Wild Chickens Invade Bothell
During a hike along the Burke Gillman Trail I heard a rumor from a passing jogger about wild chickens living and prospering along the trail.
I found this intriguing and planned a late summer hike to begin near downtown Bothell where I was told they resided. After taking SR-522 cutoff towards Bothell I found a City sponsored parking lot south of Bothell Landing near the adult day center on NE 180th. When I followed a short path towards the Sammamish Slough, I spotted an old wooden bridge and pedestrian walkway adjacent to the adult day center.
After a quick stroll across the bridge and a left turn, I almost immediately began seeing the chickens.
Despite being armed with my rumor, I was still surprised by the scores of wild chicken feeding openly along the trail. The bantam breed of chicken closely resembled jungle fowl that I had seen in Kauai. My comparison was enforced when a few of the birds flew up to low tree branches as I had seen jungle fowl do. Each bird was also unique in its coloration as were the jungle fowl. Some roosters were golden while others were stunningly colored similar to Chinese ring-necked pheasants. Many hens were mostly black while others were spotted and one pure white. No two birds seemed to be the same as if an artist resided in the bushes, granting them personalized identification. Moments later; recently hatched chicks emerged from blackberry bush hideouts to begin pecking away at a fresh trail of breadcrumbs. Locals claimed a few birds were dropped off here a few years ago and have rapidly increased their numbers. Numerous blackberries in the area help the birds elude coyotes. The chickens are hearty breeds, surviving winters here outdoors. Two Guinea fowl recently joined Bothell’s panhandling chickens. They too are aggressive feeders chasing away ducks from the breadcrumbs. They rate to do well.
The sun was warm and inviting so after satisfying my initial curiosity, I continued my walk along this portion of the trail.
I had previously hiked or biked several sections of the Burke Gillman Trail starting near Marymoor Park in Redmond. On my last trip I had entertained myself by watching some college age athletes compete in an organized game of Ultimate Frisbee at play field near the San Michelle Winery. Today I was looking for new sights to join with my travels of yesterday. A few wild mallards effortlessly landed in the Sammamish Slough near resident domestic birds but quickly departed when hikers intruded into their comfort zone. Later I spotted a mink frolicking then hunting among some large boulders, which had been placed along the bank of the slough for erosion control. This was exciting to me, as wild mink are rare in such and urban setting.
Another unique feature of this section of trail is the periodic exercise stations dotting the route. Each little area has been designed with a different workout in mind. Informative instructive signs detailed exercise to be performed here and were usually accompanied by metal bars or wood structure to fit and assist the workout. These exercise stations allow the hikers and joggers to work on achieving overall fitness while on their stroll.
Once I felt I had gone far enough, I turned around and returned to the car. I had spotted a Baskin & Robbins ice cream shop on my walk and it wasn’t all that far away.
