An Exciting New Landscape for the Birds of Magnuson Park!

Almost everyone who knows me is aware of my passion for preserving and creating habitat for birds, and in educating my clients and fellow gardeners on this topic.

Research by the National Wildlife Federation, the Audubon Society, the WA State Dept. of Fish & Wildlife, and other organizations has shown that increasing the bird habitat within urban and suburban areas is essential to the survival of resident and migratory birds. I strongly believe that even our most “developed” urban areas can provide excellent habitat for our native birds, and I have seen much evidence of this in the public and private landscapes that I have been a part of creating over the years. And there’s no sweeter sound in the world to me than the cheerful song of a bird that has found a “green island” containing the food, water, shelter, and nesting places that it needs in order to thrive.

The Magnuson Park Community Center Bird-Friendly Landscape is a place that has been designed to be one of those “green islands”, and I am very happy to have coordinated its design and creation. Magnuson Park is home to a diverse number of native bird species; songbirds, waterfowl, birds of prey, and more. Over the years, community volunteers have been involved in many wonderful restoration projects in the perimeter areas of the park, designed to provide habitat for birds and other urban wildlife. The birds that visit and live in the Promontory Point and the Northshore Project areas are benefiting greatly by this important work. But until recently, there were few places within the Magnuson Historic District where birds could find the type of habitat they need in order to thrive.

This project has its roots in 2006 when Karla Withrow, Magnuson Community Center Director, approached me with an idea for a program to enable families to more easily explore the park on a self-guided tour. Over the next year, the “Birds of Magnuson Park - Family Explorer Packs” were developed. Each Family Explorer backpack is chock-full of fun and educational activities for families and other small groups; maps to the trails of Promontory Point and the Community Garden, lists of the birds commonly seen in both areas, identification guides, adult and child-size binoculars, educational games, and a 14-page nature activity book for children to use during their exploration and then take home. They are available at the Community Center reception desk to be checked out for only $5.00/day! They have been well received by all who have used them, and were given a big thumbs-up in a 2007 Seattle Times article.


Soon after the Family Explorer Pack project was completed, Karla and I began work on another idea; to create a beautiful, educational landscape and haven for birds at the Community Center. The Community Center is housed in building #47, the former Navy Recreation Center, located right in the heart of the Magnuson Historic District. It is a fantastic resource for the community, with a large auditorium, gymnasium, meeting rooms, a great staff, and wonderful programming.
















However, the landscape beds around the building were not very attractive or welcoming to visitors, to say the least. Directly in front of the building was a 150 ft. long, half-moon shaped island bed, filled with an 8ft tall thicket of native Nootka Roses that was smothering every other tree and shrub around it. Even though these roses do provide good food and shelter for native birds, they were actually a classic case of wrong plant/wrong place. The birds that feed on these rose hips do not inhabit this part of the Historic District, and so the hips were just rotting on the canes each winter, uneaten. Many of the other plants in the bed were natives that provide excellent food and shelter for birds, but being shaded out by the roses meant that they did not bloom or bear well, and some were being killed. On top of all this, any bits of paper, plastic, or other trash that blew into the bed were instantly impaled in the impenetrable thorny thicket, which was nearly impossible for parks staff to maintain.

During the first part of 2007, Karla, myself, and the Magnuson Advisory Council worked together to identify the ways for the landscape to meet the needs of the birds, the public, and the Community Center and Park staff. Then I developed a landscape design, planting plan, and a timeline for installation, that would fulfill these goals:
• To increase the number of native plants, and the variety of food and shelter benefits, to make the Community Center landscape a more bird-friendly habitat.
• To provide a backyard-size demonstration of a bird-friendly, low-maintenance, low-water-use landscape, to inform and educate the public on a scale that they can adapt to their own home garden.
• To enhance the beauty of the Community Center landscape in a way that is sustainable long-term by Seattle Parks maintenance and grounds staff.
• To provide an educational and encouraging starting point for families who check out the “Birds of Magnuson Park” Family Explorer Packs from the Community Center.











Once the plans were given the green light by the Magnuson Advisory Council and Parks Department, I began recruiting volunteer groups to help carry out the plan.




Beginning in the fall of 2007, volunteers began the difficult task of removing the Nootka Rose thicket. Words cannot express the transformation that began as the YMCA “Y-Guides” dads and sons, and the young women and men from Seattle Works dug and pulled until the rest of the plants in the landscape were finally free of the smothering thicket. Most of the Roses that were removed were actually loaded up onto Parks Dept trucks and taken to the North restoration area where they were re-planted along the lakeshore as a protective thicket for waterfowl. I still think of those first 2 workparties with awe.

In March 2008, the Y-Guides dads and sons came back to build and install 2 Chickadee birdhouses in the landscape.




















In the spring, two more Seattle Works groups came to remove the few roses that had re-sprouted, and build a new seating area, solar-powered water feature, and rain garden. The renewed vigor of the trees and shrubs in the landscape that now received all the sunshine they needed was astounding to see; each produced more and larger flowers, which provided an abundance of nectar for hummingbirds, bees, and butterflies. The resulting berry and fruit production almost tripled, providing food for the Chickadees, Wrens, Towhees. Flickers, and other birds that continue to visit the landscape.















In the fall of 2008, the Y-Guides, Seattle Works, and other community volunteers returned to install dozens of native plants in the open areas of the landscape, which will provide additional sources of food and shelter for the birds of Magnuson Park.



Then they mulched the entire bed with a fresh layer of wood chips, to provide habitat for beneficial insects to overwinter.

