A young western screech owl has been seen at its daytime roost along the east boardwalk a couple of times a week through September. Green-wing teal and other winter ducks are beginning to congregate in the park, and numbers of coot and pied-billed grebes are building up. The redwing blackbirds, swallows and summer songbirds are scarce or gone, and some warbler, vireo, flycatcher and other fall migrants are passing through. Green herons have been seen semi-regularly through the end of September, and the double-crested comorants are back now that the water lily cover is thinning out.
An orange jewelweed plant was covered with bright flowers mid-September, adding some startling color along the causeway, across from the dragonfly island. Most of the dogwoods are greening up after the drought, but some salal, some oceanspray, and a few other shrubs and trees may have been lost. A restoration planting volunteer event will be held from 9 a.m. to noon Saturday, Oct. 17 (see calendar entry below) for some of the newly cleared areas in the park.
Green Calendar
• Sustainability Groups: 6:30 p.m. Thursday, Oct. 8. Sustainable Kirkland. For information, go to www.sustainablekirkland.org/
• Sustainable Futures Book Club, Redmond Regional Library: 7 p.m., Wednesday, Oct 14.
• Forbes, Peter: The Gecko’s Foot. Bio-Inspiration – Engineering New Materials from Nature or Frenay, Robert: Pulse: The Coming Age of Systems and Machines Inspired by Living Things. www.kcls.org .Click on Events, then Book Clubs for Adults, then the date on the calendar (right hand side of the page), and scroll down the list.
• Eastside Greendrinks: Thursday, Oct. 15. For more information visit http://eastsidegreendrinks.ning.com/
• Volunteer Opportunities in Habitat Restoration: 9 a.m. – 1 p.m., Saturday, Oct. 10. Kirkland Public Works Maintenance Work Party for the Salmon Habitat Area behind Forbes House, pre-register with Betsy Adams, 587-3858.
• Green Kirkland Partnership, maintenance and planting of restored areas at Juanita Bay Park, 9 a.m. to noon, Saturday, Oct. 17. Sharon Rodman, 425-587-3305 or JBRollers@gmail.com. The Native Plant Stewards, the Park Stewards, and EarthCorps will work with volunteers in the park.
• Kirkland Watershed Park Nature Walk: 9:15 a.m., Sunday, Oct. 18. Meet at 110th Ave. NE and NE 45th Street entrance. For additional information, www.ci.kirkland.wa.us/depart/parks/Green_Kirkland_Partnership.htm
Eastside Audubon Events
• Bird Walk at Lake Sammamish State Park, Issaquah: 9 a.m., Wednesday, Oct. 14.
• Moss and Lichen trip to Redmond Watershed Park: 9 a.m., Saturday, Oct. 17.
• Juanita Bay bird walk, Juanita Bay Park: 9 a.m., Tuesday, Oct. 21.
• General meeting program begins, featuring Dennis Paulson, Dragonfly and Damselfly expert. Meeting held at Northlake Unitarian Universalist Church, Kirkland: 7 p.m., Thursday, Oct. 22. For additional information, go to www.eastsideaudubon.org
Environmental Classes, St. Edward Environmental Learning Center
• MushRoaming at St Edward Park: 3-5 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 14.
• Room 121, Bastyr University – History of Salmon in Washington State: 7-9 p.m., Wednesday, Oct. 21.
Please pre-register for these free SEELC classes (minimum and maximum class size limitations apply) at www.seelc.org
Janice Johnson is a Juanita Bay Volunteer Ranger and a WNPS Native Plant Steward.
