The Nisqually Reach Nature Center is a great place to get acquainted with
the natural history of south Puget Sound's estuaries, and as a home base for
serious studies.
Studying or even observing mudflat organisms and near-shore fish is not
easy unless the tides are right, so we're building an aquarium system to
show you what's out there. Right now we have four circulating sea water
aquaria, and a fifth in development:
our fish and sea bottom aquarium has an ever-changing variety of small
bottom fish, sea stars, and shellfish;
our mud flat aquarium simulates the rise and fall of the tides and has
a variety of snails and other burrowing organisms, as well as some
surface-dwelling shellfish;
our piling habitat aquarium also simulates the rise and fall of the
tides. Here, we're conducting an on-going experiment to learn how
pilings are colonized;
our subtidal Eelgrass aquarium, new in September 2003, will be stocked
with salmon fingerlings;
and soon to be on-line will be a subtidal macro algae habitat, which
we'll also seed with native Olympia Oysters (Ostrea lurida)
Observing birds at the Nature Center is a special treat. Luhr Beach is
the best place to observe birds on
Nisqually Reach and Nisqually Flats. Set up your spotting scope on the pier
under the roof, or in really inclement weather, seek shelter in our
observation lounge with a 180 degree view. Since 1997, we've seen these birds from Luhr Beach.
Studying or even observing mudflat organisms and near-shore fish is not
easy unless the tides are right, so we're building an aquarium system to
show you what's out there. Right now we have four circulating sea water
aquaria, and a fifth in development:
Observing birds at the Nature Center is a special treat. Luhr Beach is
the best place to observe birds on
Nisqually Reach and Nisqually Flats. Set up your spotting scope on the pier
under the roof, or in really inclement weather, seek shelter in our
observation lounge with a 180 degree view. Since 1997, we've seen these