If I Were Going...: Patagonia Lake State Park

Finally, we arrived a Patagonia Lake State Park in far southern Arizona.

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.

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 ...

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.

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.

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 ...

I like when parks have feeders to attract birds

... and several Hummingbird feeders ...

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 …

Arizona Northern Cardinal

The Pyrrhuloxia (I had only briefly seen one before) …

Male

Female

The absolutely gorgeous Broad-billed Hummingbird …

A new bird for me

… that looked like a little jewel in the trees …

Gorgeous

I also got pictures of a Gila Woodpecker, but he only showed his full self at the feeder …

The red indicates male

And, I saw many Lesser Goldfinches, including the Green-Backed variety …

Green-backed Lesser Goldfinches

I also got some pretty good shots of the Curve-billed Thrasher, which has an obvious name ...

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.

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 ...

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 …

A bright little thing

I saw a Black-throated Sparrow ...

My first of this species

.. a Dark-eyed Junco ...

This is the Oregon subspecies

... a Ruby-crowned Kinglet ...

Just a hint of the crown

... and a female ...

So, is she a Ruby-crowned Queenlet?

... House Finches ...

A male and three females

And, very late the second day, I grabbed some pretty poor shots of a Ladder-backed Woodpecker ...

It was getting late and he was in the trees

The lake was host to a number of birds …

Patagonia Lake

Northern Shovelers ...

Male and female; the big bill is the "shovel"

Cinnamon Teals …

The bright male and the drab female

American Coots …

Breeding plumage -- see the red bindi?

Ruddy Ducks …

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 ...

Whoa!

Plus Double-crested Cormorants …

A juvenile

Pied-billed Grebes ...

A little cutie

Great Egrets …

Far off on the lake

Killdeers …

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.

Flying over

The Grackles were everywhere …

Great-tailed Grackle

… And, I even got a shot of one with an unusual white wing edge …

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 ...

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 …

Pipevine Swallowtail Butterfly

And, the Mourning Cloak …

Mourning Cloak Butterfly

Several other varieties eluded me.

And, I snapped a Western Honeybee at work on some early spring flowers.

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.

Brushy desert

The weather was cool enough to make this primarily desert hike pleasant.

The river below

But, except for a few cows, a Curve-billed Thrasher, a Paper Wasp ...

Close-up of the Wasp

... and a Chipping Sparrow ...

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.

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.

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 ...