By LEAH WEATHERSBY

It was the first day of spring and the sun was out. Nearby, as a small group of visitors gathered at Pilling's Pond, all kinds of waterfowl were singing for their supper.

"They can smell the lettuce coming," someone remarked.

Bob Messina, a member of the Licton Springs Community Council, pointed to a father with small child in stroller, looking though the fence in front of Pilling's Pond.

"That's a very common sight here," Messina said.

But on that day, Pilling's Pond, a longtime neighborhood landmark located on N 90th Street just a few blocks east of Aurora, had potentially more influential visitors.

Seattle City Councilmembers Judy Nicastro and Richard Conlin were on hand to tour the private property, which has been owned by the Pilling family since 1907. This was just one in a series of tours the community council has conducted for members of City government in a campaign to preserve Pilling's pond for future generations of Seattleites. The community council hopes to convince the city to buy it.

Charles Pilling, the pond's current owner who grew up on the property, began digging the pond at age 12 in 1924, and finished it in the late 1940s. He used the pond to raise waterfowl and eventually won several international awards for breeding rare species, including the hooded merganser, bufflehead and harlequin duck.

But Pilling is now 89. The bird population at the pond has dropped by about two-thirds, according to Messina, and the community council is concerned about preserving what they consider a community and historical resource.

"The history of the Pilling family is an important part of Seattle history," said Messina. Currently, Pilling's granddaughter lives in the historic family home (built in the late 1880s by members of the pioneering Denny family) next door to the home where Charles and his wife June currently reside. The "milk cabin" next to the pond used to be rented out to young couples who had just moved to the neighborhood and were looking for a permanent place to live. Even Licton Springs itself, which flows into the pond, used to be an attraction.

"They used to bottle Licton Springs and sell it as a healing, healthy water," Messina said.

Today, water is also an important consideration in the efforts to preserve Pilling's Pond. That's because Pilling has been controlling the flow of the creek from his property manually with a hand crank valve. If he doesn't attend to it on a daily basis, the water could flood his property has well as that of his neighbors to the south along Ashworth Avenue where the creek is also daylighted.

"The connection needs upgrading," Messina said.

So far, the community council has received substantial support from one government entity. They received a $10,000 grant from King County Councilmember Cynthia Sullivan to begin their preservation efforts. Messina said part of this money could be spent on a historical brochure about the pond.

Still, the community council will need substantial support from the City if their efforts are to be successful.

"The purchaser is the big question mark," Messina said.

Meanwhile, on that first day of spring that Pilling's Pond was working its charm on the two city councilmembers who were present.

"That's gorgeous," said Nicastro as she watched the ducks and geese.

"This is a wonderful resource," agreed Conlin.

For more information on efforts to save Pilling's Pond, contact Bob Messina at 528-7790.