West Seattle, Washington
04 Tuesday
Just yesterday, we mentioned that unusually colored crow – “leucistic” is the term – in our story about Gatewood author Lyanda Lynn Haupt‘s new book (from which she is reading at Elliott Bay Books, 7:30 tonight). This morning, on our way out to cover a story, we saw one of our neighbors here in the Gatewood/Upper Fauntleroy area where “Leucy” has hung out for years – and she told us she found “Leucy,” aka the “brown crow,” dead in Wednesday’s historic heat. No sign of blood or injury – just dead. Neighbor Jane thinks “Leucy” was female, and had noticed her “showing off her babies” this past season. No way to tell how old “Leucy” was; Lyanda told us crows can live longer than a decade in optimum conditions.
Full story on this coming up later but wanted to post a quick alert now. We were just out covering three men digging clams up along Beach Drive, which is (a) illegal and (b) dangerous – the beaches are closed to shellfish harvesting for health reasons, explained here (and most of it wouldn’t be open anyway – either parkland or private property). Confronted by a local wildlife advocate, they claimed it was for personal use, claimed they had no idea about the health risks etc., and returned the 100-plus clams to the beach. But in case they just packed up and moved somewhere else, be on the lookout – copper/gold Suburban-type SUV with plate starting with 861, blue and white cooler. More later!
By Tracy Record
West Seattle Blog editor
It’s a book about your back yard. And your front yard. And the greenbelt down the street.
And though Gatewood author Lyanda Lynn Haupt‘s new book — from which she will read at Elliott Bay Books tomorrow night — is titled “Crow Planet,” it’s not just about crows.
Coyotes are in there too, she says, as are many of the other wild things who are mixing it up with us mere humans, in West Seattle and elsewhere.
Chatting with Lyanda in the garden behind the 1920s-vintage home she shares with her husband and daughter, you might spot some of the wildness – a hummingbird hovering over a hedge, pondering whether to investigate the small bouquet of salvia that the author placed in a glass as a sort of feeder. (She wrote about the makeshift feeder last weekend on her website “The Tangled Nest: Cultivating an Urban-Earthen Household.”) Or you might hear her stories, like the one about the raccoon that woke her up during a backyard family campout:
(photo taken at EC Hughes wading pool today just before it opened at noon)
As promised by the Parks Department, E.C. Hughes wading pool (29th/Holden; map) opened today – that’s the last of the West Seattle wading pools to open this year, on a staggered schedule because of federally mandated drain-safety work. (The department says Highland Park will not open this year at all, one of more than a dozen wading pools citywide staying closed.) Delridge, Hiawatha and Lincoln Park wading pools already are open; their respective hours are listed here. If you’re too big for a wading pool, your other municipal swimming options are Southwest Pool (indoors) and Colman Pool (outdoors) – several private facilities offer pools to their members, such as the West Seattle Family YMCA (WSB sponsor). Humans aren’t the only ones who can get some relief in the water – Trileigh sends this photo with a reminder to have water out for the birds:
She notes:
… our little avian friends have a tough time in this hot weather! If folks have a birdbath, please keep water in it — it helps the little guys to have cool water to drink and splash in. Yesterday there were chickadees in and out of my birdbath all day long.
Even if you don’t have a birdbath, you can put out a pie plate or other broad container with water for them. The squirrels will appreciate it too. We all need to help each other out during this heat wave!
(added) Trileigh also notes that “birdbaths (formal or informal) should be pretty shallow and not slippery, so that the birds can stand and drink or bathe. You can always put a rock in it if it’s made of something slippery, like glazed ceramic for instance.” We’re working on yet more heat-beating info, including West Seattle places where you’ll find A/C – we were just over at Stor-More (WSB sponsors) and if you have occasion to drop by and chat with them about storage/mail services, they have a very nicely air-conditioned lobby (SW Yancy just east of Avalon Way) – more suggestions welcome!
The original photo of this (apparent) marmot, as identified by WSB’ers after the sighting was shared June 19th by Jennifer from a neighborhood near The Junction, was so memorable that somebody even turned it into a LOLcritter (as noted recently in the WSB Forums). She e-mailed again this morning with this new photo and words of thanks:
It was fun reading all the comments and learning what he is. Here he is again–taken this morning in about the same spot. We’ve seen him a handful of times now. He lives in our laurel hedge.
Thanks to Jim Biava for sharing that photo. We’re not sure if it’s either grown-up Wollet or one of her/his parents (see previous coverage of the Lincoln Park owl family here), but it’s a great photo no matter what. (If you missed earlier discussions – these are barred owls – more info here, from Seattle Audubon.)
Dan Lake came by to say hi during West Seattle Summer Fest last weekend and subsequently sent us that photo from an eagle sighting in South Alki. Meantime, one of the intrepid Lincoln Park barred-owlet watchers, Trileigh, sent us new photos of “Wollet” on Independence Day and we just realized we didn’t run them – this one is particularly eye-catching, as the owlet squawked for a parent to bring breakfast:
Previous Wollet photos can be seen here (May 23), here (May 27), here (May 31), here (June 14), here (June 16) and here (June 24).
