Another overcast, cold, windy winter day with temps around
12- 16º, north-northwest winds to 29 to 35 mph with gusts to 56 mph.
The short: There's a REDWING at Lowell Point Beach! This
is a new Alaska State record!
The long: Today I tried to escape the bitter blast and
headed to Lowell Point Beach. On the way, I gaped at the ominously flapping
green ridge cap on the Episcopal Church. I gasped when I saw that the entire
steep south roof had been ripped away, blown past a busy apartment complex and
homes, then thrown in a heap at the bottom of the hill a block away. Those
giant metal pieces could have killed someone!
Watchful for other dangerous debris sailing on the wind,
and wary of potential rockslides, I negotiated the 2 ½ mile icy and narrow road
to Lowell Point. The wind howled, the whitecaps steamed and frothed, but in a
small section on the west side of the beach, it was tolerable.
Though my eyes were tearing up, I checked the wrack line for
any signs of a bird besides the mew gull and Northwestern crows. The flapping
scraps of seaweed fluttered like birds, and suddenly one turned into a bird! I
checked it out through my binoculars and forgot about the cold and wind.
The good dog (the reason for the outing) was puzzled when
we abruptly whizzed back to the
car and she had to load up. I grabbed my camera and blew back. Ah. The bird was
still there, looking cold, picking through the seaweed, hopping along. I
wondered if something was wrong with its feet as it seemed to be hobbling a
bit. Perhaps it was the occasional dunking in the swash, or just the cold. I
sat down on the cold sandy beach and fired off several images and then it flew
up and away, swirling in the wind, farther east. I looked for it for about 15
minutes in vain.
Back at the car, I quickly searched my Sibley Guide and
just as quickly remembered it contained no such rarities. I tried to use my
emergency-use-only cell phone but not surprisingly, the batteries were dead.
Calm on the inside but totally excited inside, I dashed back down the icy road into town to
show the photos to my local bird expert Peregrine Joe. I tracked him down at
work and showed him a few photos on the camera. He didn't have a bird book either and took a "stab" at it as a Dusky
Thrush. Abandoning everything, he dashed out to find it while I attended to a most
unfortunately timed short meeting. Shortly afterwards, he and Robin C refound
the bird between two summer houses near the beach.
Once home from the meeting, I quickly uploaded the photos
and posted on AKBirding.com. Almost instantly, Buzz Scher responded that it was
not a Dusky Thrush but an even rarer bird, a REDWING! Ah! Had I only taken a
moment in my haste to post to verify the ID in my National Geographic Field
Guide. It has a perfect image of the Redwing.
This bird was spotted on Tuesday in the same sheltered west end of the beach by Jim Herbert but due to poor views, misidentified as a juvenile
American Robin. I hope that it will hang around so others can have the pleasure of
seeing it. Please respect its urgent need to feed and observe the rules of
etiquette so others can enjoy it too.
Keep your eyes peeled for more treasures delivered by this
crazy wind!
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
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