Bird Watching: Unusual Seagull, Chicken Foot, 1 by tigerlily

tigerlily wrote:
copied from the News Times, Newport, Oregon


Unusual seagull returns to Newport
Posted: Wednesday, Dec 29th, 2010
BY: April Bamburg




Good ol’ Chickenfoot (guess which one he is) pals around with a traditional web-footed companion at one of his favorite Newport neighborhood hangouts. (Courtesy photo by Jim Henkel)


If there’s one thing that Newport resident Jim Henkel can count on, it’s that the seagulls will come to feed when he brings out the bread each day. Sometimes, a very special bird will return to Henkel’s home on Northeast 4th Street, as it has for several years now.

This bird’s name is Chicken Foot, so-named because its feet are missing the webbing between each toe that one would expect from a seagull. “It’s quite unusual, I think,” Henkel said. “I’ve never seen anything like it.”

Chicken Foot first appeared about two years ago, in the springtime. “He stuck around two or three months, then disappeared,” Henkel said. A year later, he returned, and again, about two months ago.

While Henkel isn’t positive it’s the same bird, he said he’s pretty sure.

Chicken Foot stays up on the roof and comes out when Henkel brings out the “bird bread” that he purchases from a local bakery. “I have a hard time feeding it because of all of the other seagulls that come in,” Henkel said. “A good day is when I can get two to three pieces of bread in it. Henkel said he can bring the bird to feed in sometimes two to three times a day.

Good ol’ Chickenfoot (guess which one he is) pals around with a traditional web-footed companion at one of his favorite Newport neighborhood hangouts. (Courtesy photo by Jim Henkel)