(Photo courtesy Robin Lindsey)
We ran that photo a week ago with the announcement of Seal Sitters‘ first volunteer-training session of the season – and now that the meeting’s a few hours away, hard to resist running it again. Alki UCC, tonight at 7. Puget Sound’s baby seals need YOU to protect them when they’re on the beach taking a break while their moms are off finding food. Read more about them at sealsitters.org.
And to think it started with a WSBer’s photo. Here’s the WSB Forums thread.
(photo added 2:20 pm – note, they’re still early in the set-up phase)
Two quick notes re: e-mail we just received – First, Steve wrote to ask why video-game machines are being moved into the space that’s been open since Capers consolidated. Answer: West Seattle Summer Fest! Blinky’s Time Warp Video Arcade will occupy that space during the festival (Friday-Saturday-Sunday – read about it here). Second, a coyote alert – Michael just saw one on Genesee Hill near the now-closed school: “Bold as brass, trotting slowly up our driveway … sorry I was too slow to get a pic. Small pet warning!!” (All WSB coyote reports – some with pix and/or video – are archived here, newest to oldest.) ADDED EARLY THURSDAY: Going through e-mail from the incredibly busy holiday weekend, we realize that last Friday night we failed to add this (suspected) coyote report:
At 3:00 AM on July 3, a probable coyote (according to Animal Control, who said it was definitely not a raccoon) killed an orange cat between Walker and Hill on 48th AVE SW.
(Photo courtesy Robin Lindsey)
It’s that time of year again: The local volunteer group Seal Sitters is ready to train new volunteers to help keep watch when seal pups come out of the water and start turning up on local shores. The Seal Sitters’ first volunteer training session is one week from tonight at Alki UCC – read on for the full official announcement:Read More
(photo added 7:27 pm, courtesy of Jade)
So says KING5.com, with the photo to prove it. The report says it’s believed to be a Humboldt Squid; this info says those squid used to range further south. ADDED 5:21 PM: Here’s a larger photo from the KOMO website. ADDED 7:27 PM: Thanks to Jade for sending the photo added above – she took it while waiting for the Water Taxi on Friday, apparently after a state crew took the squid away.
Alki photographer Pete Rowen sent photos of our majestic national emblem, seen not only on the near-eve of our national celebration, but with a double shot of symbolism since July 20th is coming up. He writes “… the moon shot took me forever to line up; the upper eagle’s beak is pointing to the location on the moon where the Eagle landed, 40 years ago this month.”
Thanks to everyone who shares photos and info – editor@westseattleblog.com (or if you have a news tip or question to call about, 206-293-6302) any time!
First coyote report in a while – Robert writes:
I took this shot of a brave coyote in my driveway, abutting the south side of Schmitz Park, this afternoon about 12:30 PM. He sure seemed confident while making his way to my trash can, as if he was on his way to belly up to his buffet line. Owners of small dogs and cats might want to take notice.
Our previously received coyote reports (some including photos/video) are all archived here, newest to oldest. Not sure what to do to coexist peacefully with them (as advocated by authorities)? Here’s a story we did last year.
Recognize that bird? That’s “Wollet,” the Lincoln Park-dwelling baby barred owl we first met here in photos shared by Kim and Jordan Petram; other photographers have since provided updates, including Trileigh, who shot these two (and has more on Flickr). But even as Wollet starts looking more grownup from one angle, Trileigh points out, from another, the owlet is still a “fluffball”:
Out of the WSB inbox, from LJ, who’s seeking suggestions about a problem she’s noticing three months after the big recycling changes:
I am wondering if any other residents are experiencing an increase in rodent and wildlife issues that appear to be related to food scraps now being placed in yard debris recycling containers. In the past I would see the occasional rat at night and crows will be crows, but as I feared, I have had a huge increase in rat sightings at night in my yard and a huge increase in crow issues. I am convinced this is related to the food scraps in the recycling. I am constantly finding food scraps dropped in my yard by the crows which in turn attracts the rats if it is not picked up immediately. I even had a crow fight to the death in my front yard over food scraps. The crow that was killed died in a large fountain in my front yard, when I tried to remove it I was attacked by the other crows and had to call Animal Control to remove it. I am sorry but this creeps me out. I am all for more recycling but not at risk of disease and pestilence because the containers are not crow-proof and people are uneducated about how to maybe guard against this with the containers that we are issued. Thoughts, suggestions????
Jennifer e-mailed that photo within the past hour with this note:
I just looked out my front window and saw this guy. Any idea what he is? I live in the Alaska Junction.
