Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 7:36 am, sunset 8:05
pm, for a total length of day of 12 hours and 29 minutes. Tomorrow will be 5
minutes and 25 seconds shorter. Full moon tonight; moonrise was officially at 7:45
pm, but she didn't peek over the mountains until 8:26 pm, and then rose like a
helium balloon into the deep indigo blue night sky. What a lovely sight!
After a few days of calm and
clouds, a brisk north wind cleansed the stratus cobwebs, revealing a brilliant
blue sky. Splashes of gold and red blazed in the Mt Ash trees; fluttering
yellow cottonwood and willow leaves all mimicked Western Tanagers; alder leaves
skipped the finery and dropped dead dressed in faded green and drab brown. The
temps hovered in the low to mid- 50s, after dipping into the high 30s at night.
First things first: A WESTERN
TANAGER was refound today around 4:30 pm in the 700 block of Fifth Avenue at
the corner of Monroe. Either a bright female or winter male, it was busy
juicing serviceberries in the wonderful hedge in the middle of the yard. After
plucking a single berry, it really worked it over, squeezing it thoroughly,
providing wonderful views during the process. I still didn't see if it dropped
the berry's skin when finished, it was so quick, but suspect it ate the whole
enchilada. Then it went back for another sweet ripe berry.
Earlier in the afternoon, a
SPRUCE GROUSE suddenly whirred up from around a curve in the Tonsina Trail, and
disappeared into a stately tree bearing its name. I haven't seen a spruce
grouse in a long time; other times, it's hard to get them off the trail.
A few PACIFIC WRENS chipped
unseen from the dense woods along the trail. A VARIED THRUSH sang tentatively,
and two FOX SPARROWS jump-scratched in the dead leaves. HARELQUIN DUCKS dove for fish eggs in Tonsina
Creek as a few late spawning pink salmon swam past along the shore. GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS, both
young and adult, and an adult HERRING GULL sunned on a remnant stretch of beach
just out of reach of the high tide.
I scanned the fall colors of
the mountainside and watched an adult BALD EAGLE shoot over the crest, sailing
in the wind on its broad wings.
In other news, I received a
report of the Mile 15 TRUMPETER SWAN family. Apparently this past weekend, the
whole family was spotted walking in the ditch alongside the road, the four
cygnets bookended by the adults, heading south. Speculation ranges from a lack
of clear water to take off; the cygnets can't fly yet but can walk; they just
wanted to go for a little stroll. One never knows with birds. I'd be interested
in any further updates of this unusual and fascinating swan family. So far, the
reports are that they are gone.
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report
Reporter
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