Free Birding Tour

LABELLE, FL. -- Hendry-Glades Audubon and the South Florida Water
Management District will offer to the public escorted birding tours at
Stormwater Treatment Area 5 (STA-5) south of Clewiston in eastern Hendry
County. The first trip is
scheduled Saturday, November 12 at STA-5 from 8:30 a.m. to noon and
subsequent tours are scheduled regularly through April 2006.

The stormwater treatment areas, owned and operated by the South Florida
Water Management District, are vast, constructed wetlands that use
vegetation to naturally cleanse excess nutrients from water before it
enters the Everglades. These remote, shallow-water marshes attract many
species of nesting wading birds, migratory and other water fowl such as
great blue herons, wood storks, snowy egrets, great egrets and roseate
spoonbills.

Tours are open to anyone, but participants must register to
reserve a space on the trips. To sign up for the STA-5 Birding Tour:
Send an e-mail to Margaret England, at sta5birding@earthlink.net with your
name and contact information, the date you want to go, and the number in
your party. You may also leave a message at (863) 674-0695 or (863)
517-0202.