We had a few guesses but after checking online imagery, can’t reach a conclusion, so hopefully the many expert wildlife-watchers in WSB-land can. Seems a little far from the creeks to be a beaver. Wandering river otter, perhaps, heading quite far uphill from the water? Co-publisher’s vote is for “woodchuck” (groundhog) but we haven’t found evidence yet that they live in this area. 1:53 PM UPDATE: Comment consensus so far – a marmot.
More photos tonight courtesy of Trileigh (you can see additional pix here) – who says:
The owlet seems extraordinarily fluffy these days. He must be getting a pretty good education in crow management, given the amount of time his parent spends dealing with those paparazzi!
That’s “Wollet” the barred owlet above (my, how Wollet has grown! remember this, three weeks ago?) – and one of the watchful grownups here:
Thanks to Minette for sending new photos of the Lincoln Park barred owlet and its family (previously featured May 23, May 27, May 31), along with the story of what was happening while she observed them (including this watchful adult):
Minette wrote:
Last night I went to visit the owl family in Lincoln Park and I’m happy to report that as of yesterday they’re all alive and doing well, including little Wollet.
While I was observing them, the crows were of course going crazy cawing at them and dive-bombing the family, but the owls didn’t seem overly concerned. The male and female spent a good deal of time together grooming each other while little Wollet sat on a branch in a tree about 40 feet away making his funny little screechy “feed me” sounds. At one point he made a very good, controlled flight to a tree that was nearer the adults, so his skills are definitely improving.
If you missed the link in a previous report – here’s Seattle Audubon info about barred owls.
Thanks to JayDee for sharing that photo of tonight’s sunset. We saw the amazing color after leaving the Pigeon Point Neighborhood Council meeting (report to come) and wondered “where’s the fire” … JayDee’s note said “BC”; we found this link (where’s that, you ask? here’s a map). Also out of the inbox, thanks to David Hutchinson for sharing a new photo of the Canada geese he’s been chronicling this spring:
David writes:
The large family of Canada Goose goslings that have either entertained or irritated those using the strip of parks from Salty’s to Don Armeni, have made their inaugural journey from the western shores of Elliott Bay to the larger world of Puget Sound along Beach Drive. They have returned to Elliott Bay a number of times since then. At the age of just over 2 months, they still are unable to fly, so they make these trips by water. It’s getting increasingly difficult to tell the 19 young adults from the 4 adult geese that have been watching over them. Their favorite spot seems to be the fresh water source that enters the Sound at 63rd Ave SW and Beach Drive SW.
Here’s what we posted a month ago, with April and May photos.
A grand vision to mark 15 key whale-watching spots on our state’s inland and seacoast shores — The Whale Trail — is coming closer to reality. At one spot set for a marker, Alki, a who’s-who of marine mammal/ecology advocates gathered last night for an open house to show off the plan, including Whale Trail director Donna Sandstrom (seated in the photo below) and Kathy Fletcher from People for Puget Sound:
Sandstrom said orca extinction “will not happen on our watch … it’s not too late.” Fletcher said awareness-raising efforts like The Whale Trail are “part of the overall effort to restore Puget Sound … as an ecosystem.” She also urged people not to be fooled by the Sound’s “extraordinary beauty” — “Puget Sound is in trouble,” all the way down the food chain, which is topped by the orcas.
One of their major sources of food is salmon – Mark Sears, longtime researcher as well as resident operator of West Seattle’s Colman Pool, discussed what’s being learned about the specific salmon they prefer, and why it matters:
The importance of protecting local waterways was hammered home by Duwamish Tribe chair Cecile Hansen, who also digressed into mentioning the status of her tribe’s bid for restoration of its short-lived federal recognition:
The unifying message: It takes not just a village, but a region, to protect its whales. Sandstrom suggested “a clear vision for everyone in the room, that by 2020, we have a thriving orca population here in Puget Sound – The Whale Trail is one way we’re going to do that.” It’s not just a private effort: A state Fish and Wildlife Department rep was there, showing off the designs for new wildlife maps you’ll be able to get starting next month, and also talking with us about the WildWatch Cams (check it out – coolest link we got all weekend). So how can you help The Whale Trail get all 15 markers up by 2013 as hoped? Sandstrom mentioned a $14K state grant has just come in, but it’s matching funds, so they need contributions (including volunteer help). Contact info is on their website, which she told us will have a “donate” link soon too.
Quick break between news stories – more in the works, but first we wanted to share that photo e-mailed by Kristina with this explanation:
My dogs and I were walking on the green area off of Bonair and we came upon a possum playing dead. It’s North America’s only marsupial! After we gave it some space it perked up and sauntered off into the trees.
Everything you could ever possibly want to know about opossums – including what “playing possum” is all about and how they got to our area in the first place – is on this helpful state-created webpage.
Well, that’s all we could think of for a headline, given that Beach Drive Blog already took “Tern, Tern, Tern” (here’s the soundtrack). Great pix on BDB: Terns over West Seattle waters.
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