Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 8:00 am, sunset 8:11 pm, length of day 12 hours, 11 minutes;
tomorrow, Spring Equinox, will be 5 minutes and 30 seconds longer.
Weather: 23º this morning with a soft, gray wall of snow-bearing clouds creeping up the bay from the Gulf of Alaska.
After a week of mostly sunshine, it snowed another inch overnight, adding to the three feet or so in town and mountains out of town. More snow and snow showers forecast for the rest of the week.
Despite the snow-covered roofs and ground, spring is indeed in the air. Pussy willows confidently await their insect pollinators who in turn will feed warblers, kinglets, and hummingbirds yet to arrive.
Ravens are rejuvenating their winter-beaten nests, and pairing up on the streetlights, gossiping and showing off their elegant “horns.”
Bald eagles are also calling to each other and pairing up. An eagle with an injured left foot, probably a male, was seen perching on a house deck rail, peering into the house. After a time, he flew off and landed clumsily in a spruce tree, calling loudly
until a larger eagle, the female, landed nearby. It will be a challenging life without use of that claw, though the Hawkwatchers have noted the return of a
similarly injured eagle for the past 5 years.
Judging from the swarms of gulls feeding frantically in the bay, andoccasional sightings of 9 or so Steller sea lions surging along the shoreline, the Pacific Herring must be migrating back and getting ready to spawn. COMMON MURRES are in breeding plumage, dark chocolate syrup on vanilla ice cream. BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES with their distinctive black tipped wings, are sprinkled among the other gulls parked at the seafood processing plants as fishing boats deliver fresh halibut and black cod.
Yesterday along Lowell Point Road, just offshore of the massive avalanche, I saw 4 COMMON LOONS swimming close together, 2 more farther off with a small raft of RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS, 2 YELLOW BILLED LOONS, big but so pale, and what I think were 2 PACIFIC LOONS, smaller, with smaller bills. I didn’t want to linger near the chute for further details.
PELAGIC CORMORMANTS, HORNED GREBES, COMMON MERGANSERS, Common Murres, and MARBLED MURRELETS fished nearby. Four MALLARDS enjoyed the ambiance of the sewage treatment plant.
On March 13th, I got caught on the Lowell Point side of this active avalanche, forced to go back to the sunny beach for another hour to watch loons and sea lions, and listen to the gentle “swaaassshhhh” of the waves until it was cleared.
A week earlier, the plow operator was actually caught in another slide as he cleared the first one; he had to climb out the window and the plow sustained a lot of damage. It’s a wonder no one has gone over the edge into the bay or been injured. Be careful on this narrow road!
I haven’t heard any owls; I fear the concrete-hard snow this winter may have starved out the local Saw-whets. Fortunately, a few others have been heard. Exciting news! WESTERN SCREECH OWL was reported March 14 by Preacher Pond at Mile 3.5. We haven’t heard this owl for a few years. Please let me know if YOU heard the “bouncing ball” call of this range extension owl. Two GREAT HORNED OWLS reported from Nash Woods on March 13th, and earlier on February 25th.
In owl, very few reports. It may have been a harsh winter for all of them.
March 14th: 2 SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS chased each other above my house,
the one determined not to allow the other to land anywhere. The red interior FOX SPARROW still here, feeding mostly on the fallen sunflower seeds, with the nyger seed pigs PINE SISKINS, CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES, and RED BREASTED NUTHATCHES. RED CROSSBILLS reported from Questa Woods all the way to town the first weeks of March, entrancing all with their warm, tropical colors.
March 11, 7:36 am, Marbled Murrelets heard calling as they commuted to the bay from their forest lodging.
Although the lakes and lagoons are still frozen, and we’ll probably get more snow, the sun is high and warm. It won’t be long until Spring is really here.
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Sporadic Bird Report reporter
> Seward, Alaska
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