Proof all those otter sightings aren’t the same one! Kim O’Donnel shared that shot from west Alki this afternoon. Thanks to her and others who have shared photos/video, we’ve seen Alki’s river otters – previously, one at a time – in a variety of utterly photogenic activities, such as rolling on the sand (May 14), catching a bite of lunch (June 17), the sidewalk otter (June 17), and the condo otter just yesterday. And now – a trio. Please be careful when driving along Alki and other near-the-water roads (Beach Drive, even Fauntleroy in the Lincoln Park/ferry terminal area) – there just might be one crossing ahead of you.

(April 2008 WSB photo – the only coyote we’ve ever seen near our Upper Fauntleroy HQ)
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor

When we first reported two nights ago about an apparent federal coyote hunter/trapper appearing in the south West Seattle neighborhood of Seola Beach, after coyotes attacked pet dogs this spring, we promised a followup.

We’ve made a lot of phone calls. We’ve noticed others picking up this story and turning it into something different.

The story here isn’t the fact coyotes are in a West Seattle neighborhood. As you know if you’ve been here more than a few years, they’re in just about every neighborhood here – and elsewhere in the city, and many other cities in the country.

The story remains the revelation that you can hire a federal agency – the U.S. Department of Agriculture‘s Wildlife Services division – to come in and kill coyotes in your neighborhood. This may not be new, but it’s little-reported, so far as we have found through multiple exhaustive online-archive searches.

If you missed our previous story – a man we have since confirmed is indeed a Wildlife Services agent turned up in Seola Beach on Sunday night. Neighbor Garry e-mailed us about it, saying the man was asking about coyote sightings and saying he was from the federal government and, Garry went on, out to “find/hunt and probably dispose of at least one, perhaps two, coyotes that have been getting too close to humans.”

Some key information following Monday night’s story has come from commenters – especially Beth‘s reminder that she e-mailed us about the reported dog attacks two months ago. She also shared the letter that was being circulated in her neighborhood. We found it, unopened, in our e-mail archives; Beth had written at the time that her neighbor said it was OK for us to share. It read:

Most of you already know about the aggressive coyote problem that we are having. A couple of weeks ago your neighbor took her dog outside in front of her house at 11 pm for the last evening’s potty break and 2 coyotes attacked and killed the dog in front of her. This week another dog was attacked and killed while on a leash walking in the evening.

What you may not know, and what I did not know, is that no one is really responsible for controlling coyotes–even if they attack a human. The police will come if you call 911 during an immediate attack.

The US dept of agriculture and wildlife regional office in Mill Creek recommends we hire a government trapper/hunter for a fee of $1200. The trapper that specializes in West Seattle is Aaron Stevens, (phone # omitted). Aaron says that other communities have formed a co-op to fund the USDA coyote hunters.

This is what Aaron has informed me: Once the individual coyotes have learned humans are no threat, they become more and more bold/aggressive/frequent in their attacks. Our 2 coyotes probably have a litter of pups nearby that they are feeding and producing milk for; they will teach their young that humans are nothing to fear. They can attack anything under 25 lbs, including a child. He will hunt these two aggressive coyotes and remove them. Other coyotes may move into their place but will behave as normal fearful community coyotes, like we have always had. This is how he will manage the population. Once he is paid, he will continue to track the population as he gets reports from us, police, neighbors and nearby individuals.

Aaron is the name recalled by Seola Beach resident Garry, whose note to us on Sunday night is what led to our first story. While we didn’t have a name to check during our first conversation with Wildlife Services on Monday, we did when we called back this afternoon, and they confirmed that’s one of their agents.

Here’s what else we found out – not just from the federal agency, but also from the city:Read More

We’ve seen a lot in the past of Lincoln Park’s owls – tonight, two of Fauntleroy Park’s owls:

Thanks to Gary Pro and Luli Weatherwax, who live by Fauntleroy Park, for sharing that photo of a baby owl, spotted sitting on their backyard bench this morning.

Meantime, Fauntleroy Park steward Steven Hodson forwarded this photo:

It’s by Kristian Nilssen, who’s not only a photographer and park volunteer, but also goalkeeper on this year’s high-achieving Chief Sealth International High School soccer team.

