Subject: [Tweeters] Discovery Park Snowy Owl Friday
Date: Dec 17 14:20:22 2005
From: Kevin Li - kdli at msn.com


Late Friday morning I came across the snowy owl at one of its favorite
perches, the pile of wood near the south entrance, east of the chapel. The
owl was very oblivious as it sat facing the sun, eyes often closed but with
its head turned NE. A guy with a bright yellow jacket and a camera was
clambering right on the wood, trying to get a picture from about 15 feet
away. Another photographer was about 60 feet away, and a small crowd of
observers was still further back. The owl remained oblivious, but I was
still annoyed, feeling that this close-up photographer was setting a bad
example, and was also risking flushing the owl as a large group was watching
in this popular city park. Eventually I called out to him, asking if he was
close enough. He seemed to get my sarcasm, and slowly retreated and left.

Later in the day I returned at dusk, hoping to find the owl in a more active
state. Having seen it hunting once in the SW meadow, I headed for the trail
that leads to the flag pole. I found no owl, just three or more dogs happily
running off leash all over the meadow as their owners walked along. It was
frustrating, but I walked the area further until it was too dark to see
much. Then I heard an alarm call from a killdeer in the meadow, followed by
a series of peeps that grew increasingly feeble. It made me ponder whether
an owl got it.

I did a search for reporting off leash dog violations in Seattle.
Call (206) 386-PETS. The office is in Interbay, not far from the park. But
given city budgets and priorities, I wouldn't anticipate rapid response. The
web site provides a form for reporting incidents as well, and perhaps it
might help identify trouble spots.
http://www.seattle.gov/animalshelter/ServiceRequest/ServiceRequest.asp

I like dogs, but not unleashed in certain times and places. I apologize if
I'm starting a dreaded tweeter topic. I heard that as of about noon
Saturday, the owl has not been found.

Kevin Li
Ballard, USA