Sector 4: Patagonia Lake

4. PATAGONIA LAKE

Size: 186 Acres

GENERAL: This is the only large body of water in the count circle. It is covered in the park pontoon boat, with boat operator, park volunteer (Di Varnell), and about three or four additional birders.

NOTES: Customarily they meet at the Visitors Center at the park at 6:45am to get organized, get a free volunteer parking pass, get life vests and paperwork. They board the boat at about 7:00am. and slowly follow the edges of the lake. The boat returns to the Visitors Center a little after 9:00am.

Dress for sometimes VERY COLD conditions on the boat, including warm gloves.

If you have a number "clicker" this might help with keeping track of coots and other common waterfowl, or you may decide to have different persons keep track of one or two of  these common species numbers in addition to general birding.

Someone aboard should have a camera for documenting potential rare waterfowl, gulls, etc.

The lake surface presents a difficult situation, since the boat birders see land birds and the land-based birders see parts of the lake surface. Record all (lake surface and edges) birds seen. It is difficult, but try to note what land sectors the land and wading birds are seen in. A map will be provided. Land-based birders around the lake will count the lake surface and shore birds also. The compilers will later take the higher of the two (boat vs land sightings of a given species).

                                                                                                                                                   

TARGET BIRDS: Primary purpose is to count waterfowl, gulls, terns and other true water birds, but in 2018 a Trogon was seen from the boat!. Keep an eye out for Greater Scaup, Com Goldeneye, loons, moorhen, rails, Swamp Sparrow and gulls. Be sure that the "Final Tally Sheet"  bird list gets to the "countdown" dinner.