Ukiah Sewage Treatment Plant

Ukiah, California has a really cool sewage treatment plant. You may ask why we might want to go to a sewage treatment plant. In the process of sanitizing raw sewage, the treatment plant fills large pools with already filtered water in tailing ponds , in which microscopic matter settles slowly to the bottom of the pool. The water is green with algae and the organisms which eat algae. Ducks, herons, geese and grebes are all attracted to the biologically healthy aspect of these places. Bodies of still water attract ducks. So, we always look for these tailing ponds in every city, wherever we bird. One of the best is in Aransas, Texas, where we saw an alligator underneath the boardwalk.

We drove to the Ukiah Waste Water Treatment Plant immediately after breakfast. We carried binoculars and our spotting scope into the plant gate. They ask that you sign in, which we did. Then, we made our way back to the four large tailing ponds. There were hundreds of birds there. They each can be placed into these specific groups.

• Blue Wing Teal
• Green Wing Teal
• Ring Necked Duck
• Scaup
• Black Scoter
• Common Merganser
• Killdeer
• Double Crested Cormorant
• Eared Grebe
• Pied Bill Grebe
• American Coot

In the rear of the treatment plant, behind the tailing ponds and behind a chain link fence, there were blackberry thickets and mature pear orchards. All this along a wooded stretch of the Russian River. The fruit attracted various birds, such that the leaves were a-twitter with activity. We edged ourselves closer to the fence. It was delicious.

• Yellow Rumped Warbler
• Black Phoebe
• Tree Sparrow
• Turkey Vulture
• Nashville Warbler
• Black Throated Gray Warbler
• Fox Sparrow

This afternoon was travel time. We drove north from Ukiah, California and finally to Eureka, California. This journey was a dizzying series of zigzags and cutbacks on the highway in the mountains. If another car got in front of you, the convenient turn-outs were designed to allow other cars to pass. One selfish driver today had a train of eight other cars behind it. Back and forth. Up and down. The cars seemed to be painfully hooked together because the one driver refused to pull over.

Here are some photo graphs from our birding journey so far. Please enjoy them.

The is a shot of the Golden Gate Bridge from the north side near Sausalito.

This is Robert in front of an enormous Redwood tree in Austin Creek Natural Area.

This is Berry standing beside a huge Redwood tree in the Cazadero woods.

We took a picture of the very large Elk in Point Reyes State Park. We took the photo from the safety of our car.

This is Arch Rock in the ocean near Point Reyes State Park. Remember, we are birders and not photographers.

This is the "Blow Hole" rock formation at the Russian Gulch State Park. Berry almost fell in.

This is a sea cave also in the Russian Gulch State Park. Berry tried to push Robert in.

This is the Chandelier Redwood Tree, which cost five dollars to see. We thought it was a rip off, because there are other, better and larger, holes cut into other Redwood and Sequoia trees further north. Probably five bucks, too.

Robert and Berry

photos courtesy of rfowler, bshelton