Seward,
Alaska Sporadic Bird Report
Sunrise
7:36 am, sunset 6:41 pm, length of day 11 hours, 5 minutes; tomorrow will be 5
minutes and 30 seconds longer.
Weather:
A second stunningly spectacular winter day! Last week's storm dumped at least
8-10" of snow in town, more out of town. The brilliant white, thick snow
blanket is heaped into jumbled mounds up to 10' high along driveways and street
intersections. My dog is thrilled to run up our snow slide to play ball on the
roof. The snow reflects the high
beam sunshine up into the clear blue dome; it's painful without sunglasses.
With temps in the mid 20s, it's easy to walk without snowshoes, though ice
grippers are still needed. The forecast includes the return of the brisk north wind, which I do not miss at all!
At
4:14 pm, the sun burst forth from the west side of Bear Mountain, which to me is an event as
monumental as the Solstice alignment at Stonehenge. Though it soon dipped below the craggy
mountain, every day will bring it up a little higher and longer until it soars
free, high as an eagle.
After
the sun set this evening, the sky turned a deep violet; bright Venus and
sparkling Jupiter sailed side by side in its wake. The full moon rose over
snow-cloaked Mt Alice, dimming the stars, red Mars trailed above her. The show
continued into the night with a chance of northern lights.
Today
was exhilarating, entertaining, educational, and exceedingly excellent! I
wandered over to the boat harbor where a layer of ice restricted bird activity
to limited open water.
I
spied a juvenile YELLOW-BILLED LOON and an adult COMMON LOON and crept closer
to watch, partially hidden by the walkway. The yellow-billed loon paddled
about, snorkeling and peering underwater, gradually getting closer and closer.
Suddenly, it dove under the walkway beneath me. The water was so clear, I could
watch it do the "frog kick" with its large webbed feet, wings
tucked in, yellow-tipped dagger leading, so streamlined. It swam underwater for quite a ways and popped up
close to a Steller sea lion.
The
sea lion exhaled loudly then surged though the water and dove. Next, a sea
otter appeared with a bright pink rockfish head and spent considerable time
gnawing on the inside. I understand otters can get parasites from eating fish,
but it's easy food here. The loon and sea otter drifted closer and closer
until, much to the loon's and my amazement, the otter tried to catch the loon!
The
poor bird frantically stroked away with its large, ungainly wings, barely escaping, and
continued flapping awkwardly in terror long after the otter had given up. Sheesh!
First fish heads and then a loon?
The
adult COMMON LOON did not seem to learn from this incident and soon it too drifted
near the otter, but fortunately the otter was busy with another fish head as big as its own and
ignored the trusting bird.
A
pair of BARROW'S GOLDENEYES, one female and the other a young male, shot under the
walkway, wings whistling musically. How nice to create a song with every
wingbeat! The birds circled several times and then landed with a brief
splashdown skid. They seemed very wary and served as good watchbirds, if the
less cautious loons paid attention.
A
single RED-NECKED GREBE paddled over and under. I was in a very prime spot! It
dove for a bit then took a snooze in the warm sunshine, ice notwithstanding.
The
loons seemed companionable cousins, choosing to hang out together. It was
interesting to see how much larger the yellow-billed loon is compared to the
common loon. After the common loon struggled with a unruly fish part
(apparently quite a selection of fish parts here) and finally got it down, it
was nap time. The yellow-billed loon preened and then dozed off as well. What a
magical moment, watching two magnificent loons drift lazily, eyes shut, just
relaxing and digesting lunch. It must have been a power nap as neither bird tucked its head under a wing, and it didn't last long.
After
a while, the yellow-billed loon revived, serenely paddled over, closer and closer, and once again
dove right under the walkway where I could watch it swim underwater. I could never
get tired of watching that! The common loon chose a different direction and
cruised slowly away. I quietly left, wishing them well, grateful for such an
amazing encounter.
In
other news:
February
29: 2-3 GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS reported at a feeder in town. A SHARP-SHINNED
HAWK watched from a fence and then dug into the snow after them without any
luck.
March
1: Five SNOW BUNTINGS at the beach. I watched a RAVEN attack and kill, but not
eat, a COMMON MURRE.
March
3, a NORTHERN GOSHAWK reported to have killed and eaten a JUNCO at a feeder in
town.
March
4: HOODED MERGANSER male reported in Clear Creek.
March
6: I spotted five BRANT flying over the bay at high tide, but did not see them
today. It's nice to know they may still be around. Also, I found one SNOW
BUNTING picking through the wrack at the tideline. It's unusual to find just
one of these flocking birds.
Two COMMON MURRES lay trapped in the ice in the boat harbor where they struggled and died overnight. Such a sad sight. The BALD EAGLES continue to feast on these starving birds, strewing carcasses on the ground. There should be a healthy population of eaglets come spring with such well-fed parents.
Robin C reported the HOODED MERGANSER male was once again in saltwater by the seafood processing plant bird feeder with the usual SCOTERS et al, but not many gulls. He is pretty sure he saw a HOARY REDPOLL at Ava's, with a very white rump and overall light color.
Robin C reported the HOODED MERGANSER male was once again in saltwater by the seafood processing plant bird feeder with the usual SCOTERS et al, but not many gulls. He is pretty sure he saw a HOARY REDPOLL at Ava's, with a very white rump and overall light color.
Happy
Birding!
Carol
Griswold
Seward
Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
No comments:
Post a Comment