Throughout the entire process, the Magnuson Park grounds crew staff has been an invaluable partner in transforming this landscape, and my hat is off to them. Special thanks go to crew chief Don LaFrance, who provided unwavering support and encouragement each step of the way.



Between now and the spring of 2009, colorful and educational signage will be installed, and a brochure will be created so that all visitors can take a self guided tour and observe birds in the landscape.




























In 2009, the Magnuson Community Center will also begin hosting family-friendly classes to teach interested adults and children how to create or enhance their own landscape to provide good habitat for native birds and other wildlife! Click on the links for "Dedication Celebration" and "2009 Classes and other Events" for more info.

Sometime in the near future, we are hoping to further our success by creating additional bird-friendly landscaping in the other beds surrounding the Community Center, and across the street where there is an identical half-moon bed that is still in the "before" condition. This would sure make a nice "twin" to the Magnuson Community Center's beautiful Bird-Friendly Landscape!














If you would like to participate in workparty events at the existing or future Bird-Friendly Landscape, please contact me via email at birdfriendlylandscape@gmail.com. For information on my other landscape design and environmental education work, visit http://www.greenlightgardening.com

Inviting Songbirds into your Garden

There's nothing quite like waking up in the morning to the sight and sound of birds singing in your garden. Even though my home garden is in the middle of the city and on a busy street, I am happy to say that this is a common occurrence for me, and has benefited my garden and my life in many ways. Besides the sweet music they provide, birds also eat pest insects and weed seeds, making them the best helpers a gardener could wish for!

Just as it's important to build good soil and use the right plant/right place philosophy in order to have success in your garden, it's important to start with the basics in order to have success in attracting birds. The 4 main elements that all birds need are:

1) Water. Besides needing water to drink, birds need to bathe as part of their frequent preening, which keeps their feathers in good condition for flying and insulation. A wide, shallow birdbath that has a gradual, non-skid slope works best for a wide variety of birds to wade into, from chickadees to flickers. A fountain with a gentle spray or a misting attachment attracts hummingbirds, which like to fly though water to drink and bathe. Birdbaths need to be whisked out and refilled with fresh water at least once or twice a week year-round in order to remain clean, and should be located within 5 ft. of a shrub or tree for quick and safe getaway.

2) Shelter. The way your garden is designed and maintained is the biggest factor in this element. Birds need shelter from predators like hawks, who can swoop down on them if they are out in the open for long. They also need shelter from the cold and wind of winter, as well as the heat of summer. Designing a hedgerow into one or more perimeter areas of your garden is the answer. A hedgerow is a variety of deciduous and evergreen shrubs and/or small trees, planted fairly close together. This gives birds good weather protection, and the ability to travel through your garden by taking short flights from branch to branch rather than crossing large open areas.

The pruning done in your hedgerow should enhance the natural form of its trees and shrubs rather than shearing them into a wall, and pruning should be avoided during the nesting season.

3) Food. A well-designed hedgerow also provides a variety of food for birds in the form of fruit and seeds. It is wise to include native plants, as they are lovely to look at and have been a food source for birds for centuries, drawing them into your garden like a magnet. Songbirds will forage for berries and seeds from branches as well as from the ground beneath, and clean plants of annoying insects such as aphids. I grow a few non-native plants that are known for rampant re-seeding, and even those are held in check by the song sparrows, juncos, and other seed-eating songbirds in my garden.
You can also provide bird feeders in your garden, but if you live in an urban or suburban area, use feeders that are specifically designed to exclude non-native birds such as English house sparrows and European starlings, which are well known to displace and even harm our native songbirds. Ground feeders are not recommended, as they can attract unwanted pigeons and rodents. Most of our native Western Gray Squirrels have been displaced in urban areas by Eastern Grays, which also can be aggressive towards songbirds, so squirrel feeders are best avoided.

4) Nesting Places. A hedgerow can also provide nesting places for birds that weave their nests into the branches of trees and shrubs. But cavity-nesting birds have an especially difficult time in urban and suburban areas, since hollow or rotting trees are hard to come by. Most decorative birdhouses are just that- good for decoration only- but nest boxes that are made to the right dimensions will easily attract chickadees and wrens. All year long, but especially when their young are ravenous for food, these insect-eating songbirds will clean your garden of all pests!

RESOURCES: The Audubon Society store at 8050 35th Ave NE in Seattle is the best local place to find proper feeders and food, and nest boxes with the right dimensions. They also have a large selection of books about building nest boxes, bird identification, etc. Visit their website at www.seattleaudubon.org.

RESPONSIBILITY: The responsibility that comes with attracting birds to your garden is to protect what you attract! Position all feeders and birdbaths close to shelter so that birds can make a quick getaway from predators. Don't use any pesticides or herbicides in your garden, and don’t be too tidy. Birds will enjoy the seeds from spent flower heads, and the shelter of spent foliage.

And keep your pet cats indoors, even if you never see them with a dead or injured bird. It is estimated that domestic house cats kill millions of songbirds every year in the U.S., and most of this tragedy is never witnessed by humans. Bells on their collar or being well fed makes no difference. I used to think that indoor cats were miserable until I made the change and found that both of my cats adapted quickly and remain completely content to this day. The joy of witnessing the generations of songbirds that have been safely born and raised in my garden, and who return year after year, more than makes up for the little bit of hassle in remembering to close the screen door. I urge you to consider making this change yourself. Your beloved cat will live longer too! For more info, visit the American Bird Conservancy website at www.abcbirds.org and click on the Cats Indoors link.