Wood Ducks Showing Off at Thornton Creek Park #6

The Beaver Pond at Thornton Creek Park #6 is a haven for a myriad of creatures. One of the coolest seen there has to be the Wood Ducks with their beautiful plumage.

Ruth Williams and Don MacCall captured these images of the Wood Ducks displays.

One Lucky Wood Duck overlooking Beaver Pond at Thornton Creek Park #6

Where is this lovely refuge? Right in the middle of North Seattle at:

8th Ave NE between 105th and 106th Sts. 

So many critters use this place as a wildlife refuge. Of Paramount Importance has featured many examples this year including; fish, Great Blue Heron, Beaver, Racoons and many others.
The Beavers have engineered this place to their liking. It's a challenge sometimes to keep them from cutting too many trees and backing up the waters into the streets, but in the meantime, what an incredible
habitat they've created! What an education for visitors, young and old.

It's a public park that needs a name. It is just downstream from the Thornton Creek Water Quality Channel at Thornton Place. 

Enjoy!

Wood Duck Struts His Stuff
photo credit-Don MacCall

Thirteen Lucky Ducks-Thornton Creek Park Six home to Urban Wood Duck Colony

On Valentine's Day,
long time Thornton Creek Park Stewards, Ruth Williams and Don MacCall sighted 13 Wood Ducks today (2/14/10). Ruth is Vice President of Thornton Creek Alliance. Seeing as how it's Valentine's Day, it's fun to notice how the ducks are in pairs in the large photo (Click on it to see if you can count 13 ducks!).

Thornton Creek Park Six is located just 3 blocks from Northgate and is a wild place and lovely wetland refuge. It was preserved back in the 1960's with Funds from the "Forward Thrust" Bond Measure. It was neglected though until activists from Thornton Creek Alliance and the neighborhood began restoration efforts in the 1990's. Since then, the area has evolved through these efforts and further "engineering" by Beavers.

The area at 8th NE and NE 105th has become quite the active wildlife habitat since the Beavers built some small dam structures there.

The site is just downstream from the amazing Thornton Place Development and Thornton Creek Water Quality Channel, restored by Seattle Public Utility, Lorig and the efforts of activists, including the Thornton Creek Legal Defense Fund. Soon, we will feature some stories on that project which took ten years to be fully realized.

This urban wildlife habitat is very valuable for people and the creatures who inhabit it. Just a few blocks downstream, chinook salmon were sighted a few years ago. Thornton Creek Park Six is an amazing little refuge. Restoration efforts are continuing and more new projects will be upcoming soon.

Photo Credit- Don MacCall and Marie Read - Cornell Ornithology