Megan,

Bonair Drive SW cuts through a large greenbelt that is home to lots of birds and animals up to the size of Bald Eagles and raccoons. My wife and I live in the neighborhood and have birded on our walks here for the last twelve years. We haven't ever seen or heard a pheasant in the area, though Great Blue Herons do roost in the larger trees and have a "fronk" call that might sound vaguely pheasant-like sometimes. Since it was after dusk, I agree with Rolan that you probably saw an owl. The Barn Owl suggestion is plausible, though the habitat here is mostly mixed conifer/deciduous forest.

The Barred Owl is at home in that habitat and is frequently seen in Schmitz Park, a part of the West Seattle greenbelt complex and about a half-mile as the owl flies from Bonair Drive SW. Its 42" wingspan is as large as the Barn Owl, the wings are rounded and broad, and the bird is bulkier than the Barn Owl, outweighing it by about a half-pound. The Barn Owl is lighter colored, but the Barred's underparts are light and could seem grayish in what light there was when you saw it.

An outside possibility is the Great Horned Owl -- a really large (darker) bird that like the Barn Owl uses more open areas. I haven't seen it in West Seattle, but it's said to be here, too, further south near Lincoln Park, and perhaps over near the West Seattle Golf Course. Hope this helps.

Paul Webster
Seattle
paul.websterATcomcast.net


Megan Sheppard <megans at drizzle.com> wrote:
Hi there-
I was driving up Bonair Drive in West Seattle last night after dusk when I came around a corner and startled a LARGE bird that took flight westbound into the trees.

All I could see was a gray sillhouette, shaped vaguely like a pheasant. I don't think it was an eagle.

Has anyone ever spotted pheasant in the hillside above Alki? Any other ideas? Sorry I don't have a better description.

Megan Sheppard

_______________________________________________
Tweeters mailing list
Tweeters at u.washington.edu
http://mailman1.u.washington.edu/mailman/listinfo/tweeters



Rolan Nelson
Fircrest, WA
rnbuffle at yahoo.com


------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Yahoo! Music Unlimited - Access over 1 million songs. Try it free.