April 8-10, 2025.
Despite spending lots of time in Southern Arizona last year, we never made it to Patagonia. This year, we resolved to change that. I’d gotten a good recommendation from a friend to reserve a campsite at TerraSol. We normally don’t do private campgrounds, but the recommendation was that strong, we couldn’t say no.
Borderlands Preserve
On the way there, I needed to stop for a hike. We pulled into the Borderlands Wildlife Preserve just a couple miles north of Patagonia. We arrived just around noon and it was already very hot. Due to the heat, we chose a short loop: Smith Canyon, 2.3 miles. I walked at a sluggish pace, grateful to have so many cactus to look at but already feeling miserable in the heat.
TerraSol
Upon arrival, we were greeted by one of the camp hosts, Astral, who immediately made us feel at home. He gave us a thorough tour of the property and put us in a campsite under one of the few shade trees. It did not have any leaves and offered little shade, but it did mean we had birds overhead basically all the time. While Aaron relaxed in the van, I attempted to sit at the picnic table and work on some art. Unfortunately, I was constantly distracted by all the bird song: lesser goldfinches, pine siskins, vermilion flycatchers and Bewick’s wrens, among others. I heard the less melodic calls of the Gila woodpecker, common raven and broad billed hummingbird, turning my head each time to try and find them. I could not get anything done.
Patagonia Lake
We decided to join our host for a free kayaking trip to Patagonia Lake, something they offer to guests every Wednesday. On this day, we were the only two people interested, so we loaded up the gear and hopped in Astral’s car.
If there’s ever a thing to do on a hot Arizona day, it’s to get in or on the water. We knew we made the right choice. As we unloaded the kayaks and put on our life vests, Astral let us know that our real mission here would be to pick up any trash we find on or near the lake. We were fully on board with this task. Over the next few hours, we slowly paddled a circuit of the lake, poking our noses into each little inlet to pick up bottles, beer cans, fishing line and other discarded debris. It was obvious that Astral does this work every week because there really wasn’t a ton of stuff to collect! It just goes to show that a small, consistent effort makes a real difference.
By the end of the paddle, my hands was pretty tired and sore from clinging to a paddle for that long. And of course, we now had a headwind between us and the boat ramp. We made it back around noon and we were all really hungry for lunch. Back in town, we stopped at a taco truck and stuffed our faces. I feel pretty lucky about our timing and would recommend a kayak trip with Astral if you’re in the area on a Wednesday.
That afternoon, we had one job: don’t get too overheated. We took advantage of the cold, outdoor shower to bring our body temperatures down. We also happily used all the recycling facilities; we haven’t had access to recycling in a long time and we’d accumulated quite a bit of materials. I just can’t bring myself to throw away glass or aluminum. I wish that more communities found ways to sort and process recyclable materials.
Paton Center for Hummingbirds
We made one last stop before leaving the area, since it was so close by. The Paton Center for Hummingbirds began when Wally and Marion Paton set up bird feeding stations in their Patagonia backyard. They invited their neighbors to come over and enjoy the birds, eventually adding fountains and a viewing area with bird books and a place for visitors to record their sightings. Today, the Tucson Bird Alliance manages the site and keeps it open to the public, for free!
As we walked to the main hummingbird viewing area, we noticed several people staring through their binoculars at the numbered feeders. A tote full of bird identification guides sat nearby. The birders were sharing their observations and searching frantically for the birds they came here eager to find. It was all so wholesome and enjoyable. We sat next to them and soaked up as much knowledge and excitement as we could. During our say, we saw 5 species of hummingbirds, including the violet crowned hummingbird. It was the only time we’d see one in our visit to the Southwest.
But there’s so much more than hummingbirds. Around the property, there are several types of feeding stations, habitats, debris piles, trees and water features that attract a wide diversity of birds. According to their website, a whopping 259 bird species have been observed there! On this day, we’d confidently identify 27 species. From ducks to hawks to hummers to songbirds, we observed quite a good mix of birds. I would love to come back here at a different time of year to see and hear what’s seasonal then.