“On the lookout for birds, squirrels and anything else brave enough to walk into sight, South Whidbey Intermediate School students, from left, Eric Barrow, Annie Wescott, Laurel Johnson and Ray Mergens wait in a new bird blind with AmeriCorps members Tom Sanford and Nick Pate.Matt Johnson / staff photo Built with wood taken from an ancient chicken house and fallen logs, and steel roofing plucked from Freeland’s Island Recycling, a new wildlife blind built behind the South Whidbey Intermediate School couldn’t look more natural.Designed and assembled by AmeriCorps member Nick Pate over the past four months, the structure looks like it could have been sitting the the woods for 100 years. Hardly noticeable against the backdrop of trees in the 40-acre forest owned by the South Whidbey School District, the blind hosted its first group of students Thursday.Sitting on a long bench inside the blind and looking through narrow window openings, about 20 students from Rene Neff’s fifth-grade class blended with the forest well enough to see some of its most elusive creatures. Great horned owls flew and perched within a few tens of yards of the blind, while chickadees, nuthatches, and juncos landed just feet away from the blind to eat from several bird feeders. Several squirrels and chipmunks also skittered into the clearing, looking for snacks in ground-level feeders. Pate described the scene as a wildlife show that has been waiting months to happen. Accustomed to his almost daily presence during the past few months, the animals had little fear of the group of students Thursday as they went about their morning routines.They’re pretty used to us, Pate said.Student Ray Mergens quickly picked out his favorite animals at the blind site.Probably the squirrels, he said.The blind, which is located on a dead-end trail about 200 yards from the Intermediate School playfields, is open to both students and the public. Pate said he hopes his blind will become a destination for local wildlife lovers.Langley’s Jeanne Hurt, who donated the wood used to build the blind, said she was impressed by what the simple building allows people to see.This is really interesting, she said. This is fantastic.Hurt’s donation, plus several others, allowed Pate to build the blind for less than $400.Pate said he hopes to build an information kiosk at the entrance to the forest that provides directions to the blind and to the network of trails that criss-cross the property. To get to the forest entrance, park at the Intermediate School, then head for the soccer playfields. The trail head is at the northwest corner of the fields. “