The Seward Park Audubon Center, Seattle Public Library, and Seattle Parks and Rec are teaming up to celebrate the first Seattle Bird Week. Events start with a nature writing class at Seattle Central Library on Sunday, April 22 and end with free guided bird walks in several parks around the city on Saturday, April 28th.
For more information about events see the Bird Week pages on the Seward Audubon and Seattle Public Library websites.
On select Sundays from May through September, Lake Washington Boulevard is closed to motorized vehicle traffic from Mt. Baker Park to Seward Park from 10 am to 6 pm. This leaves the scenic roadway open to bicycles, runners, baby buggies, and folks out for a sunny promenade.
Opening day this year is Sunday, May 20th. The opening day celebration will be held at Seward Park in the lower meadow from 10 am to 2 pm. The festivities will include music, games, and face painting.
2018 Schedule
May 20th, 27th.
June 3rd, 17th, 24th.
July 8th, 15th.
August 19th, 26th.
September 2nd, 9th, 16th.
Starting tomorrow and running through Saturday the 21st, Seattle will be hosting its second Wildlife in the City Week. The events are sponsored by the National Wildlife Federation in partnership with Seattle Parks and Recreation and several other local organizations.
Supposedly there are events being held all week at various venues around the city, but unfortunately, whoever is in charge of the Wildlife in the City Week website has dropped the ball and it hasn’t been updated with any event details except for a brief mention of the festival that wraps up the week.
Fortunately, I know of two events taking place on Saturday the 21st because I follow Heron Habitat Helpers on Facebook.
From 1-5 pm several organizations will be participating in the Wildlife Festival at the Discovery Park Learning Center with lots of fun and educational activities.
From 2-4 pm Heron Habitat Helpers will have telescopes set up at Commodore Park for anyone who wants to come by and get a good look at the great blue heron nests in the rookery. HHH volunteers will also be on hand to answer all your burning questions about these fabulous birds.
The Japanese Garden in the Washington Park Arboretum is one of several locations that has long been on my list of Seattle places to visit, but I just haven’t gotten around to it yet. Part of the delay is because there’s an admission fee, and though it isn’t huge, it means going on a day I where I am feeling really good so I can make the most of my time. No ditching halfway through and counting on a return visit to finish up. (This happens more often than I care to admit.)
Last year the garden tried a Free First Thursday pilot program, but somehow I missed hearing about it. The program was a great success. The intent was to make the garden accessible for those who may not otherwise be able to visit due to the cost of admission. Over 3,000 people visited on the free days from spring through fall.
The free day program returns this year, starting on the first Thursday in April. Admission is free from 3 pm until closing on the first Thursday of each month. If you’d like to read more about it see this Parkways blog post. Maybe I’ll finally get there this year!
Park Preview 