Thanks to David Hutchinson for sharing that photo of a bald eagle he and his wife saw in the “tall tree” near 61st/Alki on Friday afternoon, not far from the Statue of Liberty (now wouldn’t THAT be a photo op someday, if an eagle ever alighted ON the statue …).
For all the coyote sightings we’ve posted here, we’ve never seen one ourselves till five minutes ago – crossing California south of Thistle, heading toward the Thistle greenbelt/staircase. (Photos courtesy intrepid Patrick the Sales Guy, who grabbed the camera and headed outside while your editor here stood transfixed at the window.)
Reminder that the city provided tips on coexisting with coyotes and urban wildlife at a presentation earlier this year; WSB coverage here. (It’s breeding season, so sightings are likely to be more frequent; follow some of the advice in that report and your chances of an unwanted run-in will be reduced.)
Last June, the subject of that unusually colored crow came up in the comments on this post, back when we were still anonymous, so we never let on that it lived practically outside our front door. But now it’s making news again, sort of, as one of the birds mentioned in the upcoming book that made a West Seattle author a finalist for a prestigious prize. Lyanda Lynn Haupt has been honored as a finalist for a 2008 J. Anthony Lukas Work-in-Progress Prize, on behalf of “Crow Planet” — which one judge said “promises to be a fascinating and original book” giving us a window into the lives of these ubiquitous, yet mysterious, birds. Read the full citation here; more about the author at her website here. Now, as for the particular crow, known at WSB HQ as “the golden crow” (now spending time further east), she says:
Partially albinistic or leucistic crows — birds with white or light patches of feathers — are somewhat common. In albinism, all pigment is lacking; in leucism, some pigment is lacking (feathers are normally colored with layers of pigment, so if one of the color layers is missing, the feathers will be lighter or differently colored). But a fully leucistic crow like “Leucy,” as my 9-year-old daughter calls it, is quite rare. Notice that even the “bare parts” as they are called — the bill, feet, etc. are also light. Very cool bird.
When the e-mail came in, our eyes insisted on reading “coop” as the word that’s short for cooperative. But no, it’s coop as in chicken coop. They’re legal in the city, and Seattle Tilth is now accepting chicken coops in West Seattle (as well as Georgetown and Beacon Hill) as candidates for their City Chickens Coop Tour. The tour’s on July 12 but the deadline to apply is May 1st; e-mail Seattle Tilth “city chickens coordinator” Angelina Shell,angelinashell@seattletilth.org, if you (and your chickens) are interested.
You usually know him for his party coverage (like WSU and OLG), but correspondent Rock Steele, Man About Town, has a way with wildlife video too, allowing us to call your attention to this irresistible clip he got over the weekend of baby hummingbirds in their Alki-area nest.
(Last night) we saw what looked like a very exotic cat moving rapidly through the backyards and greenbelt slope between Palm Ave SW and Ferry Ave SW in the 1700 block area. It was not so big–probably 10 – 15 pounds, but it had absolutely “african savannah cat” markings much like the larger serval cat that was seen and eventually captured a few months ago near PCC. Beautiful bold spotting on its body and black rings on its tail. I’ve never seen a cat move like this fellow–he/she was up on house roofs, back down to ground and darting around, etc. Never got close enough to get a picture.
We haven’t called animal control but probably will if we see it around again. It seemed highly stressed.
Here’s a map of the area. Here’s the last followup we had on the serval situation Steve mentioned.SUNDAY MORNING UPDATE: The situation is resolved (as per comments below) — the cat, a Savannah, found a way to get into and out of its house while its owners were away, but a friend just verified it’s back inside now – and sent this photo (so you’ll know, if you ever see it):
“West Seattle 101” author Lori Hinton just saw one running down her Upper Fauntleroy street. “Right past a ‘Coyote Warning’ sign,” she adds. (By the way, we will add two more pages tomorrow to our new “West Seattle 101” section featuring selections from Lori’s book – including a spotlight on one of WSB readers’ favorite restaurants – look for the official announcement in the morning.)
Yes, yes, we know, sea LION, really. WSB contributing photojournalist Matt Durham got these companion shots with marine mammal and canines eyeing each other from sea and shore at Lincoln Park. (Prints of Matt’s WSB photos and his other work are available through his site, MattDurhamPhotography.com.)
