Union Bay Natural Area Trails

Location: Seattle

Length: About a mile.

Level of difficulty: Flat dirt/gravel trails; often muddy.

Setting: This broad field once lay submerged beneath the waters of nearby Union Bay, until the completion of the Lake Washington Ship Canal in 1917 lowered the water level by eight to nine feet. While some areas were once used as a garbage dump, other parts were filled in for campus facilities. The area is currently managed by the University of Washington as an ecological research center, combining research, university teaching and public outreach on plants in urban environments.

Highlights: This modest area dotted with ponds and fringed with marsh is one of Seattle's hot bird-watching spots. Buy or borrow binoculars, and come watch. The ponds, shoreline and fields attract a remarkable variety of birds, including species rarely seen elsewhere in the region. Fall brings many migrating species, as well as ducks who winter at the ponds, making viewing best in the fall through spring. Hard-core birders staked out along the trails often offer helpful pointers, even for those who think all ducks are mallards. Check out the beaver-gnawed logs along the shoreline. For information, call the UW Center for Urban Horticulture at 206-543-8616.

Facilities: Restrooms at the Center for Urban Horticulture during weekday business hours.

Restrictions: No pets, horses, or bikes allowed in this refuge for birds.

Directions: From Highway 520 near the west shore of Lake Washington, take the Montlake Boulevard exit. Go north on Montlake Boulevard Northeast. Turn right on Walla Walla Road, then Douglas Road, to park near Husky Stadium. To park at the Center for Urban Horticulture, stay on Montlake and bear right to merge with Northeast 45th Street. Turn right on Mary Gates Memorial Drive Northeast, and in a few blocks, turn right into the center's parking lot.

- Cathy McDonald Special to The Seattle Times ------------------------------- Cathy McDonald is coauthor with Stephen Whitney of "Nature Walks In and Around Seattle," with photographs by James Hendrickson (The Mountaineers, second edition, 1997).