Seward,
Alaska Sporadic Bird Report
Sunrise
9:46 am, sunset 4:28 pm, length of day 6 hours, 41 minutes; tomorrow will be 3
minutes and 52 seconds longer.
Weather:
Sunny with patchy overcast, temps in the single digits above zero, and
north-northeast winds barreling down the smoking bay around 20 mph with gusts
to 43 mph. More clear, cold, and windy in the forecast.
Once
again the STELLER'S JAYS and MAGPIES gathered around a cluster of spruce this
morning, very upset. Even a brave little flock of BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES
chimed in. It was scarcely light around 9 am, so I was unable to find the
suspected raptor. Lovely sunrise
an hour later with ribbons of colors behind a Mt Ash stacked with jays.
I
headed to Lowell Point beach to escape most of the wind and exercise the good
dog. On the way out, an adult BALD EAGLE tore into a fresh red carcass by the
beach, feathers strewn downwind, the surf booming behind it. SURF SCOTERS
surfed with several pairs of HARLEQUINS riding along behind. They were so
comfortable; several dozed with their head tucked under a wing, still able to
blindly maneuver into the waves.
At
the beach, a COMMON LOON, RED-NECKED GREBE, COMMON MERGANSER, and a tight
platoon of BARROW'S GOLDENEYES patrolled close to shore. I watched a PELAGIC
CORMORANT emerge with a wriggling fish; after carefully working the fish head
first, down the hatch it went. A huge bulge in the long neck showed the
progress of the live fish. After it was successfully swallowed, the cormorant
wriggled quite a bit itself, splashing and stretching. It must feel pretty
weird to have a live fish in one's belly!
A
noisy flock of COMMON REDPOLLS flew across the blue sky heading for some
alders. Suddenly, a whirlwind of large snowflakes burst upwards from the nearly
buried beach ryegrass. SNOW BUNTINGS! What a treat to find them here! About 20
birds walked along the crusty snow, picking up fallen seeds, and jumped up on
upright stalks to ride them down and knock down more. I watched for a long time
as they fed and whirled up and down.
The
good dog chewed contentedly on her stick while I enjoyed the show. Just when I
thought they were flying off for good, they veered and landed quite close,
chittering and chattering. Closer and closer, feeding as they walked, long
black toes contrasting with the white snow. Finally, they were too close for my
lens! I just enjoyed being another piece of driftwood while they disputed
particular seeds and knocked down more. Then off to the sandy beach for grit,
leaving tiny tracks in the softer snow along the edge. Finally, the flock had
enough and whirled away. I hope they didn't go far!
Unwilling
to leave the sun, I then checked out the calm water south of the Uplands by the
boat harbor. At the mouth of Scheffler Creek, I found 16 GADWALL feeding only a
foot away from the shore. One drake was particularly handsome and quite a bit
lighter than the others. GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS sat in the cold riffles while
NORTHWESTERN CROWS flocked overhead looking for food.
Happy
Birding!
Carol
Griswold
Seward
Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
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