Above: At Lincoln Park tonight at sunset, WSB contributing photojournalist Matt Durham discovered even adults couldn’t resist a turn on the swing set. (Prints of Matt’s WSB photos and his other work are available through his site, MattDurhamPhotography.com.) Below: Jana Ablin says she dubbed this Beach Drive scene “The Little Mermaid” because of the seal’s position on the rock:
ADDED TUESDAY MORNING: Two more photos that came in late last night, shot at Alki by Mac from Pocketlama Productions:Read More
If you’re a nature geek like us … you might appreciate the thrill. Just back from talking with Judy Pickens along Fauntleroy Creek, and we got to see four of the new baby salmon (mentioned here last weekend) up close and personal. They all line up and swim bravely, relentlessly, in place against the current (something most of us can identify with from time to time). Sorry we didn’t have any photographic equipment in tow that could do it justice, but it’s a great sight to see. Judy says the little fish are just a few weeks old at this point. As mentioned in this update on Fauntleroy.net, a fish biologist will be doing an official survey soon.
Heartening news from Judy Pickens — the worst-case fears about Fauntleroy Creek‘s salmon season apparently are not coming to pass:
We DO have home hatch in Fauntleroy Creek! We had thought that all the eggs from last fall’s spawning surely washed out in the December 3 storm but not so. Several coho fry were sighted March 6 above the fish ladder and more may show up during a thorough survey. The ability of redds to survive the scouring of a major storm is remarkable and truly heartening for the future of salmon in our urban creeks.
If you’ve never been to the Fauntleroy fish ladder, it’s directly east of (and up the slope from) the ferry terminal. Read its history here.
If you’re wondering what the TV live truck is doing at Lincoln Park, channel 4 is following up on our report Monday about the “Coyote Warning” flyers papered throughout the hillside neighborhood over the central part of the park. Haven’t seen their story yet but the reporter told us they found the family who says a coyote snatched their dog. Meantime, we got a coyote-sighting report this morning from Dean, who wrote: “I live on the hill above La Rustica along the Me-Kwa-Mooks greenbelt and about 1 am today i was awakened by a howling coyote nearby. Very cool!” (Reminder, info you should know about coexisting with coyotes is in this WSB report about the recent citywide info meeting.)
Especially for you if you work outside West Seattle and are in that “isn’t it Friday yet?” mode. First photo courtesy of Chas Redmond, taken by cameraphone looking at the Olympics from Anchor/Luna Park along Alki Ave (the clouds are clearing now); the other two, we took after spotting a heron in the trees at Camp Long late yesterday:
Heading up the switchbacks from mid-Lincoln Park to WSB HQ, we spotted these flyers on two utility poles (this one was at Northrop/Southern; map). The bold-face text says “Multiple coyote are living in this forest. Many neighborhood cats are missing. Our small dog was grabbed by a coyote from our patio while I was standing nearby (2/20/08). They are bold, hungry, and crafty. Please beware!” This just a few weeks after a citywide presentation urging calm coexistence with coyotes and other wildlife, with some enlightening info on their preferred food and how to keep them away from your house; read our coverage here.
That photo, and this narrative, just out of the WSB inbox, from Babs:
I had just walked into my front door and looked toward my deck which is 5 stories up with a city view. Two birds fell off the roof to the deck in right in front of my slider door. I looked closer and it was a hawk with a pigeon in his (or her) talons. I grabbed my camera and moved toward the slider – that scared the hawk and he moved allowing his lunch (the pigeon) to escape. Insanity occurred in the sky (crows and pigeons flying everywhere to get away from the unhappy hawk.)
A few minutes later the hawk returned to my deck and I took this picture (not the best but I had just a second) – So guess I’m in trouble with the hawk hood! My cats are indoor girls! Sorry dude! (My building has a lot of pigeons that hang out up here so I assume it’s an “all you can eat Hawk buffet.”)
Thanks to Justin Fallstrom for sending that photo. He writes:
Generally there is not much exciting going on down here in Highland Park; however, this morning, while working outside on the second sunny day in a row, the local murder of crows caught my attention. Apparently crows and bald eagles do not get along very well, however, the fellow in the attached photos did not appear to be too bothered by the very noisy crows. Thought the readers might be interested. The high voltage pole the eagle is perched on is at the intersection of 13th Ave SW and SW Cambridge.
