February 2017
Parkallen
News In this issue… • Snowfest • Volunteer with us! • Neighbourhood Watch • Rink Mural Project • Drainage Update • Al Hariri Welcome Party
Enjoying our Urban Wildlife By Jan Hardstaff An injured doe has frequented our yard since Christmas and seems to consider our neck of the neighbourhood home. After contacting the City’s Park Rangers through 311, our concern was forwarded to Alberta Fish and Wildlife who came to check out the new neighbour. They told us although her right rear leg was likely broken, it appears to have fused and likely will heal enough for her to live with her disability. She seems to be thriving and has been spotted in other communities including Grandview, Belgravia and the
University Farm since November, so she is a resilient survivor. We have wildlife in Parkallen! Coyotes are frequently spotted sauntering down the street, sometimes in pairs, having a discussion about where they’d like to go for dinner and they have occasionally been seen in our park. We’ve had very close encounters with a skunk in the back yard, narrowly escaping being sprayed at the back door; and bats sometimes roost on the stucco above our porch. Squirrels diligently harvest the cones from the tops of our tallest
spruce trees and race through the canopies above our head. In the winter, we enjoy chickadees, nuthatches and finches at the birdfeeder or visiting the seed heads of last year’s sunflowers and overwintering perennials; we marvel at the flocks of Cedar waxwings that descend on our crab apple tree or the neighbour’s mountain ash to feast on fermented fruit - a snack that results in a few intoxicated flights. In summer, we have woken to the persistent sound of newly fledged magpies or the shrill cry of Kestrel hawks hunting for prey in the