News
A Successful Bird Count: The District Keeps Natural Systems as a Top Priority
On a regular basis, we provide water and sewer service throughout Immokalee, but what many don’t know about our Special District is that we also welcome hundreds of birds each year who migrate south for the winter. For decades, if not longer, birds have enjoyed our isolated land, some 638 acres that the District owns and utilizes as a spray field.
A well-known member of the community, Mr. Paul Midney, and a former Immokalee Water & Sewer District Commissioner and member of the National Audubon Society, has a great passion for bird watching and has conducted an annual bird count on our spray field for many years. In December of 2023, Paul’s list of bird sightings showed the following count:
| Pie Billed Grebe, 2 | Double Crested Cormorant, 2 |
| Anhinga, 2 | Great Blue Heron, 13 |
| Great Egret, 10 | Snowy Egret, 36 |
| Little Blue Heron, 35 | Tricolored Heron, 12 |
| Cattle Egret, 12 | White Ibis, 120 |
| Glossy Ibis, 16 | Black Vulture, 26 |
| Turkey Vulture, 4 | Muscovy Duck, 8 |
| Blue Winged Teal, 38 | Ruddy Duck, 15 |
| Lesser Scaup, 40 | Osprey, 3 |
| Northern Harrier, 1 | Red Shouldered Hawk, 5 |
| American Kestrel, 1 | Belted Kingfisher, 1 |
| Eastern Phoebe, 5 | Loggerhead Shrike, 1 |
| Common Gallinule, 4 | American Coot, 60 |
| American Avocet, 12 | Greater Yellowlegs, 50 |
| Lesser Yellowlegs, 60 | Wilson’s Snipe, 3 |
| Common Ground Dove, 1 | Belted Kingfisher, 1 |
| Palm Warbler, 20 | Savannah Sparrow, 11 |
| Northern Cardinal, 2 | Eastern Meadowlark, 12 |
| Greater Flamingo, 2 | Caspian Tern, 1 |
| Egyptian Goose, 1 | Bonaparte Gull, 1 |
| Northern Shoveler, 4 | Black Necked Stilt, 2 |
One particularly interesting sight that Paul witnessed while conducting his bird count was of a pair of flamingos – birds who are rarely seen this far inland. Since the 1950s, there have only been 500 sightings in the whole state of Florida. Paul believes that due to the lush land and water levels in one of our ponds, perhaps they are finding something good to eat – and we’re okay with that!
We are happy to provide a quiet space for birds, especially during a time when growth and development is all around. We truly hope that the rare birds will continue to feed off our land for decades to come.