Migrate To Magnuson Park On Saturday For International Migratory Bird Day

The community is invited this Saturday to Magnuson Park for the opening of the Magnuson Park Shore Ponds as part of International Migratory Bird Day from 10-3pm. 

There will be a variety of activities, lectures, and tours including guided bird and habitat walks, fun kids activities, talks about bird migration, habitat restoration, and how important trees in your yard are to our migrating birds.

"Celebrate and learn about the amazing birds that travel thousands of miles to return to Seattle each year," the flyer says.

World Migratory Bird Day began in 1993 as a global campaign to raise awareness of the need to protect migratory birds and their habitats. On the second weekend of each May, people around the world organize public bird festivals, education programs and bird-watching expeditions to celebrate the day.


And the Shore Ponds add to a system of connected wetlands in the park that are home to 29 species of dragonflies.

Here are the day's activities:

11:30 a.m: opening of the Shore Ponds with Sally Bagshaw followed by a tour of the shore ponds and wetlands

Nature Walks (all ages)
10 - 11:30 a.m. - Tadpoles and Nestlings Nature Walk ($5 per family, $2 per person) with Emily Bishton of Sustainable NE Seattle – meet at Parking Lot E-5 at the Wetlands Central Entry

10:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. - Migratory Birds of Magnuson Park Nature Walk with Jan Bragg, Seattle Audubon Master Birder – meet at Promontory Point Education Pavilion

11:30 a.m. – 12:45 p.m. - Grand Opening and Tour of Shore Ponds Nature Walk with City Councilmember Sally Bagshaw, The Berger Partnership’s Guy Michaelson and Parks’ Andy Sheffer

2 - 3 p.m. - Restoration site tour with a Magnuson Environmental Stewardship Alliance (MESA) member, staff from EarthCorps and the Green Seattle Partnership, and a Seattle Audubon Master Birder

Presentations  -  Brig Wedgwood Room
10 - 10:45 a.m. -  Threats to our Alaskan Arctic Breeding Migratory Birds with Raelene Gold of Seattle Audubon

11 – 11:45 a.m.- Beyond Parks – Seattle Trees and Migration with Matt Mega of Seattle Audubon

12 – 12:45 p.m. Habitat Restoration in Seattle Parks with the Green Seattle Partnership: Parks’ Rory Denovan and Michael Yadrick and Forterra’s Joanna Nelson de Flores

1-2pm - Bird Migration with Seattle Audubon’s Dennis Paulson, Ph.D., Seattle Audubon Bragg,= Seattle Audubon Master Birder – meet at Promontory Point

Seattle Parks’ partners in presenting this event are the Seattle Audubon Society, MESA, the Berger Partnership, International Migratory Bird Day and EarthCorps.

For more information go to http://www.seattle.gov/parks/Magnuson/ or http://www.birdday.org/.