Tag Archives: critters

Hey Rat City, Public Health wants to know your thoughts about rodent control in Seattle

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From the Public Health survey

Public Health Seattle-King County wants to hear from you about “what the public knows about rodents and your experiences with rodent control and prevention.”

A new Rodent Prevention and Control Survey has launched to gather feedback as the health department works to “improve our programming and technical assistance offerings” —

“Public Health – Seattle & King County wants to learn more about what the public knows about rodents and your experiences with rodent control and prevention,” the survey’s introduction reads.

The county says it fields complaints about infestations and “neighborhood rodent issues” and and provides information to property owners about rodent control. In some cases, health officials can call in enforcement. There is also a Seattle Sewer Baiting Program if rats show up in your toilet.

The survey’s results will help Public Help shape its programs and resources.

Public Health says the survey has 19 questions and should take approximately 5 minutes to complete. Note: Don’t go chattering about squirrels — “For the purpose of this survey the term ‘rodents’ refers to rats and mice and does not include squirrels and other animals,” Public Health explains.

CHS, meanwhile, wrote about the many rats of Capitol Hill — Black Rats, Brown Rats, Sewer Rats and Norway Rats and Roof Rats, Lab Rats and Pet Rats — here a few years back. Rats populations thrive with access to food and water. Lack of water appears restricting but, what really attracts them is food. Cal Anderson is, of course, famous for its rodent residents but you’ll also find them pretty much everywhere else across the Hill — including, sometimes, in your toilet.

 

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Pikes/Pines | Splendor in the grass: The bees and — the what the heck is that-s! — you’ll find in the lawns of Capitol Hill

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A yet to be identified bee found nesting in my lawn. (Image: Brendan McGarry)

 

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One of the major benefits of paying attention to the natural world is that no matter how long you’ve been doing it, there’s always more to learn. Within the last five years I’ve gone from knowing honey bees, bumblebees, and mason bees to devoting many hours to the breathtakingly nerdy pursuit of studying the wealth of Washington’s native bees.

The best thing about this real life Pokemon pursuit, (I’ll take running around like an idiot staring at zipping dots any day to chasing things that only exist on my phone), is that I don’t actually have to go that far to get stumped. I can just hang out on a lawn and be a lawn-chair melittologist.

With projects like Pollinator Pathways and Capitol Hill Connections it shouldn’t be surprising that you can find interesting insects on the Hill, let alone a bunch of cool bees. The thing about many invertebrate species is that while some require very specific conditions and host plants that are lacking in urban spaces, they also don’t need the same physical space that, say, a wolf does. Some scrubby ground, some flowers with sufficiently tasty nectar, and a dearth of pesticides and a lot of species make it work or even flourish on the Hill even if we don’t get the same diversity a native prairie would have. Continue reading →

‘Savvy survivors’ — Coyote sightings reported across a thawing Capitol Hill

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Thanks to a CHS reader for the video

If you saw unusual tracks in the ice and snow across Capitol Hill over the last week, you may have been onto something.

CHS received reports Wednesday morning including video of at least one coyote on the move in the neighborhood.

Crows squawked and cars came to a careful stop in northeastern Capitol Hill as a coyote was captured on video crossing the street not far from Volunteer Park in an area where the canines have been spotted in the past making their way between greenbelts.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife says it is checking with Region 4 biologists about any additional reports from the area this week. Spokesperson Chase Gunnell says, in general, coyotes are common year-round in Seattle greenbelts and parks — “whether people see them or not.” Continue reading →

Thanks to Canopy Cat Rescue, Ella the Capitol Hill cat is safely back home after an adventure high above Volunteer Park

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Safe! Thanks to neighbor Olga for the picture from Wednesday morning’s rescue

The story ends with Ella living happily ever after with her Capitol Hill family she is still getting used to. It begins with concerned neighbors hearing a kitty in distress in the dark of night, stuck up in a 65-foot tree high above Volunteer Park.

Shaun Sears of Canopy Cat Rescue says it was all in a morning’s work.

“This is what we do. Rescue cats that get stuck up in trees.”

This Capitol Hill cat’s cries for help were heard by a passerby late Tuesday night below a huge cedar near the park’s north pond. They marked the location on their phone and posted to the CHS Facebook Group looking for advice on how to help. Continue reading →

Pikes/Pines | Four of the Hill’s spookiest critters that you need not fear

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A species of jumping spider I found in my yard. Cute, but not, not spooky. (Image: Brendan McGarry)

October is a month of harvest, of decay, and of dreariness. Spookiness also pervades as Halloween looms near. A time when the dark afternoons start to crowd in and our human instincts tell us to be wary of the shadows.

Halloween is loaded with symbolism, some are reserved for the haunted corners of our imagination, and others are around us on a daily basis. Whether their connection to this most spooky of holidays make sense or not, the following few animals of the Hill are deeply ingrained in the popular culture that surrounds Halloween.

  • Spiders: Where humans gained a fear of spiders is much debated, partially because arachnophobia is not borne of rational thought. Then again, neither is my fear of zombies after watching a scary movie and spiders are actually real. The good news is that spiders are mostly scared or at least disinterested in humans and the rare bites that are medically significant don’t happen out of malice. Spiders have venom to help them hunt, immobilize, and even liquify their prey, not to run around biting people with. More people have died from cows than spiders. That being said, I would be lying if I said I wanted to snuggle up with a spider. But that doesn’t mean I don’t find them beautiful, because the approximately 50,000 species of spiders described by science represent tremendous diversity in size, shape, color, and life history. Some species, like jumping spiders, can be downright cute. Our cultural fear of spiders doesn’t leave room for the fact that spiders are natural pest control and are food for other animals like birds – just like bats and owls, they’re a part of the ecosystems we live in and share, even the indoor spaces where spiders help keep other unwelcome insects in check. Continue reading →

Pikes/Pines | Like rainwater off a duck’s back — Your Capitol Hill neighbor the Mallard might be common but still has some stories to tell: colorful attire, rough sex, and ladies with powerful voices

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A female Mallard speculum. (Image: Brendan McGarry)

“Just Mallards.”

