Geography also helps. Being at the edge of Lake Washington helps to
attract birds flying along the waters edge. The ridge along the campus
and up through Ravenna also helps funnel birds into the area.

In my opinion the Fill is not particularly well watched. I think if the
numbers of birders increased the numbers of interesting birds being
reported would also increase.

> For many miles around, most of the other habitats near water are
> wooded, developed,
> or mowed grass.

Given the policy of the Center for Urban Horticulture the place is
turning more and more into a "wooded, developed and mowed grass" kind
of place. I agree that blackberry should be controlled however mowing
that recently took place was large-scale and indiscriminate and judging
by the results the blackberry was largely unaffected. However several
side effects are occurring as a result of mowing:

1. two broods of savannah sparrows were mowed in the process.
2. garter snake predation is increased - I've seen red-tailed hawks
take snakes several times in the past two weeks - something I had never
seen before the mowing took place.
3. Crows are decimating the numbers of grasshoppers - a large flock of
around 70 crows were systematically working the grassy areas yesterday
afternoon.
4. Cat numbers have increased now that the short grass allows them to
hunt more easily.
5. There is less suitable vegetation for birds to feed on or use for
cover. For example there are no thistles left for goldfinches to feed
on.

Perhaps more birders visiting the area would save it from becoming
either a dog park or more soccer fields.

Stuart
--
Stuart MacKay, Seattle, WA, USA