Winter is coming…and the holidays…and maybe even more snow. Here’s a snowy depiction of Adam Kuby’s artwork Quarry Rings (2010) at Thomas C. Wales Park, a new city park intended to be an urban bird habitat on the site of an old gravel quarry on the west side of Lake Union. The park is at Dexter Avenue North and Sixth Avenue North.

The quarrying left an amphitheater-shaped bowl that developed a small wetland at its center. The artwork’s five raised gabion rock rings reflect the site’s past while also creating a bird and bat nesting habitat in the park, with 79 separate bird houses and 19 bat boxes.  Bird nest canisters of varying sizes are integrated into rings to accommodate a variety of species. Slots on the underside of the rings provide access to bat nest boxes incorporated into the rings. Kuby states, “The sculpture and landscape design reinforces the concentric shape of the land and focuses attention on the jewel of a wetland at its center.”

The cylindrical bird houses are made of non-toxic HDPE plastic pipe and recycled plastic polyboard. Some are designed for cavity-nesting species; others are for open-shelf nesters. Bat and swallow nest boxes are located internally and are accessed from the underside of the rings. As the landscape matures and vegetation continues to grow around and through the rings, the nest sites should become even more desirable for wildlife. Audubon Society volunteers and local residents help maintain the nest sites, cleaning them out annually.

The artwork was funded by Seattle Parks and Recreation 2000 Pro Parks Levy 1% for Art and construction funds.

IMAGE: Photo by Mark Brands.