That’s a phrase I’ve uttered far more than I probably know and certainly too often. Mallards, Anas platyrhynchos (literally “duck with a broad bill”), the most widespread and abundant duck in North America, don’t generally elicit excitement.

Even on the Hill, where there are few ponds, I doubt most of us would be surprised by a few Mallards paddling around Waterworks at Cal Anderson.

Of course, I wouldn’t bring them up if they weren’t worth considering. (Then again, what species isn’t?) Being one of the most common ducks in the world, they are immediately recognizable. So much so that we often overlook them while simultaneously celebrating them with the likes of Donald and Daffy Duck who are both undoubtedly of Mallard stock. How many people reading this went to the University of Oregon but can’t share much of note about Mallards?

One of my favorite things about Mallards are their links to human history.

As a wild species, Mallards have probably been food for humans as long as our species has shared their space. Their domestication dates to at least 4,000 years ago in Asia and the ease with which wild Mallards accept our presence and handouts it’s not hard to imagine how this relationship started. Ducks are not raised for eggs or meat in the US on the level that chickens are, but they are still raised widely and billions are eaten every year across the globe. Though I am less enamored with the way ducks are commercially raised enmasse, I do find their connections to human development and culture compelling. Practically all domestic ducks, aside from Muscovy Ducks, were bred from Mallards.

Domestic ducks that come from Mallard stock. Some even look almost like a “wild type” mallard. (Image: Brendan McGarry)

Like many domestic species, domestic ducks have been the focus of breeding efforts which have brought out favorable colors, different sizes, and morphological surprises that have happened while seeking out other desirable traits. Continue reading →

Capitol Hill wildlife bingo card: Coyotes, owls, Eastern Cottontails… and the Meany Middle School deer

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The deer was spotted Wednesday morning near Meany Middle School — Thanks to Sam Cetron for the pictures

Add a young buck to the wildlife sightings around Capitol Hill this spring. Sightings of the small deer were reported Wednesday across northeastern Capitol Hill and into the Central District including a stop captured with these pictures from near Meany Middle School.

The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife says nobody reported the animal so it wasn’t aware of the deer’s unusual route. “It’s not uncommon for deer to find their way into green space,” WDFW communications manager Samantha Montgomery tells CHS. “If the deer is injured or sick, or causing negative interactions in the neighborhood, we would ask folks to report that.” Continue reading →

Pikes/Pines | Social queens with bright, distinctive patterns, Capitol Hill’s bumble bees also have perfect hair

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A bumble bee visiting a bigleaf maple bloom (Image: Brendan McGarry)

Every year I mark the start of spring when I see my first bumble bee. Birdsong and flowers are part of the cue, but I’m not filled up with vernal energy until a buzzing fluff passes by on some dreary spring day. That first bee is large. She’s always a queen who overwintered in some sheltered space. Her focus is on finding a suitable place to start her nest and getting on with the rest of her life.

Bumble bees are undoubtedly one of the most recognizable insects in our part of the world. It’s hard to miss these big insects, which are often brightly colored and noisily bounce from flower to flower. Sometimes our attention might be due to a misplaced worry that being bees, they might sting you and some bumble bees are indeed intimidatingly large. Thankfully, unless you accidentally squish a bumble bee or really disturb their nest, you’d have to work very hard to get stung by one.

Pikes/Pines has talked about native bees before, but bumble bees hold a particularly fascinating corner of the bee world. Not only are they obvious, with several species being relatively common on the Hill, their life histories are unique. One of the most noteworthy is that bumble bees are one of the few truly social native bee species in North America. Continue reading →

CHS Pics | A Capitol Hill coyote in Interlaken Park

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Mornings and evenings this spring on Capitol Hill have included occasional reports of sightings of shy, elusive neighbors.

Thanks to a reader, CHS can share a glimpse of one of these amazing city dwellers.

Tim Schluttenhofer took the picture in Interlaken Park on Sunday afternoon and reported the peaceful encounter to CHS.

Reports of coyote sightings around the Hill seem to have risen this month. The Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife’s North Puget Sound – Region 4 office has said that urban coyote reports pretty much always increase in the spring when pups are born and the drive for food and protecting young increases. Continue reading →

Pikes/Pines | The City Nature Challenge in Seattle: 200 observations about 121 species on Capitol Hill — including native epiphytes outside Everyday Music

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(Image: Beth Jusino via Flickr)

Last month I wrote about the City Nature Challenge, an annual “competition” centered around getting out and logging as many species as possible on the community science database iNaturalist.

The results are now in and in the Seattle-Tacoma Area, 571 observers contributed 7,144 observations of 1,235 species; pretty awesome for a long weekend. Just as cool were the nearly 200 observations of 121 species within the Capitol Hill Connections corridor. And we definitely weren’t alone in our participation.

All around the world 52,587 people got out and recorded a total of 1,259,469 observations on iNaturalist, accounting for 45,583 species, over the course of four days. Even more exciting is that the number of observations grew by around 400,000, and 10,000 more people participated than in 2020. This growth in participation is very exciting; to me it represents a whole bunch of people who just got more excited about nature where they live.  Continue reading →