Saturday Union Bay Natural Area Bird Walk

The Seattle Audubon Society is having a Saturday morning bird walk at the Union Bay Natural Area, with Julia Hansbrough & John Leszczynski from 9-11am.


The information says:

Neighborhood Bird Walks - A Wonderful Way to Meet Seattle's Birds! 

Neighborhood bird walk for beginning birders or new Seattleites will especially enjoy this exposure to the rich variety of regional bird life. Families and non-members are welcome to attend. Meet at the Center for Urban Horticulture in the East parking lot off NE 41st Street, one block beyond the place where Mary Gates Memorial Drive turns left to become NE 41st Street.Friends of Yesler Swamp, told the Laurelhurst Blog that Union Bay Natural Area was at one time called the Montlake Fill and the area is managed by the University of Washington. It is located near the Center for Urban Horticulture in Laurelhurst.

The UW website gave this historical background:

The Union Bay Natural Area was under water until 1916 when the new Ship Canal lowered Lake Washington by about nine feet. Later, the city of Seattle used the site as a city dump – dubbed the Montlake Landfill or Montlake Dump – but it was closed in the 1960s.

And the UW management plan says:

The public disposal site (the Montlake Dump) closed in 1964, and garbage landfilling ceased in 1966. Filling, grading, and seeding of the surface continued until 1971. A University Advisory Committee on Arboreta selected the location in 1971 for a new arboretum site.

Connie Sidles is a popular local birding expert who maintains a blog documenting the many types of birds including beautiful pictures at the nearby Union Bay Natural Area.

Go here for more information.