10:53 AM: A big turnout of birders got the party started early at this morning’s Urban Bird Treaty City celebration at Lincoln Park. The “treaty” covers the entire city of Seattle, but Lincoln Park was chosen for the event, which began with two guided bird walks at 10 am (that’s one group in our photo above), and is about to segue into the 11 am ceremony. The Urban Bird Treaty program is almost two decades old, and has these three goals:
*Protect, restore, and enhance urban/suburban habitats for birds.
*Reduce urban/suburban hazards to birds.
*Educate and engage urban/suburban citizens in caring about and conserving birds and their habitats.
Read more about the program here. Updates ahead, as this morning’s event continues!
12:19 PM: Just back from the park, where the celebration continued with the actual signing:
And the Urban Bird Treaty is signed, with @USFWS and @SeattleParks reps. pic.twitter.com/2y8DZhuLTy
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) May 5, 2017
The pens were wielded by Robyn Thorson, director of the Pacific Region for the US Fish and Wildlife Service, and Jesús Aguirre, Seattle Parks and Recreation superintendent. That followed almost an hour of speeches, punctuated by an adorable performance:
Performance by the adorable Whizz Kids Academy students from Magnolia @ Urban Bird Treaty celebration pic.twitter.com/fqMmqZERmD
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) May 5, 2017
Two short nature songs were presented by preschoolers from Whizz Kids Academy in Magnolia. They weren’t the only youth representatives:
15-y-o Roosevelt High School student and master-birder student Louis Kreemer pic.twitter.com/oXs32WYRD0
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) May 5, 2017
15-year-old Louis Kreemer, a Roosevelt High School student, was introduced as the youngest student in the current local Master Birder class. He noted that the Urban Bird Treaty comes with some direct expectations for us all, including keeping cats indoors, architecture design that minimizes risk to birds, and some “Lights Out” nights, because of the importance of protecting birds. A political representative spoke too:
Linh Thai, from US Rep. Adam Smith‘s office, noted that “conservation is a nonpartisan issue,” and said, “If the birds and bees are gone, we’re next.”
Before the official signing, Superintendent Aguirre told what he called his “bird story”:
Supt. Aguirre from @SeattleParks tells his bird story @ Urban Bird Treaty event. pic.twitter.com/Hx2DRbbTXK
— West Seattle Blog (@westseattleblog) May 5, 2017
A few more photos and notes to come. And on the subject of what else you can do – here’s how to protect birds from colliding with your windows.
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