Sunrise 5:42 am, sunset 10:07
pm, length of day 16 hours, 24 minutes. Tomorrow will be 5 minutes and 6
seconds longer.
More migratory birds arrived
this weekend despite yesterday's chilly north wind and hard, cold rain. Today
remained mostly cloudy but the mid-40 temps and the calm made birding at the
head of the bay very enjoyable.
The large flock of about 40
GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE was still here. I noticed a few GWF geese with a
plain gray belly. The National Geographic Field Guide notes that immature birds
acquire the white band above the orangish bill during their first winter, and
get their black belly speckling by the second fall. These birds are on their
first migration back north. If they are not yet adults, I wonder why they
undertake such a long journey? Maybe they are imprinting the route and the
mission with their families and will help defend the nesting grounds. Geese
make excellent watch guards!
The number of CACKLING GEESE,
identified by their small bills and short necks increased to about a dozen,
intermixed amicably with the other geese.
A carefree, loose dog made
them all stop momentarily and some flew, but most stayed put, watching. The
oblivious owners managed to get the dog back, and ravenous and wary, the geese
resumed eating sedges and other submergent vegetation.
"Tew, tew, tew!
Riddley-riddley-riddley!" Two GREATER YELLOWLEGS flew across the wetlands
to land, then jerked their long necks backwards in a move that would make a
chiropractor wince. The still water made a mirror reflection as one bird strode
across the shallow water on its long yellow legs. The black spots and bars on
the white body are impressive, but when the bird stretched its wings wide, I
saw a masterpiece! Perfectly placed large white brush strokes decorated the
edges of the darker feathers, and smaller white triangles edged the brown
primaries and secondaries. The show was over in a second, but I was pleased to
capture the art with my camera.
A dark shorebird with a long
bill disappeared around a sedge tussock. I waited and two reappeared.
First-of-Season DOWITCHERS! The warm reddish brown belly had no white, and the
shoulder feathers were boldly outlined in white, identifying them as
LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS. They walked around on their dark legs, poking, probing,
and gobbling edibles with their long tweezer bills. Something spooked them and
four flew across the water, a long white patch on their back flashing open and
shut like a ripped suit.
Several male PACIFIC GOLDEN
PLOVERS poked around the slightly drier areas, occasionally chasing one another
away. Like all plovers, they exhibited their characteristic stop-start
behavior, moving rapidly, then pausing to listen and look (and pose.) The gold, black, and white flecking on
the back is another stunning abstract pattern made by Nature's finest brush. A
white border from the forehead to the tail separates it from the anchoring
black belly. What a showy bird!
In the distance, too far to
get a decent image, I found a male BLACK-BELLIED PLOVER. This large plover is a
study in black and white, with a handsome white crown fit for a king balanced
by a jet black face down to its belly, then white again. The back is sprinkled
in black and white patterns.
I wish these beautiful
plovers would stay, but they are headed to the high arctic and western Alaska
to breed with many miles to go.
Suddenly, I heard high
peep and stopped like a plover to search. There, not far ahead of me on the
tideflats were the First-of-Season SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS. How nice to see them back! This pair
might be residents as some do stay to nest.
I happened to look up and saw
five BALD EAGLES circling in a late afternoon thermal. Then I saw a few more
higher up, and then a few more specks even higher. The more I looked, the more
materialized like magic! There were FOURTEEN eagles spiraling upwards with a
few MEW GULLS and RAVENS mixed in to harass them. I imagine as they looked
down, they saw a smorgasbord of gulls, ducks, geese, and even the TRUMPETER
SWAN, fattening up. But maybe they weren't hungry and were just enjoying the
incredible view and the freedom of soaring on those giant broad wings.
Happy birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report
Reporter
Just stumbled across your blog! Thanks for sharing!
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