By MARK HIGGINS
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

The big amenity is, of course, Seward Park, an enchanting wonderland laced with secluded trails and rimmed by miles of low-bank waterfront. Nowhere in Seattle are there better views of Mount Rainier.

A tangle of growth at the center of the park contains the last of Seattle's old-growth trees. Schmitz Park in West Seattle has some grand woods, but it doesn't have the concentration of old-growth found at Seward Park.

The big Douglas fir, western red cedar and madronas are wind-whipped sentinels. Some are thought to be several centuries old, beginning their growth when George Washington is said to have chopped down that cherry tree.

The park is thought to have the largest madrona in the state. The silvery barked giant has an enormous 100-foot spread of branches at its crown.

"It's absolutely immense," says Phil Renfrow, a senior Parks Department gardener.

The park is a personal favorite of Renfrow, who recalls one time when his family was lounging along the shore. As his son dabbled in the lake, a bald eagle swooped down with talons extended and plucked out a wriggling fish in front of the startled family.

"It was so stunning. It was one of those images that is etched in your mind," Renfrow says.

Seward Park is also a laboratory for seismologists, fisheries and children.

The University of Washington Seismology Lab uses it as a site for its state-of-the-art "strong motion" network. Digital data on the Earth's movement is continuously transmitted to the UW over a dedicated phone line.

Seward Park is a superior location because it has some of the hardest rock in the Seattle area, according to seismologist George Thomas. Absent is the typical Northwest blanket of glacial till to impede the monitoring.

The park is also one of the quietest places in the city, Thomas says. No freeway or ambient noise to compromise the quality of the monitoring, Thomas says.

Squawking parakeets apparently don't upset the equipment. And that's a good thing. The park has been home to a small flock of renegades. No one is sure how the birds got there, but they have survived for at least five years, says Michael Cohen, who lives in the neighborhood and is a Seattle Audubon Master Birder.

For three years, Cohen has led monthly birding tours through the park on the second Saturday of the month. The park's resident eagles can usually be spotted on the north tip of the peninsula. They feed on fish and young ducks.

The thing that makes Seward Park good for birding is its diverse habitat. Barred owls have been observed within the deepest reaches of the park's forest. Like their more famous cousin, the spotted owl, barred owls prefer old-growth trees, says Cohen, who has identified 78 different bird species in the park.

A common species of forest crawlers are grade-school students, who flock to the park for field trips. Some 500 third- and fifth-grade students prowled through the park last year, learning about flora, fauna and habitat. The half-day watershed trips are "really great, especially for the kids studying and raising salmon," says Parks Department staff member Jeanie Murphy. "They can come and see the connections between a healthy watershed, forest and the water."