Elegant Trogon at Patagonia Lake State Park in Nogales, AZ

As a birder, I have become fascinated with birds that most people would pay little attention to such as sandpipers, blackbirds, sparrows, and pipits. But then there are the show stoppers--spectacular birds that get people interested in birding in the first place. Some, like the Great Blue Heron or the American White Pelican, are impressive because of their immense size and unique shape, while others, like the Painted Bunting or Lewis's Woodpecker, stand out because they are brightly colored and fantastically marked. The Elegant Trogon is all of the above--a dazzling creature of pronounced size with an unusually long, splendid tail. His bright yellow bill is serrated like the blade of a tool. His head and breast have been adorned with a breath-taking medley of colors reminiscent of a flag, and on his wings and tail, intricate patterns have been overlaid by the meticulous brush strokes of the Master Artisan. This bird was made to be noticed.

Two years ago, I took my first trip to Southeast Arizona as a birder. I was a newer birder, and nearly every bird I saw in Arizona was a new bird for me. Dale Birkenholz was in Arizona that Winter and was generous in taking me to see many new birds. Before he took me to Patagonia Lake State Park, he told me that an Elegant Trogon had been seen there. When we were unable to find the trogon, which seemed like a magnificent bird, I was not particularly disappointed because I had 23 lifers that day and 45 lifers on that trip, and I enjoyed every new bird that I saw. I did hope for another opportunity to see an Elegant Trogon, but I had no idea that I would have another opportunity to see the very same bird.

According to Matt Brown, who wrote on the American Birding Association's Arizona mailing list, the same male Elegant Trogon has been Wintering near Sonoita Creek at Patagonia Lake State Park since 1998 in his first year of life and is now 15 years old. Based on Matt's observations, this same bird arrives in November and leaves near the end of March the following year, most likely to nest in a higher elevation. If you would like to read more about this particular bird, you may read Matt's email at the link below.

http://birding.aba.org/message.php?mesid=374299&MLID=AZ&MLNM=Arizona%20and%20New%20Mexico

While planning our trip, Carrie and I had talked about going to Patagonia Lake State Park. Carrie wanted to go there because she had read about the park in the novel, The Big Year. When I told her that an Elegant Trogon had been observed there, she wanted to see it as did I! On Thursday, March 21, we left once again at around 6:30 a.m. on our way to Patagonia Lake State Park. The drive was beautiful, and we arrived in time to nab a parking spot right in front of the birding trail. We could hear a Bewick's Wren singing when we got out of the car, and Carrie noticed that feeders had been hung by the camper parked closest to our car. A sign next to the feeders invited newcomers to watch. As we started down the stairs of the trail, we were swarmed by a barrage of Audubon's Yellow-rumped Warblers and Chipping Sparrows.

As we continued down we could see Double-crested Cormorants, Common Mergansers, and Ruddy Ducks out in the lake. We also heard and observed Marsh Wrens in the tall grasses along the edge of the lake. Next we encountered the most Vermilion Flycatchers I have every seen at one time. It was all I could do not to stop and take photos of them. I wanted to find the trogon before getting bogged down in photography. We did stop at the edge of the lake to look at the sleeping Mexican Mallards and the Gadwalls and American Coots in the water by the edge of the shore. We also scanned the Double-crested Cormorants out in the middle of the lake and on the far shore, hoping to be able to pick out a Neotropic Cormorant, but we did not see one. We had a slightly better look at the Common Mergansers. These were Carrie's first, which was pretty cool since I had seen my lifer Common Mergansers at Patagonia Lake as well. Here is a shot of the Mexican Mallards.



Once we reached Sonoita Creek, we followed it upstream. Leo had told us to follow the trail all the way to the creek and then to follow the creek upstream to where a hill/bank could be seen at a close distance on the other side of the creek. He said the trogon had been seen on both sides of the creek. As we continued along the creek, we saw a small flock of warblers and Bridled Titmice. I was able to pick out Black-throated Gray, Lucy's, and what I thought was Blue-winged, but now realize was probably Orange-crowned. Both Black-throated Gray and Lucy's Warblers were lifers for me. Carrie, who was behind me was unable to see them, and I was unable to get any photos because the flock was moving too quickly upstream into the sun. Then I noticed a small group of people moving past us along the creek. One of the ladies stopped and told us that she had heard a rumor that the Elegant Trogon had been spotted and was being observed by a small crowd of birders. Carrie and I left off with the warblers and followed her and the others. The hike was further than I thought and we had to find a good place to cross the creek, but when we arrived at the place where the birders were gathered it looked exactly as Leo had described it. There was a hill or embankment just twenty to thirty yards from the creek, and the trogon was sitting on a dead branch up against the bank. One of the ladies directed me to a spot where I could get a clear view of the trogon to photograph it. I stopped to get a couple of shots.



