Patagonia Lake: Great Birding

Christine and I went to Patagonia Lake yesterday, arriving at 11:30 am. Not the ideal birding time. Result, we had the birding trail to ourselves. Well, except for all of the birds. We were there for a little over two hours and never made it to the creek. In fact, we never made it past the mesquite bosque at the bottom of the hill. 

It start with Yellow, Yellow Rumped, and Wilson's Warblers near the stairs going down to the lake. Then as we reached bottom and the small marshy pond along the weed bed a Green Heron gave us as many photos from as many different settings as we wanted.

Here are some of those Green Heron photos:

In the next photo, he caught something, don't think it was a fish; maybe a crayfish:

The Phantom of Patagonia

Well, I was going to share with you my new photos of the Elegant Trogon. However, since I could not find an Elegant Trogon at Patagonia Lake, it became problematic. Such it is when you go looking for something specific. "Now, a few words on looking for things. When you go looking for something specific, your chances of finding it are very bad. Because of all the things in the world, you're only looking for one of them. When you go looking for anything at all, your chances of finding it are very good. Because of all the things in the world, you're sure to find some of them." I can't take credit for saying that. It comes from Darryl Zero (Zero Effect). So, even though I didn't find what I was looking for I found a Ruby Crowned Kinglet (who just wouldn't stay still); several  Vermillion Flycatcher (middle photo); and a Hutton's Vireo (bottom and again just wouldn't stay still). Also, several other flycatchers, a beautiful male cardinal, and waterbirds including a Great Blue Heron. So, all in all a wonderful day hiking around Patagonia Lake.

Elegant Trogon at Patagonia Lake - Part Deux

Here is a closeup of the Elegant Trogon. A day or so after our Boston guests had seen the Elegant Trogon at Patagonia Lake last year, we decided to give it a try. There's some beautiful hiking and a great many other birds to see -- both waterbirds and other birds. We gave a good look for the Trogon in the area where he had been seen, but weren't successful. So we did a wonderful hike along the creek that feeds the lake. A couple hours later we had returned to the aforementioned spot and didn't immediately see the Trogon. It seemed like a great place to just sit or even lie down on a blanket (which Christine had the forethought to bring along). So, we sat there for 20 minutes or so, until ...  that wonderful sound of a "barking" seal. Usually four to six such "barks" at a clip. Pretty soon we could pinpoint where the sound was coming from. And, there in the tree at about eight feet off the ground was the male. And, snap .... here he is again in digital glory.

Elegant Trogon at Patagonia Lake

We have guests from Boston that have stayed with us every year for the last eight years. For the last couple of years they have enjoyed going to Patagonia Lake which is about an hour and a half's drive from us. The highlight is finding the Elegant Trogon. This a large and rare bird that can only be found in most southern mountains of Arizona: Baboquivari, Santa Rita, Huachuca, Dragoon, and Chiracahua Ranges. The Elegant Trogon is larger than a Mourning Dove but with a shorter wingspan (so it can fly rapidly through the trees).  Back to the story. Our guests went to Patagonia Lake yesterday and came back reporting that they had indeed found this very colorful bird. To put this in perspective, I was looking for the Elegant Trogon in the Chiracahua Mountains several years ago and was talking with a wildlife photographer from Australia. He had been coming to the  US every year and one of his stops was always the South Fork of Cave Creek in the Chiracahuas. South Fork has the reputation of being the number one birding spot in the US (according to surveys from Birders World magazine). And, in particular he wanted to photograph the Elegant Trogon. But this -- his sixth year -- was the first time he had been able to find and get close enough for a photo. I didn't want to tell him that I have seen and photographed the Elegant Trogon in all of the above mountain ranges except the Baboquivari and Dragoon's. This photo of a male Elegant Trogon was taken last year at Patagonia Lake in the Santa Rita's.