Every neighborhood in Seattle has a surprise avian resident – bald eagles cruise the Central District and peregrine falcons perch atop downtown high-rises – but no community can compare to Alki when it comes to the delight of the spotted wing. From Glaucous-winged gulls and Northwestern crows picking through the treats offered by low tide to the graceful swoops of hunting osprey and the vulnerable warning pose of double-crested cormorants, there’s barely a single unfeathered sightline. Add to those the swarms of swooping hummingbirds, chubby American robins, nesting eagles, buffleheads, brants, common loons, harlequin ducks, and so, so many more, all making Alki a delight for bird-watchers young or old, expert or novice. ZIBBY WILDER