Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 5:18 am, sunset 10:48 pm, length of day 17 hours, 30 minutes;
tomorrow will be 4 minutes and 28 seconds shorter.
Weather: A light misty rain, low gray clouds with temperatures
hovering in the upper 40s. The air is perfumed with lilacs and roses
and everything is green including this year's bumper crop of spruce cones.
In my yard in town:
MARBLED MURRELETS flew over the house this morning at 5 am, calling
out loudly, anxious to beat dawn on their commute from the forest to
the sea. Sounded like a small flock, perhaps a family group.
Bright yellow and black TOWNSEND WARBLERS fledglings fly from branch
to branch in the spruce and willows, peeping incessantly for handouts
from harried parents, and occasionally actually find a cranefly or
other treat all by themselves. It's a wonder no predator has picked
them off yet as they are so noisy and visible.
VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW babies still in the deck nest box get louder
every day, responding vocally to every motion and vibration in
frenzied anticipation. The parents fly in with not-fast-enough food
delivery and haul away the white fecal sacs. It won't be long before
they join the rest of the swallows swooping around the neighborhood,
fledglings calling out noisily mid-air. The sighting of a magpie
predator sets all the swallows into a concentrated circle, their calls
louder and even higher than usual as they sound the alarm.
CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEES also glean invisible insects from the
spruce and willows, calling out in their muted husky voices. PINE
SISKINS and ROBINS take turns in the birdbath, regardless of the weather.
Two RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS enjoy the lilac and feeder then chase each
other at top speed around the yard. The time is quickly approaching
for this tiny traveler to migrate up to 2000 miles to Mexico, so every
sighting is a special treat. Hummers seen in August and later should
be carefully documented as they may be Anna's or even Costa's. Keep
the feeders clean and full as late as possible.
July 22, 2008
Three families of GADWALL, each with 6 or 7 ducklings spotted at the
airport pond. Dozens of peeps, most likely LEAST and WESTERN
SANDPIPERS feed in the tide flats and fly in flashing synchrony,
already done raising their families and now working their way south. A
LINCOLN SPARROW sings his beautiful song as if it were yet spring.
CLIFF SWALLOWS flash about grabbing insects mid-air, a real test of
binocular skill to follow their dashing aerial acrobatics.
No ARCTIC TERNS were spotted; I believe they have already left on
their journey to Antarctica and the tip of South America.
July 20, 2008
PINE GROSBEAK flock in spruce trees at airport. Two GREATER YELLOWLEGS flew overhead, calling "tew-tew-tew! "
Exit Glacier report of a lone GOLDEN EAGLE soaring above the Overlook
Trail.
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Sporadic Bird Report reporter
Seward, Alaska
The Kenai Peninsula Wildlife Viewing Trail Guide is available for free
on the web at http://www.kenaipen insula.org. Individual printed copies
can be ordered for $13.90 ($8.95 plus $4.95 S&H) via that web site,
or at the Seward Chamber of Commerce.
For more information on how to keep cats indoors, please refer to the
American Bird Conservancy website, Cats Indoors at
<http://www.abcbirds .org/cats> and other informative sites listed
under a Google.com search.
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