A beautiful Desert Sunrise then Ducks at Gilbert Riparian Preserve

Early morning; especially before 6am is hard to motivate. We were up to take Michael to work in Scottsdale so I decided to wake up a bit with some coffee at an overlook in Fountain Hills, AZ. Fountain Hills is a International Dark Sky Community so it would be extra good.

We had planned to go do a hike somewhere and settled on Gilbert Riparian Preserve - Dead in the center of Gilbert, AZ. A short drive from Fountain Hills got us there with no early morning traffic to worry about.

The Water Ranch (as it's called) has trails going around several "Filtering" lakes that make a great wetland for birds (hence the "Riparian" part) Basically it's the final stage of a water processing system that filters water through the ground back into the aquifer.

Evidence of mainly geese and ducks was everywhere with an occasional bunny, squirrel, and a whole host of birds from Egrets to Desert Quail (or partridge for those not in the desert)

The pathways weren't crowded but there were a fair number of people holding onto binoculars, cameras on monopods with telephoto lenses and some just recording the birds on their phones. It made for a nice almost 2 mile hike to get the blood flowing. We highly recommend visiting here if you're in the area.

To find out more about Water Ranch Trails at the Gilbert Riparian Preserve, you can look on AllTrails app or go here. https://www.gilbertaz.gov/departments/parks-and-recreation/riparian-preserve-at-water-ranch

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