Subject: [Tweeters] Bus and Birds: Point Defiance Park
Date: Aug 22 15:32:11 2008
From: Mark Vernon - ma_vern at yahoo.com





Today I took?one of my favorite bus & bird trips, to Point Defiance Park in Tacoma. The really surprising thing about taking the bus to Tacoma is just how well Seattle and Tacoma are linked. There is a really great bus Sound Transit, the?route #594. It runs every half hour between Seattle and Lakewood. It has limited stops and jumps on to I-5. This morning I came from Seattle on this bus and got off at the Tacoma Dome Station. Here I transferred to the Pierce Transit Route #11 to Point Defiance. You can connect to this route from several other spots including the Union Station?U of WA Tacoma Branch area.
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I like the #11 because it is has some nice views of old homes and interesting buildings. It goes through the Proctor District, which is a very nice place. As it nears the park it goes by the "Antique Sandwich Shop", which is a great place to eat!
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I got off at the Ferry Terminal on the border of the park and walked north along the waterfront. Anthony's Restaurant here is a good place to see Purple Martins. I like to follow the waterfront around the Point as far as I can go. You have to be careful because a high tide can cut you off. at the tip of the point is a trail that goes up the hill and connects to the "5 mile drive".? The birds were fabulous today! In one spot there was a incredible variety of birds that included Wilson's Warblers, Western Tanagers and some Ruby-crowned Kinglets. The Warblers were in pairs chasing each other. There were many juvenile birds of all kinds. I also ran into a family of Raccoons, a mother seemingly trying to chase away her cubs. They walked out onto the 5 mile drive, some drivers had to slow down for them.
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There were really large numbers of Red-breasted Nuthatches. I tallied 42 but there were many more. Purple Martins could be heard from every corner of the park. Out in the Narrows were hundreds of Bonaparte's Gulls. Yes, Point Defiance is always a good choice for a birding trip!
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Here is some transit history. If you go to the Japanese Gardens you will see a Pagoda Station. This used to be the stop for the old Street Car from downtown Tacoma. This station was built in 1914 but the Street Car line was started in the 1890s. I had an Aunt, from Blaine,?who took this streetcar here in 1903. I was thinking of her!
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On my way out of the park, on the #11, I saw two juvenile Western Scrub-Jays.
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Mark Vernon
Renton, WA
mailto ma_vern at yahoo.com