Seward,
Alaska Sporadic Bird Report
Sunrise
7:33 am, sunset 8:41pm, length of day 13 hours, 17 minutes; tomorrow will be 5
minutes and 30 seconds longer.
Weather:
Scattered clouds and peek-a-boo, warm sunshine. Temps remained in the high 30s
to low 40s, keeping the snowmelt somewhat under control with 90% of the snow
yet to go. A brief south breeze and light rain popped up yesterday afternoon
then blew away, returning the bay to mirror calm.
Friday,
March 30
Harbor
Uplands: 2 BLACK SCOTERS hung out with 2 SURF SCOTERS, all handsome, colorful
drakes. A HERRING GULL stood, then sat amicably on a piling adjacent to a BALD
EAGLE that pointedly ignored the intrusion into its personal space.
Just
off the beach, a COMMON LOON preened its newly emerged black and white spangled
back with a head still adorned in winter feathers. Changes are happening fast!
Saturday:
I motored down Lowell Point River trying not to generate a wake, and squeezed
through recent small avalanche slides to reach Lowell Point Beach. A sea otter
swam leisurely along next to the road. Farther out, a PIGEON GUILLEMOT in
striking breeding plumage, black with a white wing patch, floated peacefully
all alone.
I
wandered down to the rocky intertidal area, now at low tide. Scanning the
apparently empty, seaweed-strewn rocks, I envisioned the migrants soon to come.
Suddenly, there was one! A big black bird with a long red bill! First Of Season BLACK
OYSTERCATCHER! What a treat! It poked among the rocks and pried off a large
limpet and other snacks. I hunkered down to enjoy watching it for about 10
minutes until a beach walker with a dog alarmed the bird. Off it flew with a
loud ringing WHEEP! Lowell Point, despite its enticing habitat, has too many
loose dogs and summer activity for this wonderful bird to nest here anymore. But
early in the spring and in the fall, we are lucky to see them, if only briefly.
Back
at home, a neighbor brought over an odd, desiccated collection: a smashed robin, flattened Bohemian waxwing, shriveled mouse, old bait herring, a hunk of congealed fat, and a dried up piece
of bread. What do these have in common? He found them when he opened up his truck's air
cleaner, all jammed against the air filter. The only entry point was the
air intake duct opening several feet away. Very mysterious! After ruling out
the Butler with the Candlestick, I guessed that a red squirrel, a known bird killer, stashed these delectables
in the air cleaner when the truck was parked for spring break. A Musher with an Axe suggested a weasel might have done the deed as there were no spruce cones in the mix. The mystery continues. Too funny!
Happy
Birding!
Carol
Griswold
Seward
Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
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