Coopersville Wastewater System ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ Birders, In early afternoon today (Monday) I birded the Coopersville Landfill and the Coopersville Wastewater System in northern Ottawa County. I then birded the Muskegon Wastewater System and the adjacent landfill, where I ran into Skye Haas. The Coopersville Wastewater System is hospitable to birders-- during business hours you can walk out on the dikes if you notify a staff member. During non-business hours you can view the ponds from a dirt pile near the entrance gate. There were approximately 1000 Herring Gulls present at the Wastewater with a few Ring-billed and Bonaparte's mixed in. I also found 1 adult and 1 first-winter Great Black-backed Gull. Then I noticed a Barn Swallow sitting on an electrical wire going to the aerator on the pond nearest to the entrance gate. The swallow appeared to be of the North American form, and it appeared very cold but very healthy. During the half-hour I watched it, it was busily flying around feeding and preening on the wire. It was feeding on the abundance of dead and alive aquatic insects that came to the surface of the water (all of the ponds are now open). The Wastewater staff said that the water usually stays open near the aerators, which is good news for this bird at least right now. The Coopersville Wastewater System is accessed by a gravel entrance road running north from Garfield Rd, just south of I-96 in the Coopersville area of Ottawa County. The Coopersville Landfill is nicely viewable from a ridge on the south side of Garfield Rd just west of the Wastewater facility. Here were 2000-3000 more Herring Gulls. I also found a 2nd- winter Lesser Black-backed Gull and 1 or 2 adult Glaucous Gulls. There are "no trespassing" signs on the ridge but I assume this just means they don't want you climbing over the fence. Next I went to the Muskegon Wastewater System, where I eventually ran into Skye Haas. We were able to see 2 adult "Kumlien's" Iceland Gulls, one of which was quite dark and approached the borderline with Thayer's. We also had one adult Thayer's Gull. Later we ran into a very white Snowy Owl on a sprinkler on the east side of Swanson Rd near White Rd. If you go to either of these locations looking for gulls, it's best to go during business hours when they are actively moving the trash around. Good birding, Dave Slager Grand Rapids, MI ------------------------------------------------------------ Birders, Dave Slager wrote: >>The Coopersville Wastewater System is hospitable to birders-- during business hours you can walk out on the dikes if you notify a staff member. During non-business hours you can view the ponds from a dirt pile near the entrance gate.<< In preparing to include this site in the forthcoming Birder's Guide to Michigan, I talked directly with the manager of this facility on a weekday when the gate was open (last November). They were indeed hospitable to birders, but I was told that due to security and safety concerns, nobody was allowed inside the gate at any time. I was not allowed in on this day, and it was clear that the only acceptable access was from outside the fence (there is also no trespassing into the adjacent corn fields, which are private property). This was not only applicable to what I was allowed to publish on the site, but applied at all times to all individuals. The only stated concession was that if a rare bird was seen, then permission might be granted to enter for a short period of time. Allen Chartier amazilia1@comcast.net 1442 West River Park Drive Inkster, MI 48141 Website: http://www.amazilia.net Michigan HummerNet: http://www.amazilia.net/MIHummerNet/index.htm