Kevin J. Railsback, an award-winning nature and wildlife photographer, shares his experiences of birdwatching at the oasis-like Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch. Also, he explains how anyone can start birdwatching, and the positive impacts it can bring as a result.
At 2757 E Guadalupe Rd. in Gilbert, a wildlife sanctuary of over 110 acres of wetland and over 300 documented species of birds, lies nestled and nearly hidden in the middle of the city. With the vision of “supporting” and “protecting” wildlife within the scarce riparian area, the city of Gilbert has established a national hotspot for birdwatchers and animal enthusiasts alike.
Kevin J. Railsback explains the novelty and uniqueness of the Riparian Reserve:
The Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch is like an oasis in the desert. It’s an amazing place to get out and explore. I just checked eBird and in the last three days there’s 101 species spotted out at the Riparian Preserve. It’s just incredible that there is such a compact area that you can find so many different species of birds all at the same time.
There’s even been roseate spoonbills spotted there, and that’s a bird you usually see down in Florida. So, there have been birds that you would normally think would never be there, but because it’s such a magnet for birds in a typically desolate kind of area. Here in Iowa, we’ll have warblers come through on migration but there are so many areas that the warblers can be. Where the Riparian Preserve is one hundred acres, so you’re going to find a lot of different species no matter what. You may not find a specific species that you were going to look for, but you’re not going to come away disappointed.
If I know I’m going someplace, I’ll punch into the eBird app the location I’m heading to, and I look thirty or fifty miles around that area. From there you can see all the birdwatching hotspots, and the Riparian Preserve is always a hotspot. Never is it not. For instance, the amount of hummingbirds at the Reserve is like sparrows here in Iowa. It’s just a dream come true that so many species of birds—that I only thought about and hoped to see someday—are there constantly. I just started coming to the Riparian Preserve last year, and so when I was coming back to Arizona this month, the Reserve is always number one on my list. Because I know I’m going to always find some great birds to photograph there.
On this last trip, I photographed northern shovelers, ring-necked ducks, malurids, and there was a whole bunch of egrets this time. There were also some great blue herons there. And the thing is, photographing great blue herons, they’re kind of a skittish bird. Here in Iowa, you have to be really lucky to be able to come up on one because they’re gone as soon as they think something’s not right. Where the herons at the Reserve, know nothing is going to happen, and they just hang out. There were green herons, as well. Just a multitude of birds.
Kevin J. Railsback discusses what he would advise anyone interested in becoming a birdwatcher, and the positive impact it can have on their life.
The best advice I can give is to go out there and just observe. Your eyes are the best tools you have. Is just to get out there and look. I see a lot of people at the Riparian Preserve who are just walking through and looking at things. You don’t need a fancy, expensive camera or really expensive binoculars, or things like that.
I would also tell somebody starting out, to learn as much as you can about birds and go out and just observe and be in nature. You’ll see amazing things. You can also use apps like eBird and Merlin ID, that will help you identify the birds that you see. And you can even identify birds by their call. So, if you recorded the sound of a bird, and you don’t know what it is, Merlin ID can help you find out what that bird is. For instance, a pileated woodpecker is a bird that I would like to photograph at the Preserve but haven’t yet, and through that app I was able to hear what their call sounds like. So now I’ve heard them in spots around the Reserve, but I just haven’t seen them yet to photograph.
We live in a society that’s instant gratification and that’s fast-paced, but if you just stop and sat someplace, nature will come back. Animals are afraid of people so when you’re walking through a lot of times things will fly or run away, but if you just stop and observe, everything comes back to life. And then you start noticing things that you normally wouldn’t catch. Because if you’re not in a state of observing, you can overlook a lot of things.
You can create great photos with your cell phone now. They have such great zoom and high mega pixels. So, once you get into that observational mood, your phone is good enough especially at the Riparian Preserve. Ducks will come right up to you. I have photos of ducks with my shoes in the shot. And then if you want to move up from the cell phone, you can start buying dedicated cameras.
I get asked all the time, what kind of camera should I get? If you want to get into birding photography, luckily there are companies that you can rent cameras and gear from like, BorrowLenses.com and LensRentals.com. If you’re wishing you had a 400 mm lens or a camera that is auto-focused you could go to one of those companies and rent one for three days or a couple of weeks, and familiarize yourself with the gear before you make a substantial investment. And then there are places like KEH Camera [Keh.com] or MVP Camera [MvpCamera.ph], where you can actually get used cameras and gear. I’ve personally bought several lenses that were secondhand, that were rated “like new” on the rating system. And for the third less of the price that it would cost you to buy it new.
You can get into birdwatching and birdwatching photography fairly inexpensively. Or, you can spend your life’s savings.
How many kids today do you see with their heads buried in their phones playing Pokémon GO or watching TikTok videos? There are so many studies about how birdwatching lowers your stress and increases your lifespan. The Japanese call it “forest bathing,” where they actually go out into the forest and just be. Being out and just sitting on a bench like at the Reserve, just watching all the different species of ducks there are, is so calming and soothing that it carries over in life for me.
I was trying to get a picture of a particular hummingbird this last time, and before I was able to get everything framed up, it was gone. But I got to experience that; I don’t have an image, but I still got to experience it. And experiences are really what matters. Not whether you document it or come back with a photograph, but the fact that you experienced it is what it’s all about. If I went out to the Preserve and returned with nothing, it would still be a successful trip. I could hear all these birds and I could see all these birds fly over. I could see birds roosting out of camera range, and just the fact that I would be sitting there by the water would be a gratifying and grounding event.
I find that patience and the possibility of getting rewarded and not getting rewarded is a good recipe for life. Because there’s never any guarantee of anything. And, if I sit out there and enjoy nature, that is good enough for me. I don’t have to take a photograph or mark a bird off of my life list. Just being out there is enough. I don’t get too high or low about things anymore. And a lot of that has to do with just sitting in nature. Life’s short, go out and get in nature and see some birds, and don’t let life get you down.
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Kevin J. Railsback
Instagram: @naturephotostudios
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Website: www. naturephotostudios.com
Riparian Preserve at Water Ranch
2757 E. Guadalupe Rd
Gilbert, AZ 85234
Preserve Hours
5:30 AM – 10:00 PM
Trails open dawn to dusk
General Contact
recreation@gilbertaz.gov
