West Seattle wildlife: Look who showed up for dinner

November 24, 2011 at 11:02 am | In West Seattle news, Wildlife | 27 Comments

(Click to see larger image)
One of the MANY things we have been thankful for every moment of every day (and night), in the course of four years of running WSB as a community-collaborative news service, is the fact that people share wonderful photos like this one from Mark Campbell, who wrote, “We spotted what we think is a snowy owl that was perched on a home at the corner of Stevens and 52nd.” He says it flew away just before 9:30 am. Various online photos seem to confirm the ID, and our area does appear to be in its winter range. (P.S. Speaking of snow – on Thanksgiving LAST year, we still had some on the ground!)

27 Comments

  1. Wonderful! Native resident.

    Comment by DF — 11:17 am November 24, 2011 #

  2. Wow – Beautiful!

    Comment by enviromaven — 11:47 am November 24, 2011 #

  3. We saw him this morning 40th and Bradford and tried to grab this exact shot! Missed him as he was being chased by crows. Beautiful!

    Comment by Watertowerjoey — 11:48 am November 24, 2011 #

  4. I hope he stops by our house to say hello so beautiful!

    Comment by Kim — 11:50 am November 24, 2011 #

  5. Wow that’s a cool capture! Thank you for sharing. There could actually be more than one snowy hanging around. One year, on a cloudless, clear night here in WS, I saw five snowys (I think) in flight together lit up by moonlight. It was an unforgettable bird sighting!

    Comment by Happy Thanksgiving — 12:00 pm November 24, 2011 #

  6. Lol,he knows he’s not a turkey.He feels safe being in public.

    Comment by Alki Resident — 12:00 pm November 24, 2011 #

  7. What a beauty!

    Comment by Kim in Genessee Hill — 12:21 pm November 24, 2011 #

  8. Hedwig!

    Comment by Andrew — 1:15 pm November 24, 2011 #

  9. This is REALLY exciting news! I had heard they might be more widespread than usual this year, but hadn’t anticipated one in West Seattle! I’ve never seen one…I might have to brave the storm to go see if I can find him.

    For those who do see him – keep posting his location!

    Comment by Trileigh — 1:41 pm November 24, 2011 #

  10. So beautiful! Thanks for sharing!

    Comment by 35this35mph — 2:26 pm November 24, 2011 #

  11. Can you put an owl box out? Maybe he’ll have a owl family! :)

    Comment by AM — 3:10 pm November 24, 2011 #

  12. What a gift! Beautiful photo Mark, thanks for sharing.

    Comment by seewhatsealionsstart — 3:13 pm November 24, 2011 #

  13. very cool picture :)Thanks for sharing it!

    Comment by Amy Kramer Hawks — 3:19 pm November 24, 2011 #

  14. Harry Potter must be in the neighborhood …

    Comment by Dave — 5:58 pm November 24, 2011 #

  15. Awesome!

    Comment by LatteRose — 8:09 pm November 24, 2011 #

  16. I just love the wildlife pictures that get posted here on the WSB. Thank you!

    Comment by MMB — 8:39 pm November 24, 2011 #

  17. That. Is. Awesome!

    Comment by Jasperblu — 9:32 pm November 24, 2011 #

  18. How rare is the Snowy Owl?

    It is truely beautiful.

    Thank you.

    Comment by Joan Bateman — 10:14 pm November 24, 2011 #

  19. 6 years ago this weekend one of these Amazing Snowy Owls sat in our front yard Fir trees for about 3 hours. Stunningly Beautiful. My neighbor had a scope we were able to see so close. wow. They’re back in West Seattle! Yay – birdwatching

    Comment by jens — 11:42 pm November 24, 2011 #

  20. Jens – yup, it was probably about six years ago I saw the magical flock of night owls. (see my earlier post).

    Joan Bateman – Here is a link to Seattle Audubon info on frequency of Washington sightings of snowys: http://bit.ly/vA4Dt3

    A female snowy gave birth this past spring in the Northern Trail (?) Exhibit at the zoo. Neato! If peeps are interested in learning more about “Birding”, a great place to begin the adventure is the December 31 Audobon Christmas Bird Count. The Seattle Audobon organizes it; counting groups are led by experienced birders who encourage and welcome beginners. A fun way to get a sense of what is flying around here in West Seattle with people who know what they are talking about. There are counters all over the city that day and it is always fascinating to hear the results of their efforts – well, if you are a birder it is! :)

    Comment by happy thanksgiving — 1:14 am November 25, 2011 #

  21. !!!!!!!

    Snowy owls have been reported on Dungeness Spit, in Stanwood, and even in Renton over the last few weeks but it’s not normal for them to be so far south. PLEASE share if you see one in West Seattle again. -Mary

    Comment by Mary — 12:23 pm November 25, 2011 #

  22. How exciting to see this one! Thanks for sharing.
    http://identify.whatbird.com/obj/11/overview/Snowy_Owl.aspx

    Comment by JoAnne — 2:23 pm November 25, 2011 #

  23. Yes, by all means build an owl box! My Western Screech Owl has been making daily appearances for some time now. Fascinating.

    Comment by Melanie — 4:10 pm November 25, 2011 #

  24. Joan, yes, thanks so much for the info. I hope I can get off work to join the birdwatchers.

    I live in Seaview area WS above Beach Drive.
    Melanie -Thanks for sharing your owl story too!

    I am a crow family lover. I love all birds, But my crows are family. Hard to balance…wonder & awesome nature. When you see the crows & all birds flocking, squacking & circling – Snowys are near.

    Comment by jens — 11:01 pm November 25, 2011 #

  25. This is a female snowy owl.

    Comment by brittany wood — 10:46 pm November 26, 2011 #

  26. Brittany, could you tell us how to identify the owl’s gender? Who knows, maybe we’ll see both!

    Comment by Trileigh — 12:12 pm November 27, 2011 #

  27. Lots of area sightings this year but I never expected one in West Sea!! Fantastic!! I’m on hyper-alert for them now.
    .
    While owl boxes are a great idea for other species, snowy owls don’t breed in cavities or anywhere near here – they nest in the very far north, on tundra, above treeline.
    .
    Trileigh – Females tend to have more mottling but males can have it too. I wouldn’t make a call on this one based on that, but maybe the poster knows better than I do.

    Comment by Amalia — 12:09 pm November 28, 2011 #

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