Bird lover highlights beauty above trash

The Citrus County landfill, which draws countless birds, is the site of a trail that will let people enjoy them.

[Times photos: Steve Hasel] A garbage truck awaits its turn to enter the unloading area as gulls and turkey vultures hover above the trash at the Citrus County landfill in Lecanto.

By ALEX LEARY

© St. Petersburg Times, published February 8, 2001

LECANTO -- Dick Blewett was pulling a greasy, hulking microwave from the back of his van when a flock of gulls appeared over the clumps of bald tires and dented propane tanks.

"Look at that!" he said, framing the birds with his outstretched arms.

Dick Blewett is the coordinator of efforts to bring the Great Florida Birding Trail to Citrus County.

Blewett, a bird buff since he was a Boy Scout many years ago, has seen thousands of gulls but still finds beauty in their movement.

Even here at the county landfill, where the birds pick over 300 tons of trash trucked in each day.

"Landfills are major birding areas," Blewett said Wednesday, listing the locations he has visited: Texas, Arizona, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Canada. "The best one is in Chicago."

With Blewett's help, the Citrus County landfill is poised to become the first in Florida to be recognized as a bird attraction.

It is one of 20 local sites nominated to become part of the Great Florida Birding Trail, a statewide initiative that recognizes the growing popularity of bird-watching.

On Saturday, the trail will be officially opened to the public. A dedication ceremony begins at 10 a.m. From then on, people may visit any time the landfill, off State Road 44, is open for business.

The path is named "Eagle Snag Trail" because the landfill is one of the best spots in the county to view bald eagles. During a tour Wednesday morning, Blewett, a Sugarmill Woods resident, and landfill director Susan Metcalfe pointed out at least six eagles roosting on dead limbs, or snags.

Eagles may be icons of strength and independence but they are not above scavenging. "They are opportunists," Metcalfe said. Injured gulls and terns are easy prey. Even better: a load of scraps from a local fish house.

Eagle Snag Trail winds around the landfill's perimeter. It begins at the northern end of mountain of excavated dirt that abuts the Withlacoochee State Forest.

"You see those carvings?" Blewett said, pointing to gullies in the side of the hill. "Those are good places for owls."

When Blewett jokingly called attention to the plastic bags caught on tree limbs, his navigator launched a brief lament. "I hate them," Metcalfe said. 'They are so aerodynamic; they can fly for miles."

As Metcalfe drove her Jeep Cherokee (the trail is open only to vehicles) past the hill, the sound of birds grew.

On the left, dozens of grackles and other small birds could be seen in the forest. On the right is the cavern of trash where hundreds of gulls feasted. A lone eagle overlooked the buffet from atop a mulch pile.

The trail eventually veers off to a section of the landfill that closed about a decade ago. The land, now a meadow, is the ideal habitat for song birds, such as red-winged blackbirds, meadowlarks and sparrows.

Several pipes poke out of the ground to allow methane gas to escape. Solar-powered batteries provide electricity to spark plugs that ignite a flame and burn the gas. One must not have been turned on because a kestrel was using it as a perch.

The trail, which is about 2 miles long, ends near the Withlacoochee Technical Institute's firing range, which is used for law enforcement training. Shots could be heard on Wednesday but the targets face away from the trail so there is no safety hazard, Metcalfe said.

Though many people established the Citrus trails, Blewett has been the major force. He has sold his idea to land managers at the 20 sites, which include Potts Preserve, Fort Island Trail and Ozello Trail. Some of the bird-watching spots require canoes or boats.

To better understand the different species in the county, Blewett trained volunteers to take a census. About 250 species were recorded, though he says there are probably dozens more.

"Not only is he an excellent birder, but he is an excellent teacher, too," said Julie Brashears, a state Fish and Wildlife Conservation Commission official overseeing the entire effort. "He's taken on so much. I'm so very proud and grateful to him."

Aside from the benefit to local birders, the trails could provide an economic boon. The conservation commission estimates that non-consumptive bird use generates $477-million in retail sales in Florida every year.

To learn about birding sites

For information on the bird trail, including a complete list of the Citrus County sites being nominated, visit: www.citruscounty-fl.com/BirdcountR.html or floridabirdingtrail.com/.

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