Magnuson Park is home to a diverse number of native bird species; songbirds, waterfowl, birds of prey, and more. Over the years, community volunteers and environmental organizations 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, Flyway, and the Forest Remnant Project areas are benefiting greatly by this important work. But until recently, there were only a few places within the Magnuson Historic District where native birds could find the type of habitat they need in order to thrive.
Research by the National Wildlife Federation, the Audubon Society, the WA State Dept. of Fish & Wildlife, and other organizations has shown that increasing the quantity and quality of habitat within urban areas is essential to the survival of resident and migratory birds. As a landscape designer and birder, I have seen ample evidence that even our most developed urban areas can provide excellent habitat for native birds. And there’s no sweeter sound in the world to me than the cheerful song of a bird that has found a public or private landscape that is a “green island” containing the food, water, shelter, and nesting places that it needs in order to thrive.
The Magnuson 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 Community Center is located right in the heart of the Magnuson Historic District, in the former Navy Recreation Center building. 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, in this location they were 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, I began working with Community Center director Karla Withrow and the Magnuson Advisory Council 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 and planting plan that would fulfill the following goals.
- To fulfill the 4 basic needs of native birds- food, water, shelter, and nesting places- by dramatically increasing the number and diversity of native plants, adding a year round water source, and adding appropriate nest boxes and other features.
- To be a backyard-size demonstration garden to inform and educate the public on the benefits and methods of growing a bird-friendly, low-maintenance, low-water-use landscape, on a scale that they can adapt to their own property.
- 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 engage children and adults from the community in a hands-on project that would create a bond with the park and with the Community Center.
- To provide an educational and encouraging starting point for bird-watching exploration by families and other groups who check out the “Birds of Magnuson” Family Explorer Packs from the Community Center.
In the fall of 2007, I began recruiting and organizing volunteers to begin 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 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, Campfire group #912, and other community volunteers installed dozens of native plants throughout the open areas of the landscape. These will provide additional sources of food and shelter for the birds of Magnuson Park each year as they grow larger and bear more fruit. Then volunteers mulched the entire bed with a fresh layer of wood chips, to provide habitat for beneficial insects to overwinter.
Colorful and educational signage was created by graphic designer Robin Hing, along with a brochure to enable all visitors to take a self guided tour and decide which of these plants they want to add to their own home garden.
The Campfire group came back in April 2009 for a 'spring spruce-up", and then it was time to celebrate our success with a big party!
Ribbon Cutting Ceremony with Ciscoe Morris on May 10th, 2009
L-R: Seattle Parks Recreation Director Sue Goodwin, YMCA "Pocket Gopher" volunteer Jesse, TV and radio personality Ciscoe Morris, Shoreline Campfire Group #912 volunteers on each side of Seattle Parks Superintendent Tim Gallagher, Magnuson Park Planning & Development Coordinator Kevin Bergsrud, and Jr. Nature Explorer/community volunteer Jake
We had such great fun at our Dedication Celebration; seeing all the smiling faces gathered together in the sunshine with the plants thriving, the solar water feature bubbling away, hummingbirds bustling in the flowers, and hearing the Chickadee nestlings peeping away in their new house!
The majority of the celebration was devoted to honoring the many volunteers who helped make this project such a big success:
- The YMCA Y-Guides "Pocket Gophers" group
- Campfire group #912 “Tanda Kani Ka Ta” from St. Luke's School in Shoreline
- Seattle Works TeamWorks leaders and team members
- Jr. Nature Explorers program families
- Magnuson Advisory Council
- Community members from Seattle Audubon and surrounding neighborhoods
Ciscoe with youth volunteers
Also, to recognize the enormous support from the staff of the Magnuson Park Community Center along with the Magnuson grounds crew gardeners and Park Administration staff, who all helped to make this project a big success! Special thanks go to former crew chief Don LaFrance, who provided unwavering encouragement from the very start.
L-R: Seattle Parks Superintendent Tim Gallagher, Ciscoe Morris, Magnuson Community Center Director Karla Withrow, Seattle Parks Recreation Director Sue Goodwin, and Landscape Designer/Project Coordinator Emily Bishton
In 2009, the Magnuson Community Center began 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. This has continued in 2010, when our first class was part of the hugely-popular 'Celebrate Urban Nature' event on April 10th.
Sometime in the near future, we are hoping to receive grants and other funding to further our success by creating additional bird-friendly landscaping in all the other beds surrounding the Community Center. 
Someday perhaps, we will even be able to expand the concept across the street where there is an identical half-moon bed owned by the University of Washington. This landscape is still in the "before" condition, but certainly has the potential to be a great "twin" to the Magnuson Community Center's beautiful and vibrant 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
Pacific Chorus Frog (AKA Tree Frog) Photo by maxi millipede
What a great week it has been in the Bird-Friendly Landscape! On the evening of Wednesday, September 8th, volunteer Ryan Stickney made the first sighting of a Tree Frog in the landscape while he was mulching near a Evergreen Huckleberry shrub. It took a good look at him and then hopped off into the Sword Ferns....
They moved in and out so quickly I was only able to get a glimpse- click on the photos above and below to enlarge them, then look for the bright orange and gold stripes to see the male version of this tiny songbird. The female is more difficult to spot but she is there behind the rushes below. 
Chickadees are one of the only birds in the world that cache food for a winter reserve. We are used to associating this behavior with squirrels and other rodents, but unlike them, Chickadees actually remember where they cache their food! In fact, Chickadees will move their stored food to a new location if they see that another bird has been watching their work... does this remind you of behavior from any other other creature.... such as human beings... isn't it funny how many characteristics we share with the "wild" creatures in the world?
Wow, what a transformation they made. The thick layer of wood chip mulch will release micro-nutrients and foster beneficial organisms that help the "baby" plants (now in their 2nd year) spread their roots out strong into the surrounding soil, and store lots of energy for next year's growth. It will also protect the soil so that the coming winter rains can be slowly and steadily absorbed, that will enable the plants to become more drought-tolerant when next summer's heat rolls around again. 
On top of that, the mulch will smother the weed "seed bank" in the soil, and allow these bird-friendly plants to out-compete the weeds that do manage to sprout next spring! The valuable and much-needed work of both groups was led by the intrepid Ryan Stickney, who also led a group at the Magnuson Children's Garden earlier this summer- thank you x 3 to Ryan!