From the multi-agency event in Magnolia last night, there’s practical advice you can put to use right now. And ASAP might be a good time to do it, as we seem to be coming up on a critical time in the coyote calendar:Read More
Besides the Clinton rally tonight at the Pier 30 Event Center (the time is now listed as 8-10 pm in some spots, 8:30 pm in others; we’ve got a message out to the port to find out if parking will be free), here are other events of note on this busy night:
MORGAN COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION QUARTERLY MEETING: As mentioned in the post below, 7 pm, The Kenney. Agenda items include RapidRide.
HIGH POINT PEDESTRIAN SAFETY: Concerned residents meet 6 pm tonight @ High Point Library. Ongoing issues include school-crossing safety (including the intersection featured in our video-enhanced report here).
DUWAMISH VISIONING: Tonight at Youngstown Arts Center, 6-8 pm. One of several events inviting area residents to imagine the future of the Duwamish Valley. (Flyer here.)
CO-EXISTING WITH WILDLIFE: The open house organized after the Discovery Park coyote controversy is happening tonight in Magnolia, Blaine K-8, 6:30-8:30 pm. Suddenly relevant to WSB HQ, as a neighbor stopped us this afternoon to say two coyote pups ran through his yard this morning!
STRESSED OUT? Starting tonight, Tibbetts United Methodist Church will be holding a Taize Service Thursdays at 7 pm in the sanctuary. Tibbetts’ pastor, Rev. Joanne Brown, says, “This is a time to slow down from our usual frantic pace through the use of music, readings, prayers and times of silence and reflection.” (Tibbetts UMC, 3940 41st Ave SW, 932-7777)
ALSO RELAXING: Art reception at the Alki Bathhouse (as mentioned yesterday), 5-8 pm, several artists showing and selling (free Tully’s Coffee, we’re told!).
First: Two notes about art. There’s an artists’ reception and sale this Thursday night at the Alki Bathhouse 5-8 pm; then, next Thursday night (Valentine’s Day), the West Seattle Art Walk in The Junction makes history with a record 20 venues participating. We just received the flyer; check it out here. (Or read more on the official Art Walk blog.)
Now, the beauty of nature. First photo is by Eilene Hutchinson (thank you!), who spotted this bird – believed to be a Cooper’s Hawk – on a wire over Spud’s:
And this is a shot we caught from Constellation Park at sunset tonight:
For those keeping track (we will crunch the sightings onto a map sometime soon): Debra reports two coyotes seen running across the 5200 block of Jacobsen (just uphill from Beach Drive) today; Mary Ellen reported one Sunday morning at Juneau/46th.
You may recall, the city ended the furor over the Discovery Park coyote’s fate the other day by promising a meeting to educate people on co-existing with coyotes (and other urban wildlife). They moved quickly to set a date, time, and place, and even though it’s not in West Seattle, we thought you’d be interested (we plan to cover it, given how much wildlife we’re blessed with in WS, and the questions everyone seems to have so frequently about the appropriate way to deal with it):
Living with Wildlife: Open House – Thursday, Feb. 7, 6:30-8:30 p.m.
In light of the recent developments at Discovery Park regarding coyote encounters with humans, several state and local agencies have joined together to bring you helpful information designed to reduce conflicts with urban wildlife.
Partners at the Open House include:
· Seattle Parks and Recreation
· Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife
· Progressive Animal Welfare Society (PAWS)
· Woodland Park Zoo
· Seattle Animal Shelter
These agencies will be able to:
v answer questions about coyotes, including addressing your concerns
v discuss how to peacefully co-exist with many types of urban wildlife
v instruct you on how to humanely provide care for feral cats
v show you how to make your back yard a wildlife friendly environment
v and much more
Two things, actually. First is that we actually got a coyote PICTURE for the first time after all these coyote reports. Thanks to JF for sending the photo taken this week of his neighborhood’s “resident coyote.” Second thing, the Discovery Park coyote just got a reprieve. According to this article, instead of trapping/killing the coyote, authorities will work on educating the public to co-exist with wildlife.
When 
If you’re a nature geek like us … you might appreciate the thrill. Just back from talking with Judy Pickens along 
If you’re wondering what the TV live truck is doing at Lincoln Park, channel 4 is following up 
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