Then just as I got into position, the trogon flew toward me to catch a bug and landed five or six feet from me. The bird was now facing me and looking straight at me at eye level. I froze, except for the motion of my finger, which was pressing the button on the camera.









The trogon did not seem at all disturbed by his observers. He seemed to be used to the routine, and almost seemed as interested in me as I was in him. It almost seemed like this whole thing was staged and the Elegant actor knew his role very well and was happy to play the part. We couldn't have had better looks than this in a zoo, and yet this was a wild bird in his natural habitat. This was not staged. It was real.



Carrie eventually worked her way closer to me, and after I had taken plenty of photos, I slowly backed away. The trogon as if on cue, flew past me and landed on another branch, offering a view of his back and the back of his tail.



The crowd dispersed, leaving the trogon to himself. Carrie and I headed back to the car to take a break. When we got back to the car, there was a hummingbird at one of the feeders by the camper. At the time, I thought this bird was a Broad-billed Hummingbird, but later I realized that I had photographed a Violet-crowned Hummingbird.



A Bullock's Oriole was also visiting these feeders. I'm not sure whether Carrie saw the hummingbird, but both birds were new for both of us.





After a quick break and a look at the feeders, we started back down the trail. Our target bird was acquired,and now we wanted to enjoy some of the other birds in the park. Along the trail, Carrie and I were able to get very good looks a nice group of warblers. Most of them were Lucy's, but we also saw Wilson's and Yellow Warblers as well as a couple of Orange-crowned Warblers further down the trail. Here are a couple of shots of the Lucy's Warblers.





Carrie and I hiked up above the trail to see if we might see something different up there, but the only bird we got a decent look at was a Gray Flycatcher. We did get an awesome view of the lake below.



Here's a shot of Carrie on the way down.



On the way back to the car we had good conversation with several birders and added a few more birds for the day. Carrie got her lifer looks at a couple of pairs of Ladder-backed Woodpeckers. Here is the complete list of the birds we saw in the park.

40 species

Gadwall 5
Mallard (Mexican) 2
Green-winged Teal 9
Common Merganser 12
Ruddy Duck 8
Double-crested Cormorant 18
Great Blue Heron 2
Black Vulture 1
American Coot 10
Mourning Dove 6
Broad-billed Hummingbird 4
Elegant Trogon (Coppery-tailed) 1
Gila Woodpecker 10
Ladder-backed Woodpecker 4
Gray Flycatcher 2
Black Phoebe 1
Vermilion Flycatcher 8
Bell's Vireo 1
Common Raven 2
Bridled Titmouse 15
Verdin 2
White-breasted Nuthatch 2
Marsh Wren 2
Bewick's Wren 3
Ruby-crowned Kinglet 4
Orange-crowned Warbler 2
Lucy's Warbler 4
Yellow Warbler 1
Yellow-rumped Warbler (Audubon's) 12
Black-throated Gray Warbler 1
Wilson's Warbler 1
Chipping Sparrow 7
Lark Sparrow 1
Song Sparrow 3
Northern Cardinal 2
Great-tailed Grackle 8
Bullock's Oriole 1
House Finch 8
Pine Siskin 6
Lesser Goldfinch 12

Our next stop was a restaurant/coffee shop that Leo recommended in Patagonia called the Gathering Grounds. Leo, if you are reading this, thanks! Great recommendation! The hot sandwiches were amazing! Carrie and I ordered two sandwiches and split both of them. It was hard to pick a favorite.

Next, we headed for the feeders at the famous Paton's Yard in Patagonia, hoping to see a Violet-crowned Hummingbird, which I did not realize I had already seen and photographed at the park, and a few other birds. Carrie wanted to see a Pyrrhuloxia so I hoped we could find one there for her, and we both still needed Scott's Oriole, which had been seen at the feeders there.

When we arrived, we unintentionally stood in front of the hummingbird feeder, which the other birders were watching to see the Violet-crowned. When they informed us, we stepped out of the way and began watching it with them. While we were waiting, Carrie saw her lifer Lazuli Bunting, and we both got better looks at Ladder-backed Woodpecker.





Finally, the Violet-crowned showed up.



We didn't see any Scott's Orioles, but we did have more Broad-billed Hummingbirds and Carrie's lifer Pyrrhuloxias. We were able to see both male and female Pyrrhuloxias but I was unable to get any decent photos of the males because they were so far away.





We also had what I think was a young male Cardinal, a Lincoln's Sparrow, and another quick look at a Violet-crowned Hummingbird, a White-winged Dove, and several other species such as towhees, sparrows, and finches that one would expect to see in brush piles or at feeders in Southeast Arizona. Carrie had a White-throated Sparrow in one of the brush piles, but I did not see it.









We ended up finishing the day with 50 species so the day was a tremendous success, and we had a wonderful time together!

This post was written and published on April 6, 2013.