Walking in Gilbert

Our daily routine includes walking 10,000 steps, which is about 5 miles.  Most of the time we walk around our resort but sometimes we want a change of scenery.  One day we ventured out to the Gilbert Water Ranch.  There are several ponds where the water district stores their water.  In a desert, the water quickly attracts birds and other water-loving wildlife.

We saw these turtles sunning themselves on a log.

There are numerous varieties of ducks and other water birds, including the long-legged stilts in the upper right of this photo.  Their colors make them look like they are wearing tuxedos.

We enjoyed this egret.  It was standing still, waiting for a fish to swim up for dinner.

Once in a while, we will look for more interesting places to walk.

Walking and Birds

Every day we try to walk 5 miles--that means 10,000 steps. We each wear a fit bit to keep track of those steps. Most of the time we walk around our resort. The steps we take shopping at Walmart also count. Yesterday, John suggested we drive over to the Gilbert Water Ranch to walk and look at the many birds that love the many ponds there. It was a good change of scenery. We hadn't been there all winter.

We saw a lot of egrets and cormorants.

Sometimes they were in groups.  Other times, they were more solitary.

Here is a cormorant and her babies.

We spotted a large group of turtles.

I love the black-necked stilt.  They look like a bird in a tuxedo, I think.

These branches make an interesting tangle on the edge of one of the ponds.

John caught me taking pictures of the real birders taking photographs.

We really enjoyed yesterday's walk.

Water Birds with Friends

Yesterday, we walked through the Gilbert Water Ranch with Rose and John, looking at all the birds enjoying the ponds there. This week we have had wonderful weather--not too hot and not too cold--so it was a good walk. We saw lots of water birds:

There were mallard ducks--posing for a picture

showing off his colors

and a young one with some color on the wing

The black necked stilt is pretty

and so is the American avocet.

We ended the outing with lunch at Kneaders in Mesa on our way back to Superstition Views.

It was a fun morning.

Change of Scenery

There really is more here in southern Arizona than RV resorts, a new house and furniture shopping. Today we finally had a change of scenery, going to the Gilbert Water Ranch and Riparian Area for our morning walk. In an effort to recharge the underground aquifers, the town of Gilbert has created a number of ponds which attract numerous birds and encourage lots of plants to grow in this desert area. This a view of one of the paths.

At times, one or more ponds are dry.

But all you have to do is add water and the birds come.

We saw great egrets

There were cormorants and what I think are snowy egrets feeding together. There must have been a school of fish and the birds followed each other from one place to another.

There were mallard ducks

and northern pintails

There wasn't too much water. Obviously, it wasn't even 3 feet deep.

We also saw spotting scopes (and a group of bird watchers nearby).

 And lots of people walking with their children or their dogs, horseback riders and a few bike riders.

Note to self: go there mid-week, not on the weekend.