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Posted by Vince Lucas on 11:25:41 10/29/06
After breakfast, a brief stop at the North Naples Waste Water Treatment Plant, located between Vanderbilt Beach Rd. (to the south) and Immokalee Rd. (to the north) on Goodlette-Frank Rd., yielded a juvenile Scissor-tailed Flycatcher doing it's "thing" along the chain-linked fence about half-way up the overpass/bridge that borders Goodlette-Frank. This is a new species for this locale. This arrival beats my earliest Collier County record by nearly two weeks and is one of the earliest Collier records for this species as far as I can ascertain. To see this bird, park well off of the bridge/overpass and walk up to the highest point on the bridge. The bird was seen just below the bridge on the fence. A scope is useful to see the few ducks that are present such as Blue-winged Teal and Mottled Ducks as well as shorebirds which are resting on small sandbars on the furthest impoundment from the bridge. They are difficult to see due to weeds and tall grasses. In the 10 minutes I was there, I was able to see both yellowlegs, Spotted & Least Sandpipers, Dowitcher sp. and several others for which I could not get adequate views. Also present were Forster's and Sandwich Terns plus the usual waders. In the now weed-filled impoundment immediately closest to Goodlette-Frank, there were Palm Warblers, Loggerhead Shrikes, Mourning Doves and a few other passerines. The resident Cooper's Hawk was also present. I'm sure a more thorough search would yield more species in the area. With the events of 9/11/2001, many people (including the Collier County Sheriff's Department) have become hyper-sensitive to what they perceive as "terrorists threats." Consequently, don't be surprised if any passersby call the sheriff on their cell phone about "suspicious" behavior taking place at the North Naples Wastewater Treatment Plant. Rest assured, that as long as you are on the sidewalk and not on the plant property, you are legally allowed to be here watching birds. It might be prudent to let the sheriff's department or the wastewater treatment plant supervisor know what you are about, before you go birding here however. . . . Just to avoid hassles. To see a map of the North Naples Waste Water Treatment Plant location, go here:
http://caloosabirdclub.org/CaloosaBirdClubMaps/NorthNaplesWastewater.jpg
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