Hikers warned after owl attack at St. Edward

Thursday, November 2, 2000

By GREG JOHNSTON <mailto:gregjohnston at seattle-pi.com>
SEATTLE POST-INTELLIGENCER REPORTER

Perhaps the approach of Halloween made the birds restless, but an attack by
a great horned owl on a hiker has prompted rangers at St. Edward State Park
near Kenmore to advise against using trails there at dawn and dusk.

A woman was hiking the park's South Canyon Trail last month when the owl
swooped down on her, talons out.

"It was a traumatizing situation for the woman, who kind of froze," said
ranger Heather Dennis. "She suffered 15 puncture wounds and did go to a
hospital for a tetanus shot."

Department of Fish and Wildlife biologists are not sure why the owl
attacked, Dennis said. It is not the season for nesting or mating, when the
birds can be aggressive.

The biologists said great horned owls are migratory and the bird will likely
leave the area with the approach of winter. Dennis said barred owls live in
the park year-round.

St. Edward, the site of a former Catholic seminary, is now a gorgeous state
park of sprawling lawns and dense forest, with eight miles of trails and
more than 3,000 feet of shoreline on Lake Washington. At 316 acres, it is
the largest remaining undeveloped area on the lake.

It is located off Juanita Drive Northeast between Kirkland and Kenmore.