West Seattle wildlife updates: Delridge coyote; birdwatch win

First, a coyote sighting this morning at 21st & Andover (map), from Emily (thank you!):

9:05 this morning as I was driving to work there was a big beautiful coyote on the sidewalk. I stopped my car and it stopped and looked at me for a full minute. It looked really healthy and was as big as a large dog but with a fox shaped tail and a skinny jaw. It ducked down into the very small woodsy area by SW Charlestown. I drove around the block and put my cat inside for the day. I’ve heard they were here but I didn’t realize they were 1 bk from my house.

Now, the birdwatching win. Imagine seeing 79 different bird species in your yard! We can recall maybe 10 … such as the Northern Flicker and Steller’s Jay:

northernflicker.jpgstellersjay.jpg

Those photos are courtesy of Ed Newbold, who coordinates the YardBirdRace around Western Washington. He sent word (from his YardBirdRace breaking news page) that the Seattle Residential category of the 4th annual YardBirdRace had West Seattle winners:

Jim Flynn and Marissa Benevente appear to be testing the upper limits of what it’s possible to see from a residential Seattle yard as they ended up with 79, five ahead of the record in Seattle overall and Seattle residential, both of which they set last year. Common Nighthawk and Western Screech-Owl are two of the birds that helped them get there. This is the second year West Seattle & Flynn/Benevente have led in Seattle residential and Seattle overall.

You can find out more about the YardBirdRace here.

4 Replies to "West Seattle wildlife updates: Delridge coyote; birdwatch win"

  • Eden January 17, 2008 (8:55 pm)

    Yay Jim and Marissa! You guys rock!

  • Mary T January 18, 2008 (9:06 am)

    So cool! We just moved to the neighborhood; we were living by Lake Washington near Renton before. We used to see eagles and herons from our yard, which is pretty darn exciting for kid from Ohio. No eagles yet, but I admit I much prefer West Seattle already!

  • Bob Loblaw January 18, 2008 (4:07 pm)

    Is it pathetic that this is blog-worthy? Or that I feel compelled enough to comment (which obviously shows that I actually read it)? I’ll await Jan’s verdict …

  • JumboJim January 18, 2008 (6:01 pm)

    Heya Bob,

    That part of the post about spotting 79 bird species from our yard is about my partner Marissa and I. As 1/2 of the duo who spent twelve months doing what we love (spotting birds, aka ‘wildlife’) we don’t feel the need to have it vindicated by others – that’s not why we do it.

    But to have a little recognition is fun. To have people post that it’s “pathetic” to see it on the blog is sad. Too bad for you Bob that you feel the need to piss on other people’s parade. That’s *my* verdict. Yeah, I’m a little thin-skinned, but so be it.

Sorry, comment time is over.