Thanks Mike question answered. I'm taking the trip to Juanita Bay Park
instead.
Tracee
-

On Thu, 8 Aug 1996, Tracee Geernaert wrote:
> Does anyone have the scoop on what is happening at the Kent Ponds? I was
> supposed to lead a field trip there in September but have been told they
are
> under construction (hedge rows are no more).

I went there in July 4, just when a small trickle of shorebirds was
returning (I recall posting a note on the condition of the ponds, but
maybe it only ever saw the 'delete' key!). Anyway, the thick hedgerows of
blackberry are still there, however they are somewhat inaccessible now.
What they've done down there is to open up the ponds by breaching the
dikes and creating a channel flowing south to north. The idead being that
water would no longer collect in the ponds, just flow right on through.
The ponds are no longer ponds, or even mud flats which shorebirds might
like. They are just dried up beds, with only Killdeer interested in them.
The breaches in the dikes make it impossible to tour the long southern
ponds without entering from the south (unless you have hip waders on).
The two small ponds are still accessible to some extent. On the up side,
all the construction means that the dike trails are well mowed. It should
also be noted that there is much heavy machinery down there, it is likely
they will be working on weekdays.

I'd take your trip elsewhere.

-------------
Michael R. Smith
Univ. of Washington, Seattle
whimbrel at u.washington.edu
http://salmo.cqs.washington.edu/~wagap/mike/mike.html