiked, I saw many Vermilion Flycatchers – absolutely
stunning orange/red birds that move very quickly and are very hard to
photograph with my lens …
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A bright little thing |
I saw a Black-throated Sparrow ...
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My first of this species |
.. a Dark-eyed Junco ...
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This is the Oregon subspecies |
... a Ruby-crowned Kinglet ...
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Just a hint of the crown |
... and a female ...
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So, is she a Ruby-crowned Queenlet? |
... House Finches ...
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A male and three females |
And, very late the second day, I grabbed some pretty poor
shots of a Ladder-backed Woodpecker ...
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It was getting late and he was in the trees |
The lake was host to a number of birds …
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Patagonia Lake |
Northern Shovelers ...
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Male and female; the big bill is the "shovel" |
Cinnamon Teals …
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The bright male and the drab female |
American Coots …
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Breeding plumage -- see the red bindi? |
Ruddy Ducks …
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Female and male |
... I didn't even notice the blue bill (a sign that the duck is in breeding plumage) until I looked closely at the pictures ...
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Whoa! |
Plus Double-crested Cormorants …
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A juvenile |
Pied-billed Grebes ...
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A little cutie |
Great Egrets …
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Far off on the lake |
Killdeers …
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On the edge of the lake |
And, late on the second day, some American White Pelicans
coming in for a landing, although I never saw them land.
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Flying over |
The Grackles were everywhere …
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Great-tailed Grackle |
… And, I even got a shot of one with an unusual white wing
edge …
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Just a little leucism |
On my longer hike, I heard a frog-like sound and thought
that maybe I had chanced upon an Elegant Trogan. As I scanned the trees, I saw
movement on the hill and got a momentary glimpse of a black Javelina trudging
up the hill. I did not – much to my distress – get a photo, but I was pretty
excited to even see a Javelina – a first for me. There was another one very
close by. I could hear it snorting and rooting, but I never saw it.
As I was looking, I came upon an Ornate Tree Lizard ...
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A striking blue belly and aqua throat |
I probably wouldn’t have seen it if I
hadn’t been looking for the Javelina.
Along the hike, I also saw several colorful butterflies and
was able to successfully snap pictures of two varieties: the Pipevine Swallowtail with its orange and white spots and blue inside wings …
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Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly |
And, the Mourning Cloak …
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Mourning Cloak Butterfly |
Several other varieties eluded me.
And, I snapped a Western Honeybee at work on some early spring
flowers.
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Western Honeybee |
One day, I also did the 2.75-mile loop Sonoita
Creek/Blackhawk Canyon loop trail in the adjacent Sonoita Creek State Natural
Area.
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Brushy desert |
The weather was cool enough to make this primarily desert hike pleasant.
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The river below |
But, except for a few cows, a Curve-billed Thrasher, a Paper Wasp ...
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Close-up of the Wasp |
... and a Chipping Sparrow ...
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Chipping Sparrow |
... I didn’t see much. A couple of Mule Deer, a
small waterfall, lots of not-yet-green cottonwood trees and a variety of
mesquite and cactus.
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Cacti can be beautiful |
I wish we could have stayed over another night so I could
have participated in bird hike. I was going to do the Friday morning walk, but
Scott wanted to get on down the road. I don’t want to hear that they saw an
Elegant Trogan, because I never saw one.
After I got home, I learned that the Audubon Society has a Hummingbird center in the cute little nearby town of Patagonia. Next time I go
down (I am thinking maybe May or October – based on popularity, I should book
now), I will definitely go there. I adore Hummingbirds and didn’t see enough in
the short time we were at Patagonia Lake.
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Broad-billed Hummingbird silhouette |
Another thing we didn’t see was Keven, who had originally
told me about the park. She was under the weather the whole time, so a planned
get-together fizzled. We did see Pat a few times, but he was working. He’s a
ranger at the park.
I truly enjoyed Patagonia Lake. Summer-like weather in
February, lots of birds, pretty night skies ...
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Stars! |
... and – just outside the park – a Mearn’s
Coyote ...
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It looked like he was going to bolt, but then he turned to pose for a portrait |
I didn’t get an Elegant Trogan, but I saw over a dozen new
birds for me. And, that was fun.
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Patagonia lake |
Trip date: February 22-29, 2016
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