The observation tower makes birding easy within sight of high rise hotels.

Location: On the north side of Eagle Beach and south of De Olde Molen, the famous windmill restaurant.

This pond is one of the best places, as well as most accessible, to see birdlife on Aruba. Originally a salt pond used to make salt from sea water, it is now kept wet year-round by serving as an overflow from the sewage plant.

This is not as yucky as it might sound, because the nutrient-filled waters are rich in fish life, which in turn attracts a host of birds. This puts Aruba in the vanguard of an exciting new wetlands technology now being explored in many major U.S. cities.

Brown pelicans are particularly fond of this spot, and small squadrons of them can sometimes be spotted in perfect formation, scooping the water surface for dinner.

Other birds common at this site are Black-crowned Night Herons (Nycticorax), the common egret (Egretta alba), little Green Herons (Butorides virescent) and the beautiful snowy egret (Egretta thula), sometimes called "the lady with the golden slippers" because of its yellow feet and black legs.

As at most birding locations, best viewing is near dawn and dusk.

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