All photos by Wayne Shimata (except as noted).

Five Arizona Trailblazers arrive almost as if on que at the same time at beautiful Woods Canyon Lake on a sunny morning in early June. This will be the club’s first official kayaking trip to this scenic canyon-bound lake, surrounded by a dense forest cover of tall Ponderosa pine, Douglas fir, oak, and aspen advancing right down to the shoreline. With temperatures in the desert already heating up to 108+ degrees, we enjoy a refreshing 74 degrees today on top of Arizona’s Mogollon Rim at 7,500 feet, as we prep our kayaks for launching. We can’t decide which is bluer today, the sky or the lake. Take your pick.

Woods Canyon Lake is the most accessible, most developed, and the most popular of the seven Rim Lakes in the Apache-Sitgreaves National Forest that make up the Rim Lakes Recreation Area. The other six Rim Lakes are Willow Springs Lake, Black Canyon Lake, Bear Canyon Lake, Chevelon Canyon Lake, Knoll Lake, and Blue Ridge Reservoir. We’ll be kayaking Willow Springs Lake later next month.

While kayaking, several of us are discussing what the main water source is for this lake. Is it simply snowmelt and rainfall, underground springs, or natural creeks and streams blocked by Spillway Dam on the lake? A little research reveals that its primarily Woods Canyon Creek and Chevelon Creek that feed the lake, as well as spring snowmelt and heavy summer monsoon rains.

The Woods Canyon Lake Loop Trail, which we can spot from time to time through the trees, is an easy five-mile loop trail that runs parallel with the shoreline for its entire length as it circles the lake. The Trailblazers have hiked this beautiful trail many times over the years, most recently just a month ago on May 8.

John’s account of his gopher snake encounter on the lake:

“As I paddled downstream with the bank on my right, I spotted a snake lying on a rock. This time I didn’t shout to the crew because I wanted to get a photo. I paddled into a J-turn to come in around the rocks. I saw the rest of the snake, perhaps a foot more, ending in the head, which was looking right at me. I presume it had been drinking and glanced up when I hove into view. As I drew near, I expected the snake would spook, but it froze instead, giving me a chance for a good close-up.”

During our first hour on the lake we hear a loud splash about 100 feet ahead and assume it’s a large trout jumping. But seconds later we see a large bird instead sitting on the water where the splash took place. When it slowly lifts off the water’s surface, we see that it’s an Osprey, sometimes called a fish hawk since fish are their primary diet. We’ve seen bald eagles nesting around the lake before, but this is the first time most of us have seen an Osprey at the lake. Both species like to nest near water, since fish are the primary source of food for both birds of prey.

Osprey, unlike bald eagles, have several different techniques they use when looking for fish. On spotting a fish in the water, a bald eagle will typically immediately fold its wings back and go into a steep dive mode, pulling up just above the water’s surface with its razor sharp talons fully extended in an attempt to grasp the fish within its talons and take off without even touching the water. Ospreys will sometimes use this same technique when fishing, but also have other options available to use. Sometimes they will hit the water with talons extended, even becoming partially submerged, before grabbing a fish and then taking off. On other occasions they will actually dive head first after a fish and completely submerge underwater just like a cormorant.

John witnessed just such a hunting display on today’s trip, which he shared with me later. Here is John’s account:

“As we headed northwest toward the upstream end of the lake, I found myself in the lead boat. We had spotted a large dark colored bird with a white head perched on a bare top of a tall pine some distance away and perhaps 80 feet above water level. I turned my bow into the left fork to get a better angle of view. The bird took off into a dive in an arc and, right in front of me In its magnificent plunge, it folded its wings back and accelerated. It hit the water and disappeared. I knew then that I had misidentified the species when I shouted to the crew, “Look! An Eagle!” Eagles take fish in a glide and grab technique. Our common diving fishers in Arizona are Ospreys and cormorants. Our cormorants are all black, so it was an Osprey. Almost immediately, the bird popped to the surface and launched into flight. Instead of folding up its landing gear, it flew off talons-down clutching its catch, a small fish, I presume. I was too stunned to film the action.”

Not long after, we see the Osprey high up on the branch of a dead tree, sometimes referred to as a snag, and then a second Osprey soaring nearby. A breeding pair? Possibly. Later we see an Osprey at the very top of another dead tree. And at one point on our way back to the launch area we spot a total of 5 Ospreys circling high overhead, all keeping a close watch on the lake’s surface for the slightest disturbance that might indicate the presence of a trout swimming just beneath the surface.

John decides to head back to the launch area, while the rest of us do some more exploring and bird watching, hoping to see another osprey dive for a fish. Unfortunately, we never see that happen and after another half-hour of paddling, decide to head back ourselves.

What a great day for kayaking one of the most scenic lakes on the Mogollon Rim! Only in Arizona.