Seward,
Alaska Sporadic Bird Report
Fall
Equinox arrived this morning at about 6:49 am. Happy Equinox!
Sunrise
7:43 am, sunset 7:55 pm, length of day 12 hours, 11 minutes; tomorrow will be 5
minutes and 25 seconds shorter.
Weather:
Extreme weather events continue in the Seward area with heavy rain, massive flooding, storm surge damage, and periods of strong wind. The series of severe
storms originated in the tropics, so at least it's warm, in the 50s.
Many
roads are closed, neighborhoods are cut off, and homes flooded. Box Canyon
levee was breached. Crews are working valiantly to protect infrastructure and
save homes. Fortunately, power is on in all but a few areas. The Kenai
Peninsula Borough mayor and the governor declared a disaster for Seward and
other areas in the Kenai Peninsula yesterday. Travel is not advised. More rain
is forecast for the rest of the week.
Avoiding
roads with floods and rock/mudslides, I checked the tidelands today. Everything
from twigs to trees was strewn up and down the beach, plundered by the mighty
Resurrection River and slammed against the shore by the storm waves. The
battered trees have peeled bark and splintered roots, evidence of a fierce
battle lost. Even in their distress, the colors and textures are beautiful. A
normally clear artisan creek boiled with gray glacial silt from the flooding
river.
This
changed landscape was juxtaposed over an eerie sense of normal: RAVENS
commented loudly about their aerial inspection, BALD EAGLES, both adult and
juveniles sat in the foggy mist on new perches of driftwood, and SAVANNAH
SPARROWS picked through tidbits in the beach debris where a few ground flies
still lingered.
Two
small flocks of WILSON'S SNIPE, one with 5 birds, one with 2, flew across the
flooded salt marsh. The young (or female) NORTHERN HARRIER cruised low over the
area, selected different perches and vantage points, then glided away. A flock
of about 13 peeps, possibly WESTERN SANDPIPERS, settled down at the tide line
to feed. A single YELLOWLEGS bowed vigorously and called. I think it was a
GREATER, but visibility was terrible.
Yesterday,
I refound the two GREAT BLUE HERONS, stealthily feeding in the shallow
mudflats. They were invisible today.
Along
the road, several dozen ROBINS and VARIED THRUSHES flew up from the grass. It
was amazing to see so many thrushes erupting in waves as my car approached.
They soon settled into elderberry bushes, clucking softly, to feast on the
bright red berries. Such handsome birds!
Back
in town, in between the hard rains, STELLER'S JAYS are busy from early morning
to dark, plucking peanuts from feeders and planting them to replace the ones
that drowned or floated away. I heard the SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, but raptor
activity seems greatly reduced.
Challenging,
serious times for birds, humans, and everything else in this dynamic ecosystem.
Happy
Birding!
Carol
Griswold
Seward
Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
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