Owl Attack on California Way SW

[pappy88]

Might be old news now or that everyone is used to it… I saw the old posts from 2011 but I’ve only been in West Seattle for a year. But I was swooped twice by an owl Friday morning on my run down the hill on California Way SW. It was about a third of the way up the hill from the bottom.

The owl flew to about a foot over my head (I felt the wind from his wings!) and then he flew back to his tree. I was scared but curious so I shined my light at him to get a good look. Beautiful creature. I moved again and he swooped at me again, and this time I had to put my hands up over my head to make sure he didn’t get my face. I had a head lamp on and looked up at him as he turned mid-air right above my head. Felt like we stared at each other but it was only a fraction of a second. Luckily he pulled back before there was any contact. I quickly decided to make my way up the hill. I didn’t want to push my luck, or disturb the creature any more.

Might be good to take warning that the owl is active. Sounds like (from other reports) that they get very defensive for several weeks while finding a new nesting spot or if there are new eggs or babies in the nest.

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[Jeannie]

Sounds like you care a lot about animals – that reflects well on you. That’s quite a close encounter! But, yep, moms and dads – human and avian alike – do their best to protect their babies.

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[2 Much Whine]

When you say “down the hill” do you mean Admiral district (down the hill toward Alki) or Morgan district (down the hill toward Cafe Ladro)?

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