Wildlife & Miscellaneous - 10/15/09

(Note that this Update began to be written over 2 weeks ago so some of this is dated.)

 

Wintering Waterfowl Returning.  It seems a little early for our wintering waterfowl to be returning (early October), but it may only seem so since we have had such nice weather this fall.

 

American Wigeon Back 10/2/09.  We were surprised to see a flock of wigeon at Schutt's Point on October 2nd.  We don't know if they are still there or were just passing through, since we haven't been in town for awhile.

 

Common Loons in Fall & Spring.  We see common loons passing through every fall and spring, but never very many.  Attached is a picture of three.

 

Seals Back.  The seals are back on the area floats.

 

Pacific Tree Frogs.  There seem to be lots of small pacific tree frogs around this year, but not many of the bright green variation as shown in the attached picture.

 

Blue Dragon Flies.  We were surprised to see so many large blue dragon flies this summer.  This one landed on the Illahee Road while we were on a walk.

 

Deer.  This deer was seen on Sunset.  We heard from one couple who came back from an extended trip to find two deer had taken up residence in their back yard under an apple tree and had decimated their garden and other foliage.

 

Power Outage.  Thanks for the photo of the downed power lines a few Sunday's ago (10/4/09).  For many residents the power went out at 10:30 am and didn't come back on until 12 hours later, at 10:30 pm.  Those who walked down Illahee Road to see what the problem was, found the crews ready to go to work, but the Aspland crew that needed to cut down the tree hadn't shown up.  Many were asking why the Power Company couldn't use their chain saws on the wayward maple, but were told it was a union thing.

 

Beach Watchers Program.  There was a nice article in the Kitsap Sun regarding the beach watchers program that was going to be offered in Kitsap County.  Attached is the link to the article.  The deadline is Friday (10/16/09) for signing up so if you are interested call quickly. http://kitsapsun.com/news/2009/oct/08/beach-watchers-will-keep-their-eyes-on-kitsaps/

 

Timbers Edge Decision.  We came back from a trip to find the following article in the Kitsap Sun:  http://kitsapsun.com/news/2009/oct/13/commissioners-approve-big-illahee-development-cond/

We aren't sure exactly what happened as it appears the Commissioners either did not receive the Community Brief sent in to the county (i.e., it wasn't forwarded to them), or they didn't read it.  Either way, it is hard for the Community, who worked on the brief with their lawyer, to understand how this could happen.  It also leaves many wondering what to do about it.  As we understand it, the ICC Board will be meeting soon to discuss what the options are.  We will keep you posted on what we know.

 

Jim Aho

Miscellaneous Items - 4/25/09

More Deer Photos.  We received some more deer photos taken in the Gilberton area.  Below is the text of the email.

 

Continue to enjoy your updates and photos even though I don't live in Illahee.  Attached are some photos of a mostly white buck that has been around for a while.  The photos are a little "fuzzy" because I went to 20X digital zoom since my camera will only go to 5X optical.  The DSC0260  photo is from late last summer and clearly shows his spike horns.  The rest were taken last week and he has clearly grown larger.  I wonder if this deer may be the result of a cross between a native Black Tail and one of the white deer that are grown at the Bed & Breakfast across from 3rd on Illahee.  I know that these white deer have "escaped" before because the wife and I helped the owner herd them back onto his property.  I'm sure there have been other sightings in the area?????????

 

Loon.  We have had a loon around here that was first seen on April 2nd and again on April 24th.  We usually see loons in the fall when they pass through and again in the spring.  We are wondering if this is the same loon that was seen earlier this month and wonder if it is staying around, nesting, in the area.

 

Wigeon.  Another strange bird sighting was a mated couple of wigeon that seemed to be hanging around in the area.  We were hoping to get a photo and don't know if they are still around or decided to go north.

 

Timbers Edge Appeal Filed.  We were able to get a pdf file of the appeal that was filed on Friday by the Illahee Community Club.  It evidently was a collaborative effort that reads rather well considering there were a number of people working on it.  Let us know your thoughts and we will pass them on.  We were also reminded that the Club is collecting funds for the appeal and hope that by posting it to the community, that it may bring in additional funds.  The pdf file is attached.

