Andy,
Thank you for the information.
Why would a new channel be constructed and where would it be located?
Thank you,
Dan Reiff
Mercer Island
Sent from my iPhone
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On May 16, 2021, at 1:37 PM, Andy McCormick <andy_mcc at hotmail.com> wrote:
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Dennis, Michael, Alan, and others,
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We at Eastside Audubon are hoping to make a change in this practice of planting willows in wetland areas. We agree that it is bad for shorebirds. We are actively involved with King County Parks, which has a plan to create a second channel for the Sammamish River in Marymoor Park in Redmond. This area also has large areas of Reed Canary grass and we have the challenge of dealing with the county on how to manage that.
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We have a committee that is conducting a survey of birds in this area prior to construction of this channel. A final plan has not been agreed upon yet, and we want to influence it. We have about two years to document the birds of the area before construction begins and the bird and habitat data will provide a basis for our plant and design recommendations.
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Our surveys are conducted quarterly and are ongoing. In addition to documenting the birds in this area west of the river, with the help of the Puget Sound Bird Observatory we have developed a survey design that will also document which habitats, plants, grass, and trees, various bird species are using.
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A stated goal of our involvement is to make recommendations for plantings and to include managing for shorebirds in the final design of the river channel. I see this project having the potential to influence these types of designs so that future plans for salmon restoration will also include restoration for birds. We are well-organized and have had a good response from volunteers who are participating in the surveys. We have surveyed in three seasons so far and will soon have our first year of data collected.
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Andy McCormick
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Bellevue, WA
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-----Original Message-----
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From: Tweeters On Behalf Of birdmarymoor at gmail.com
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Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2021 6:38 PM
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To: Dennis Paulson <dennispaulson at comcast.net>
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Cc: Tweeters <tweeters at uw.edu>; Alan <panmail at mailfence.com>
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Subject: Re: [Tweeters] King County rarities (not)
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Dennis - I've seen King County state the goal of reducing Reed Canary-Grass.
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This particular area in Redmond was a big, flat, Reed Canary-Grass meadow.
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They constructed the ponds and planted the willows which, they probably would say, are there to shade out the grass. (There may also be some Rules imposed by the state, or Federally, prohibiting leaving exposed mud, for fear that it will lead to turbidity in stream water, but that shouldn't be applicable in areas that are as level as this meadow).
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I think planting willows to get rid of Reed Canary-Grass is misguided. They did this on 204th St. down in the Kent area, converting a weedy farm field that seasonally flooded (providing excellent shorebird habitat) into a dense willow grove of many acres. The willows are drying this area and, if left alone, it will eventually become a Doug Fir forest in all likelihood. It will never again be a wetland.
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It's like they never took a Wetlands Ecology course, in which they might have learned the sequence of wetland succession. Willows coming in is the final stage, leading to soil drying and the deposition of additional soil.
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Only a major flood/scouring event will revert a willow thicket back to a nascent wetland (or beavers will do it, but they need an active stream to dam).
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I have long felt that educating the state and county about this should be the #1 priority of Seattle Audubon conservation efforts. Meadows should not be converted to forest, and wetland conservation should not destroy Class 3 wetlands by converting them to forests.
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= Michael
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-----Original Message-----
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From: Dennis Paulson
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Sent: Saturday, May 15, 2021 6:03 PM
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To: pan
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Cc: TWEETERS tweeters
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Subject: Re: [Tweeters] King County rarities (not)
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Alan, you made a good point here in your last sentence. I don't know why people plant willows around wetlands like this, thereby fairly quickly destroying their value as shorebird habitat. It's been done at Montlake Fill, it's been done at Magnuson Park, and I know it's been done at other constructed wetlands. Willows and cottonwoods come in soon enough on their own, and my recommendation has always been to actively manage for shorebirds-clear out the woody vegetation that invariably becomes established at such places and not only ruins it for shorebirds and some other wetland species but even eliminates the views that birders cherished before the trees blocked them.
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We have lots of trees in this area but not lots of open meadows and wetlands. What is not liked about the latter scarce habitats?
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I don't know why the various agencies have this bias, and it would be good to bring out in the open and discuss in the environmental community. There seems to be no trace of an environmental master plan for the region.
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Dennis Paulson
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Seattle
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>>
On May 15, 2021, at 4:48 PM, pan <panmail at mailfence.com> wrote:
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Tweets,
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I made the wrong decision last minute this morning and went east to
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Redmond rather than my usual Discovery Park (where goodies reported).
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Just so you know it's not a given, I spent an hour scoping the
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wetlands off Avondale Road around 85th, and did not see Pectoral Sandpiper.
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Greater Yellowlegs, 3
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Spotted Sandpiper, 1
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Long-billed Dowitcher, 1
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Killdeer, ~4
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Blue-winged Teal, 1
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Cinnamon Teal, 1 (a couple females unidentified at distance) Great
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Blue Heron Osprey others, including a male Lazuli Bunting
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The farthest east pond, also farthest from view, across from about
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90th, where a couple Pectorals were reported yesterday, had only a
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yellowlegs and a couple crows wading. These wetlands will probably
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close up in a year or two with all the willows planted.
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15 May, 2021,
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Alan Grenon
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panmail AT mailfence.com
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