WEST SEATTLE BIRDS: Not another turkey, but close … maybe

| West Seattle news | Wildlife

FRIDAY AFTERNOON: First, a post in the WSB Community Forums noted a bird sighting believed to be a grouse – a bird that’s in the same family as turkeys. Then today, we received the photo above from Lisa, after a backyard visit near 35th/Andover. Our favorite source for bird ID’ing, Seattle Audubon BirdWeb, lists six species of grouse in the region. We can’t narrow it down. Can you? As Lisa observed, “It certainly wasn’t a normal thing in the neighborhood.”

FRIDAY NIGHT: Commenters’ consensus seems to be ring-necked pheasant.

CC November 12, 2021 (2:15 pm)

Female ring neck pheasant?

Jen November 12, 2021 (2:21 pm)

Looks similar to a female ring neck pheasant.

Your thoughts.1 November 12, 2021 (4:04 pm)

CC & JEN, I think you are correct, that’s what it looks like.

Ceallaigh November 12, 2021 (2:55 pm)

Probably blown in with the wind.

TooRiel November 12, 2021 (5:19 pm)

Good answer, my friend

Geomatic November 12, 2021 (3:49 pm)

I agree that it’s a female ringed neck pheasant… the length of the tail is much longer than that of a grouse plus the white disc (?) around the eye.

Edina November 12, 2021 (4:01 pm)

CC & Jen are correct. My bird book has a photo of the female ring-necked.

Your thoughts.1 November 12, 2021 (4:08 pm)

On another note…has anyone else have a lot of birds fly into your windows lately, we’ve had so many and thankfully they haven’t hurt themselves except for today? :>( I’m thinking its because its so dark, gloomy and windy???

KM November 12, 2021 (9:21 pm)

Not recently but we’ve made some adjustments when we started having trouble with our new windows and the reflections they give off. If you look on then Audubon Society pages and elsewhere, there are some great suggestions for decals, films, etc. Also, PAWS has some steps on what to do when a bird hits your window. Always very sad when it happens!
- ptankel November 13, 2021 (9:04 am)
  
  I expect the rain and wind disrupted the birds regular flight patterns. The gray and gloom are probably not the factor since it is often the reflection off the glass that causes the problem. We all need to understand that birds don’t perceive glass. They see the reflection of a tree or an interior house plant as something to avoid and will then fly into the glass. When we here a thump and the bird flies away it most often finds another place to die. Many studies show that as many as a billion birds a year die in the US from striking glass. There are many approaches to mitigating birds striking glass, some more effective than others. Seattle Audubon and PAWS are good resources but suggest you go to the American Bird Conservancy site abc.org/glass-collisions/

nerd bird November 12, 2021 (4:10 pm)

definitely a female ring necked pheasant. introduced and established in the US, known to visit feeders, but also an aviculture bird released for hunting.

wscommuter November 12, 2021 (5:45 pm)

You just cut your stuffing recipe in half.

Dave B November 13, 2021 (12:05 am)

I just about ran over this poor critter as he/she/they dashed into the street around 35th/Andover about 8 this morning. Wondered what the heck it was. Thanks for the info

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