[Tweeters] Seattle's Snowy Owl is back on the west side of QA

[Jim Elder]

All and hello to Diane,
Apparently Saturday was Alzheimer's day on Tweeters. The Snowy Owl on Queen Anne is an easy walk from my house (6-8 blocks) and I have visited it at least a dozen times not to mention the days that I have looked and been unable to find it. It's been quite fun to see it and to show it to friends from the neighborhood. In fact Saturday, my wife and I could see the owl from McGraw as we drove by so we stopped for a visit on our way back home. Still, it had not occurred to me that this Snowy Owl, is in fact a visitation from my mother (Eli) as Diane suggested. I like the thought though. In fact I had thought of the American Golden Plover that presided over the spreading of her ashes as her "spirit bird".

Concerning the Snowy Owl, I think it could easily choose daytime roosting sites that are not visible. For example an owl could easily be on the roof of McClure Middle School  all day without anyone knowing it. This is less than 100 yards from some of the sites the owl has chosen. So the owl could easily still be in the neighborhood.  There has also been a pair of Barred Owls resident in the neighborhood this last year which I have seen and/or heard about 10 times. It has always been at night so I don't know where they spend their days. My guess is that they are resident somewhere on the forested slope on the NE side of the hill near the Aurora Bridge. 

Jim Elder on Queen Anne

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Sent: Sunday, February 28, 2021 12:02 PM
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Today's Topics:

   6. Re, Seattle?s Snowy Owl is back on the west side of QA (Diane B.)


Message: 6
Date: Sat, 27 Feb 2021 15:27:31 -0800
From: "Diane B." <dibirsner at gmail.com>
To: Tweeters <tweeters at u.washington.edu>, elc at uw.edu
Subject: [Tweeters] Re, Seattle?s Snowy Owl is back on the west side
        of QA
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        <CAF5cKVYS_DVZx_sY_DmM-4at=p2vN_DO1EJHz8dGyEFK5RH4+w at mail.gmail.com>
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Dear Elaine,


>From a selfish perspective, it warms my heart to learn that the Queen 

>of

Queen Anne Hill continues her rooftop reign. For all kinds of reasons my partner and best birding buddy haven?t driven down to pay our respects to her, and likely will not. But I?ve lived vicariously through all her subjects in Tweeterdom, enjoying everyone?s reports and anecdotes and, earlier on, pictures.

I, too, prefer to assign her to the feminine gender, because my romantic, magical realism side imagines she was sent by another birding friend of mine, Eli, who lived in a retirement center at the bottom of Queen Anne Hill until her passing in 2017.

I first met Eli on Attu in ?91 and became friends during my subsequent trips to that fantasy island for ABA listers. We stayed in touch over the years, even shared a cabin on an epic ocean voyage to Antarctica in ?95.
After Eli moved to her Queen Anne residence I would visit her. With each trip I could tell that Alzheimer?s was stealing her memories, and eventually her love of birds and birding vanished. So in my mind Queen Anne?s snowy owl is Eli?s gift, reassuring me that she didn?t forget after all.

I hope this snowy continues to heal and ultimately finds her way back to her northern home, where she belongs. But in the meantime, what a treat to have had her grace us with her majestic presence, Thanks, Eli!

And thank you, Elaine for sharing your updates.

Happy birding,
Diane Birsner
Bellingham