Roger Johnson, former president of the Friends of the Opelika Wood Duck Heritage Preserve, stood against the bed of his pickup truck outside the Preserve with two pairs of binoculars. He would need them further down the trail at the viewing blind.
While the Opelika Wood Duck Heritage Preserve and Siddique Nature Park are a haven for wood ducks, birds and birdwatchers, the Preserve was originally, and still is, a sewage lagoon.
A local plant pumps treated water waste into the lagoon through a pipe that runs beneath the Preserve, but Barry Fleming, associate professor of art and president of the Friends of the Opelika Wood Duck Heritage Preserve, assures the water is not harmful to the environment.
The city of Opelika has greatly reduced the disposal of raw sewage into the lagoon, according to Fleming. But dump trucks still arrive periodically to empty landfill leachate, water waste, into the lagoon.
“I’ve talked to people that said, ‘When I was a kid, I used to row my boat back and forth here to keep it churned up,’” Johnson said. “That was (their) job.”
It may seem odd an area of waste disposal is a hotspot for wildlife, but Fleming said active sewage lagoons and landfills are notorious birdwatching — or birding — spots across the country.
In Alabama, Magnolia Landfill in Mobile has set up a viewing blind to accommodate birders, according to Fleming.
“At the waste ponds in the Preserve, that’s a nutrient rich area,” Fleming said. “Even though it comes from biological processes, it’s more nutrient rich, so there’s a lot of duckweed and a lot of things that the birds can eat.”
Fleming said the number of habitats packed into the Preserve rivals that of Auburn University’s Louise Kreher Forest Ecology Preserve & Nature Center, because it’s an ideal location for birds to rest or settle.
Fleming said he estimates more than 175 different species of bird have been seen at the Preserve, and he estimated to have had 450 ducks at the Preserve in one day.
Numerous rare birds have also been sighted at the Preserve, such as a roseate spoonbill, a large bird with an elongated bill, striking pink feathers and are more commonly found in South and Central America.
“The Preserve is more for the birds and for people to get down there and see things they may not get to see,” Johnson said.
Fleming said what sets the Preserve apart from other areas is the different habitats that are joined together there.
“Within one outing, you could go upland forest to lowland, big pine tree forests, a wetland area, creeks … and then of course the lagoon,” Fleming said.
“It’s not the Appalachian Trail, but you can get out and stretch out there early in the morning and not see anybody and have a wildlife experience.”
A grin stretched across Johnson’s face as he began to walk along the path toward the viewing blind that peeks over the bank of the lagoon. But before arriving at the Preserve, he would have to hike through Siddique Nature Park.
Irtaza Siddique, professor emeritus of microbiology and pathology at Tuskegee University, served on the board of the Opelika Wood Duck Preserve until he passed away in 2008.
He donated seven acres of land adjacent to the wood duck preserve, which was then named after him.
“He was for education and spreading knowledge,” said Shana Siddique, Irtaza’s wife. “He wanted to help everybody.”
A bird chirps in the distance.
“That’s a pileated woodpecker,” Johnson said without hesitating.
He has the ability to discern species of birds by their cries after years of birding, cries that would sound like just another bird to anyone but a birder.
Johnson said he has enjoyed birds since he was a small child, when he would make bird baskets out of peach crates. But that was back in Wisconsin before he transferred to Opelika with Uniroyal Goodrich Tire Company.
He worked at the Opelika Uniroyal plant for 22 years until 2009, when the plant closed.
Now that Johnson’s retired, he’s spending more time on his hobby.
“I’ve always had an interest in birds,” Johnson said. “I love just watching birds. It’s something you can do it any place, and it doesn’t cost any money. You just get the best pair of binoculars you can afford.”
As we make our way through Siddique Nature Park, Johnson mends the trail by removing fallen limbs from the path and observing the surroundings to identify if there are any fallen trees or damage.
The Friends of the Opelika Wood Duck Heritage Preserve do much of the maintenance on the trails of the Preserve, such as cutting grass and removing kudzu from trees. But in addition to that, the Friends also organize educational fieldtrips for grade-schoolers.
"We’ve had students out there … [who have] never been in the woods,” Fleming said. “So I guess, in a way, all of us that are into birds and nature … are trying to share that and hope it doesn’t become a thing of the past.”
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