Arriving in stealth and by means unknown, a clutch of at least eight chickens took up roost in Langley recently and, in short order, had town’s residents clucking. They have since been caught.
But the chickens captured the attention of city residents with an immediacy that presidential candidates could only dream of. People everywhere, from coffee shops and bank lines to social media pages and city hall, were talking about Langley’s newest and noisiest residents.
“Everybody seems to know about them,” said Betty Freeman, who helps run the Langley Chamber of Commerce’s visitor center on Anthes Avenue. “And no one seems to know where they came from.”
THE BIRDS, all full-grown adults, showed up on a recent Sunday, uninvited and announced, in the parking lot of US Bank next to the visitor center.
They weren’t causing any trouble, said Freeman — it was just odd.
“I opened my car door and they were ‘cock-a-doodle-doing’ right there,” she said.
“They’re quite beautiful.”
Though they’ve been fairly well behaved, they may be on borrowed time as city code prohibits them from taking up residency within city limits.
Several people tried to catch the allusive bird, but met with little success.
They’re just too quick, they say.
MYSTERY WEEKEND organizers initially thought that they were pranked as the chickens appeared on the last day of the annual event, the theme of which revolved around Langley’s famous and abundant rabbit population.
If it was a joke, however, no one took credit for it.
According to Mayor Tim Callison, city code lists chickens and roosters as nuisance animals and prohibits them within city limits.
“These are all crowing at 4:30 … in the morning,” Callison said. “We’ll try to deal with the chickens.”
“TRY” MAY have been the operative word. While no one claimed the chickens as their own, several people attempted to round them up. An Oak Harbor chicken farmer who learned about them on online gave it his best shot Thursday. He arrived armed with a large salmon net. He was not successful.
It’s unlikely that anyone else will be either, said Brandon Turner, manager of US Bank in Langley.
“They’re fast,” he said. “There’s no way you’re going to catch those things.”
THE STAFF at US Bank watched the birds, and attempts capture them, with a degree of mild amusement.
Aside from the salmon net, most of the efforts were by children, they said, though there was a separate report of a team of people wielding something resembling a tennis court.
The problem is, the birds are masters of breaking ranks. Like a football team after the ball is hiked, the pack breaks apart and scatters with any serious attempt at plucking them up.
For their part, the problem poultry largely minded their own business and left bank customers alone, Turner said.
He said he was initially worried they might be aggressive, as chickens can be territorial.
Though in plain sight, details about their ranks are unclear. While some say they’re all roosters, others swear there are hens in the mix.
THEIR NUMBERS are a bit of mystery. While some reported seeing as many as 10, bank teller Signe Cvar strongly disputed that number. She had a clear view of them from her window and became the bank’s recognized chicken authority.
“No, it’s less than that. They usually travel in a pack of eight or a pack of five,” she said. “They may be rival gangs, we don’t know for sure.”
Others in the business community were less amused than the bank staff.
Callahan McVay, of Callahan’s Firehouse Studio, said at least rabbits don’t poop on the porch or crow at 4 a.m. He also said he was worried people might get the wrong idea — that Langley’s tolerance for wildlife would be confused as a green light to dump unwanted animals.
AS FOR the general public, few people had their feathers ruffled by the chickens’ presence. Some said they found them lovely and add to Langley’s ever-increasing animal rich reputation — whales, rabbits and now barnyard chickens.
“Living here is so fun,” said Cindy Mason, who stopped to take a picture of the chickens crossing the road.
Mason relocated to Langley from Los Angeles, Calif., 25 years ago and has “never looked back.”
Yet others, including Freeman, said that, while the birds were striking, she wouldn’t help but wonder what might be next.
“Bunnies and chickens, next thing it will be ducks,” she said.
But, then again maybe that’s just the way things roll in Langley.
“Of course we have chickens — why not?” asked Freeman.