(1st three photos by WSB’s Patrick Sand)
One event that did NOT get rained out today – the Alki Bathhouse celebration of the 10th anniversary of Springer the orca’s family reunion, hosted by West Seattle-headquartered The Whale Trail. Above, a Springer likeness at the kids’ activities table; attendees of all ages listened to memories of what it took to get Springer safely home to her family in Canada, after she was found hundreds of miles away in Puget Sound:

As recounted on The Whale Trail’s website, “Two governments and hundreds of people worked together to get the little whale home. But the final step was up to the orcas – Would her family recognize her? Would they accept her back?” They did – and that is why the achievement, and Springer’s ongoing life with her family, is cause to celebrate:

Springer is a northern resident orca, belonging to a group separate from her Puget Sound cousins, southern resident orcas. The northern residents are believed to number more than 200, more than twice the size of the southern residents, which are officially listed as endangered. Groups like The Whale Trail are working to educate people about how to help them survive; that’s why, as part of today’s event, TWT dedicated new signage you’ll find in West Seattle – placed along the shore, where you can watch whales in a way that impacts them the least:

The Whale Trail provided that photo, noting that, “George Taylor, sons and members of the Le-La-La First Nations dance company performed a killer whale mask dance and other traditional ‘Kwakwakakw dances. Members of the group from a canoe in Dong Chong Bay greeted Springer with the same mask when she returned home 10 years ago.”

ADDED 11:55 PM: Thanks to Alki photographer David Hutchinson for this view of the mask as the dancers performed inside the bathhouse:

P.S. If you weren’t here and/or don’t remember the coverage of the rescue and reunion – there’s some archive video in this recent story by Canada’s CTV that’s viewable via YouTube.

Noting Seattle Times (WSB partner) coverage of an eagle family elsewhere in the city, West Seattle photographer Gary Jones checked in on Lincoln Park’s own bald-eagle family this week – that’s Mom and Dad “making a bunch of noise in a tree not far from the nest,” he notes, while back in the nest …

No official count, but eagles certainly seem more numerous in our area this year – at least we’ve seen them a lot more often than years past!

(Springer, photographed in 2002 by West Seattle-based researcher Mark Sears)
It was a wildlife drama with a happy ending, and much of it played out just outside West Seattle waters, in 2002. Now the 10th anniversary of the rescue of Springer the orphan orca will include a celebration on Alki, led by West Seattle-based advocacy/education group The Whale Trail. Read on for details!Read More

Tom Wyrick from Alki Arts caught those jumping silver fish on cameraphone video this evening and is wondering what they are. We have googled like crazy (and checked WSB archives) and we don’t know either. Do you?

Over the past few years, we’ve brought you Guy Smith‘s updates on the saga of the Joy D. Smith Wildlife Raft, named after his wife and (usually) floating within view of their Alki home. The latest chapter a month ago involved the raft getting away, and being rescued with the help of a cast including even Husky Deli proprietor Jack Miller, via boat (photo included in our report). Today, Guy sends word that the raft is afloat again – with something extra (see the left side of the photo above):

As of Mother’s Day, Joy’s raft is out of dry dock and back on its buoy and rebuilt anchor line off Alki Pt. The time in dry dock gave the opportunity to add a modification that might prove useful. Last fall we noticed a seal pup trying for a long time to get on the raft, but it was just too weak and gave up. So in case that happens again, the raft now has a swim step. Could a small pool slide be next?

Maybe the sand-rolling Alki otter will be interested …

Thanks to Russ Walker for video and photos of a river otter that’s spending a lot of time out of the water at Alki – bet you haven’t seen one take a “sand bath.” (Well, WE haven’t.) Russ notes that the otter’s been crossing Alki Avenue SW, “right around the blue bottle house” – no pic of that, but here’s a pose on the beach:

And yes, what you see in West Seattle are river otters, NOT sea otters like the ones at the Seattle Aquarium. Find out all sorts of fascinating river-otter facts here.

Yes, we count bees (and other insects/etc.) as wildlife too. So here’s an unusual sight, shared by Ute Herzel-Harding, whose block (3600 block of 46th SW, Genesee area) has drawn five honeybee swarms in three days – including the one shown above, with the honeybees almost appearing to be part of the hanging planter, which is what inspired Ute to share the photos (thanks!). Ute’s husband Mike Harding is a beekeeper and gathered them up for a new home:

The planter swarm turned up on Friday. Then on Saturday, another swarm on what Ute says otherwise was “a rather flimsy ash-tree branch”:

Here’s Mike:

(If you find a bee swarm, the Puget Sound Beekeepers Association website usually displays a list of who to call – we’ve tried it in multiple browsers and it’s not displaying for us – perhaps a bee-savvy WSB’er knows what’s up?)