K B Srinivas: Arizona birding - Day 3 at Patagonia Lake State Park, Paton's Center, Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary and Ramsey Canyon

The initial plan for Day 3 of this Arizona trip was to cover Patagonia Lake state park, a rest area near before reaching the town of Patagonia which was reported to have sightings of the Thick-billed Kingbird and the finish at Paton's center.

I reached Patagonia Lake State Park early in the morning. They have a good well marked birding trail here. I did see there were lot of campers here. I parked close to the trail and picked up the trail map here. In the lake I saw some Cinnamon Teals, Blue-winged Teals, Mallards and Coots. Near the nearby reeds I saw some Green Herons and some of the Common Yellowthroats were coming in and out of the tall grasses. I saw quite a few Ash-throated/Great-crested flycatchers, Northern Cardinals and White-crowned Sparrows.

The other birds that I saw in the state park were Bullock's Orioles, Hammond's Flycatchers and quite a few Vermillion Flycatchers. I was expecting to see Northern Bearless Tyrannulet here which was reported few days earlier. But I tried looking for the same with little luck. Saw few Oriole carrying nesting materials but did not see their nests. I saw few Lucy's warblers singing on top of the trees. The last time I saw them was in Big Bend National Park. Some of the flycatchers were busy catching their morning breakfasts. I also saw my first Summer Tanager of the morning here. Also close by was a Bewick's Wren singing to it's hearts content. Black-chinned humming birds could be heard and seen flying around the park. Vaux's Swifts and Swallows.

Ash-throated Flycatcher

Northern Cardinal

White-crowned Sparrow

Vermillion Flycatcher

Lucy's Warbler

Brown-crested Flycatcher

Willow Flycatcher

Bewick's Wren

Summer Tanager

Couch's Kingbird

Wilson's Warbler

Summer Tanager

After this I went to Paton's center. The place is must visit place for Hummingbird lovers. They have multiple feeders inside and outside. This is one of the best places to see Violet-crowned Hummingbird in US. It's in small town of Patagonia. There were no clear directions to the place. I asked one of the gas stations regarding the place and they were kind enough to give me clear directions to the place. On reaching the center I saw there were quite a few people. My target bird here was the Violet-crowned hummingbird but another bird that I wanted to see here was Anna's and Costa's hummingbird. They had some bird feeders where I saw Bridled Titmouse, House Finches, Lazuli Buntings, Black-headed Grosbeaks and Lark Sparrows. I also saw Summer Tanagers and Western Tanagers fighting to get to the Orange/Grapefruits which were put out. Also there was a Gila Woodpecker which was trying to get some of the sugar syrup from the Hummingbird feeders. The only flycatcher I saw here was Hammonds. Abert's Towhee , Green-tailed Towhee and Gambel's Quail also got near the feeders to get some of the grains. Yellow-breasted chat was waiting out the Tanagers to get turn at the fruits. Curve-billed thrasher was ever present here and the Song Sparrow was giving short visits to the place.

Dusky Flycatcher

Lazuli Bunting

Summer Tanager

Gila Woodpecker

Abert's Towhee

Yellow-breasted Chat

Western Tanager

Summer Tanager

Summer Tanager(Female)

Hammond's Flycatcher

Song Sparrow

Yellow-rumped Warbler

Curve-billed Thrasher

Gila Woodpecker

Gambel's Quail

Lazuli Bunting(Female)

There were quite a few Broad-billed hummingbirds chasing each other. They seemed very territorial of the feeders here. In the mix were also Black-chinned Hummingbirds. The birders around mentioned seeing couple of Anna's Hummingbirds in the front yard. I sat there for a while waiting to see them. I did get lucky seeing one of them. I had seen them few years back during my stay in California but not very close as this. Sat here for a while waiting for other hummingbirds to show up. Later I was told the Violet-crowned Hummingbirds were seen inside the center. So decided to wait them out. I got lucky and got to see both a male and female Violet-crowned hummingbirds here. They were a little bigger than the other hummingbirds but they were easily chased by them.

Broad-billed Hummingbird

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Violet-crowned Hummingbird

Anna's Hummingbird

Violet-crowned Hummingbird

After finishing my birding here I thought I had enough time to drive to Sierra Vista to do some birding at Ash Canyon birding Sanctuary and Madera Canyon. The original plan was to visit here the next day but since I finished early at Paton's center I decided to come here a day earlier. I drove directly to the Ash Canyon bird Sanctuary which is run by Audubon. Again quite a few feeders are setup here to attract some birds here. I saw the same birds that get attracted to feeders here. The Bullock's Oriole, Hooded Oriole, House Finches, Lesser Goldfinches, Sparrow Larks and Lazuli Buntings. I also saw Black-headed Grosbeak and Lazuli Buntings in good numbers here. Gila and Acorn woodpeckers were ever present throughout the day. But additionally I did get to see the Ladder-backed Woodpecker here. The usual Hummingbirds like Broad-billed and Black-chinned hummingbirds were seen here.

Hooded Oriole

Bullock's Oriole

Chipping Sparrow

Black-chinned Hummingbird

Bridled Titmouse

Black-headed Grosbeak

Lazuli Bunting

Lazuli Bunting, Lark Sparrows and Black-headed Grosbeak

Ladder-backed Woodpecker

Acorn Woodpecker

Green-tailed Towhee

I had little time before Ramsey Canyon closed. I knew this was the best spot to see Elegant Trogon and Sulphur-bellied flycatcher. Drove to the place to get at least an hours time before it closed the gates. Near the feeder I saw the Rivoli's hummingbird. Started hiking up the trail and right at the beginning of the trail I was informed by some folks that there were some people trying to find the Trogon. I did see couple of birders who said they saw something resembling a Trogon. So we waited patiently here for quite a while for the bird to show up. It did come back with something in its beak which looked like caterpillar. It was already getting dark but the excitement of seeing this wonderful bird was amazing. The most wanted bird of the trip was Elegant Trogon which I got lucky to see here. It was an amazing way to end the day.