"Hi, Larry, this Peter Korch. I was so happy to bump into and meet you over by the Osprey platform in Union Bay this morning. My wife Linda and I finished our regular walk at Union Bay and then walked the Yesler Swamp. Among the usual birds we also saw one adult Belted Kingfisher with a juvenile screaming for food wings a flapping. That was fun. We then strolled back to our car in the parking lot at the C.U.H. (Center for Urban Horticulture). As I was loading the camera equipment in the car my wife says, "No Way". I look up to just catch the rear end of this fellow crossing the path down the way. So I grabbed the camera took off and caught a few shots. Took these about 1 hour after we spoke. It was about 12:15p.m. I thought you might get a kick out of this guy, been visiting Union Bay for 30 years seen a lot of great birds and wildlife there but never one of these. I love your work and blog!
Best Regards,
Peter"
Thank you, Peter. I was stunned to see the following photos (Peter's comments included.)
"Very calm, good size
what a treat to see this beauty at Union Bay
lots of great tender greens to eat
Could hear me coming, tricky one to approach with all the dry leaf cover"
This looks like the local native Mule Deer, which may also be called, "The Black-tailed Deer". If you keep your eyes peeled, while visiting the Union Bay Natural Area, you too might get to see this wandering wild creature.
Thanks again! - To Peter.
Have a great day on Union Bay...where even deer graze in the city!
Larry Hubbell
ps: Given the way his left prong is taller than the right, I suggest we call him, "Lefty".
FYI 2 or 3 years ago we spotted a dear in the Wash. Park Arboretum - field south of Azalea Way.
ReplyDeleteWonderful! I would love to see them live and thrive around Union Bay.
DeleteI was reading the Nextdoor postings after returning from a two week road trip, and seemed to have found the answer to why my pear tree only had one pear left (of what had been a bumper crop) and most of my sunflowers were decapitated. This lovely deer was seen going up my street!
ReplyDeleteI am mostly bemused at the new gardening hazard. Years ago when I stayed with a relative who lived off of HiWay 410 near the Naches River having to walk by deer hanging around the carport as we tried to enter the car ("Excuse me, deer, I need to open the door."), but I never expected to deal with them in the city! I am hoping the nylon socks on the apples kept him from munching those, though I bet he was too full after all the pears and sunflowers. I'll just tackle it as another gardening challenge (like my annual battle of wits with the squirrels for persimmons).
Sorry about your crops but it is wonderful to think we may still have a a deer around. However, no one has reported seeing Lefty since this posting.
DeleteHI LARRY: I saw the same deer at about 11 am Wed. 8/17/16. It was trying to cross Montlake Blvd from East to West about10 meters North of the Montlake Bridge.
ReplyDeleteIt tried about 6 times but was scared back onto the sidewalk Several pedestrians on that side of the street took photos.
It finally seemed to get discouraged and headed down towards the cut.
Hopefully, the little guy will drift back for more pears.
Steve Hauschka
Thank you! How exciting! It is great to know Lefty is still around. I am glad he choose to turn back. By the way on Tuesday I noticed an apple tree dropping ripe apples just to the east of the Montlake Bridge and on the north side of the Cut. I suspect Lefty was sampling the apples while in the area. It will be interesting to see if he turns up again in the area. It would be nice if he drifted back to an area with less traffic. Thank you for the update! (PS: I sure hope someone sends in one of the photos from this morning.)
Delete"Hopefully, the little guy will drift back for more pears."
Delete:-p
The pears are all gone! Though if it was it was near the Montlake Bridge it could wander on to the UW Campus and find stuff to eat in the Medicinal Herb Garden (a hedge is made of tea! think of a caffeinated deer), or the crab apples near Frosh Pond.