 

Jim Aho

Miscellaneous Items - 4/16/09

Illahee Car Prowling.  A reminder that there are car prowlers around.  We highlighted Terry's last sentence as it is a good reminder that Illahee is not immune to problems.  See the following:

 

You may want to send a reminder out to the community to be diligent in their efforts to keep their homes secure.  I live on the Rest Place off Roosevelt.  On Thursday night, I had a GPS unit and a few CDs stolen out of my truck.  I had planned on taking my daughter to Girl Scouts that night so didn’t lock my truck.  Ended up my wife took her so I didn’t get back to my truck.  Anyway, when I came out in the morning, I found my center console opened and my notebook lying on my seat.  The  GPS unit and CDs were gone. They didn’t bother with my baseball glove or umbrella so they were selective about what they took. 

My guess is that either it was a kid, or just someone walking the road at night that looks for open vehicles.  Even though we think our community is safe, there are those out there that shake up our lives and remind us that we are not a secure as we hope.

 

Timbers Edge Post Cards.  The county sent out about 600 post cards to "persons of record" noting that the Timbers Edge project was "approved with conditions."  Most of those receiving the cards had signed petitions opposing the development, which is why the number was so high.

 

Decision on the County Website.  The post card went on to say the "Decision" could be viewed at the county website which was given as:  www.kitsapgov.com/dcd/he.  Many had problems locating the decision and tried to use the Application Numbers given on the Notice.  The decision was down on the list and was noted as "Case 080828-068."  They certainly don't make it easy to find the decision, much less to read and understand it on a computer monitor. 

 

Non-Computer Users.  There are a number of people who do not have access to computers or the internet and have been unable to access the decision.  We have suggested they call the county for paper copies.  We don't know what the county response has been.

 

Appeal to be Filed.  The Illahee Community Club will be filing an appeal to the Board of County Commissioners (BOCC) on behalf of Illahee residents, which now has a new deadline of April 24, 2009.  They are collecting money to pay for the appeal and would appreciate any help residents can provide. 

 

Bird Reports.  The American Wigeon (ducks) left the area in late March and early April.  The ravens have been seen venturing toward the shoreline area, but they only stay a short while as the crows, that seem to be concentrated along the shoreline, create quite a raucous when they see them, and seem to chase them away.

 

Deer Reports.  Not many deer reports coming in, but that should change soon as the local gardeners start planting their gardens and the deer discover them.  And as soon as we wrote the above we had the attached photo emailed to us.

 

Jim Aho

Wildlife Update - 12/6/08

Wildlife Updates. We have added some new email addresses and need to explain that feedback tells us that wildlife reports are what people like most about the updates. We depend on your passing the information on to us and we thank those who passed on this information. If you want credit for your stories and pictures, let us know as we presume anonymity.

Seals. Last year we had about 20 seals on one of local floats, this year a few less with about 15 seen every morning. As the seals leave the float the cormorants take their place.

Sea Lions. We have only seen one sea lion this year, whereas last year there were many seen feeding on small salmon.

Ravens. Periodically the ravens can be seen flying near the shoreline. We haven't seen them fly over the water yet and we mostly see them around the Illahee Preserve.

Mergansers. Only a few Red-breasted Mergansers have been sighted this year along the Illahee shoreline.

Scoters. The Surf Scoters are back in about the same numbers as last year. They are the ones that make the whistling noise when they take off. They are usually out in deeper water as they are deep divers and feed on shellfish.

Mallards. There is a flock of about 30 mallards that seem to be making the Illahee North detention pond their winter home.

Wigeon. The American Wigeon are common visitors to the nearshore area and local ponds. We used to see big numbers at Schutt's Point and they could be seen flying away whenever an eagle would fly over.

Golden Eyes. This area seems to be a wintering spot for both the Common Golden Eye and the Barrows Golden Eye. We had a report on Saturday of a large flock of the Barrows Golden Eye along the northern Illahee waterfront. Earlier in the week we had a few Common Golden Eyes north of the Illahee Community Dock.

Cormorants. The cormorants are back this winter, as stated earlier, spending most of the day on area floats.

Bald Eagles. There are at least two regular Bald Eagles frequenting the Illahee waterfront. We had a report a few weeks ago of a Bald Eagle chasing down a seagull. This was a first for that long time waterfront resident.

Deer. At the County Commissioners' hearing for the Illahee Community Plan our planner, Katrina Knutson, noted that she saw an albino deer while looking over the area for the View Protection Zone. We just had a picture sent to us earlier this week of two deer, one of which is partially white, which we are attaching.

Send Reports and Pictures. Please send us your reports and pictures of wildlife and we will try to forward them on.

Jim Aho