That was the headline in the local section of today's (4-24-10)
Seattle Times. The gist of the story is that the Magnuson Park
colony of Cliff Swallows has been evicted before it arrives. The
Seattle Parks Department just must accommodate a sports developer who
wants to turn Hangar 27 into a for-profit sports arena. Parks
Department naively says the birds will be welcomed back again next
year. The developer says no. "Do you want kids to try to walk
around a bunch of bird bathrooms?" he asks.

Okay, where did Seattle go wrong? International Migratory Bird Day
is just two weeks away--May 8th. Many of us celebrate the return of
the Western Hemisphere's migratory birds. But not Seattle Parks in
this most liberal of liberal cities. Unbelievable that they had to
destroy nests just as the swallows are returning. If the San Juan
Capistrano mission in Orange County can celebrate and accommodate the
return of its swallows every year, why on earth can't Seattle? The
city's parks should be the most welcoming places for our migratory
birds.

Hopefully Seattle Audubon reads the Seattle Times and will jump on
this travesty so that it never happens again. Cliff Swallows. Bird
bathrooms? Who is this clown anyway?

In disgust on behalf of the swallows,

Carol Riddell
Edmonds