Surprise – a very early departure for Patagonia. I stopped in Bisbee for Gas (since none was available in Portal) and heard Common Poorwill (similar to our Eastern Whip-poor-will) when I was pumping gas! Talk about a drive up bird!
My car had this annoying feature of beeping and flashing this on the screen...
I tried to figure out the rhyme or reason of when it did this, but sometimes I was right after I got in the car and sometimes it was when I crossed a line on the highway and sometimes for what seemed like no reason at all... I hope it wasn't looking at my retinas -- that is a violation of my personal privacy!
First scheduled stop was Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary – another one of my favorite places on the trip. I birded there three times.
As I approached I spotted this -- looks like a floating Whale Balloon/Blimp to me. No Logo I could see and never found out what it was.
I wanted to get there for sunrise.
The lovely caretaker, Tim Blount, made it his mission to sit with me and point out the Lucifer Hummingbird. His mission was successful. He also confirmed that I heard the Elegant Trogon, although we did not see it. It’s a lovely property (used to be a bed & breakfast) with lots of different spots to sit and commune with the birds. All the occasions I was there are together in...
Birding Ash Canyon Bird Sanctuary Visit 1 Link Below
After Ash Canyon I went on to Patagonia where the first stop was the World Famous Paton Center for Hummingbirds. Interestingly enough, I found it to just be OK for Hummingbirds. It did have the Violet-Crowned Hummingbird. I thought the road it was on, which lead to the Sonita Creek Nature Conservancy - Blue Haven Rd, to be much more interesting.
Birding Paton Center for Hummingbirds and Blue Haven Rd. Link Below
Mid-day meal was at the Wagon Wheel recommended by Helen Mako. It was actually Lunch, Dinner and Lunch the next day too. Perfect.
After lunch I went by the road the B&B was on just to know where it was. Really more of an alley than a road & the second lot in was rimmed with a chain-link fence and razor wire on top. I began to wonder if I should just go to the Best Western in Green Valley, but I braved it.
Before I did, I went to Patagonia Lake State Park and paid $20 entrance fee. I didn’t get out of the car because it was so hot! I drove through the park and then went to the Spillway. It was more than a little scary when I had to go down a concrete single land road with a significant drop on either side. But at the point there was no way to turn around. It had the pitch of a San Franciso Street and with my high clearance vehicle with a significant hood, there were times I could not see the pavement. I breathed a sigh of relief when I got to the bottom. Then I realized I had to go back up – that was a little scarier worrying about driving off the road or another car coming down. I found out when I got the Hereford that the gate that was open with no sign or warning is not supposed to be open.
The Spillway had some nice birds.
Spotted Sandpiper
Neo-tropic Cormorant
Phainopepla
Loggerhead Shrike
Great-tailed Grackle
Great Blue Heron
There is a famous adage in birding lore –
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Patagonia picnic table effect (also known as the Patagonia rest area effect or Patagonia rest stop effect) is a phenomenon associated with birding in which an influx of birdwatchers following the discovery of a rare bird at a location results in the discovery of further rare birds at that location, and so on, with the end result being that the locality becomes well known for rare birds, even though in itself it may be little or no better than other similar localities. This is due to an increase in attendance leading to increased potential for rare birds to be viewed there.
The name arises from the Arizona State Route 82 rest stop and picnic table south of Patagonia, where the phenomenon was first noted.
I stopped by several times and the best photos I got were of the picnic table. The first time I stopped – there were two people and a dog sprawled on the it.
I did tell them I was taking the photo -- but it was of the Picnic table and not them. I don't see any bins -- so maybe they are not birders...
The second time – there was a Common Raven perched on it – I was a little to slow to get the photo, but that the bird in the top left corner...
This is the Wikipedia photo that claims it is in disrepair – looked ok to me.
Obviously a different time of year. But I had to stop – every birder has to stop and pay homage, even if there is nothing to see.
Headed home to a hot shower and time to plan the next day – I had seen enough of Patagonia proper. Was going to head to the Tubac area – just had to figure out where.
On the road early again to hit Montosa Canyon & some spots in Tubac. I could not figure out how to lock the door – it was not a big deal for me, since I take my valuables with me. But I contacted the owner (who lives on the same property) he went down and locked it for me. He also told me I was sent the information he texted me how to do it. Of course, I felt stupid for not seeing that – so I went back and checked, I never received anything telling me how the lock worked. That evening I told him that, so he would know for the next renter… but this is one of the reasons I’m still not sure how I feel about Air B&B.
The road on the way to Interstate 19 was good birding. Interesting that once on Interstate 19 which goes from Nogales on the Mexican Boarder to Tucson is marked in Kilometers not Miles. It is the only place in Arizona that I went to that was the case.
Birding River Road, Montosa Canyon & Tubac Link Below
I was back in Patagonia by 2pm, did a little grocery shopping and went back to the B&B to process photos and go to bed early. I am getting tired.
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