Birding at the Riparian Preserve

As I mentioned in my other post (Birding at the Desert Botanical Garden), my wife and I visited some family in Arizona in May and we wanted to see if we could get some birding in while on the visit. After doing some research, I came across a Reddit post asking about birding spots in the Phoenix area. The Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch in Gilbert was listed as a great new spot with plenty of spots for land and waterfowl.

So we took a drive out early one morning and we couldn’t have been happier. Sure it was busy (parking fills up fast, but there’s additional parking nearby) and it sure was hot but we got so many new lifers on this visit. It was fun to also chat with other birders out for the morning visit, many local but a few were also visiting like we were. If you ever find yourself in the Phoenix area, highly recommend a visit there.

Since this will be a heavy post, we’ll just go in alphabetical order. All but the Chipping Sparrow and Mallards were new to us!

Sony A7IV, 200-600 G