Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 8:32 am, sunset 5:51
pm, for a total length of day of 9 hours 24 minutes. Tomorrow will be 5
minutes and 24 seconds longer. What a treat to still be light out after 6 pm!
A big storm dumped over a
foot of snow on Friday, transforming the sorry-looking bare ground into picture
postcard winter scenes. Massive dark clouds from the Gulf of Alaska delivered
load after load of addition snow over the weekend. At times, the wind whipped
the light fluffy stuff into ground blizzards, making visibility very difficult.
When those little tantrums subsided, it was calm and beautiful. Temperatures
are back in the winter normal range in the 20s.
Tonight, as a light snow
diminished, Jupiter, Orion, and his glittering dog Sirius shone through the
light cloud cover. The eastern sky brightened as the rising waning moon glowed
through the veil of clouds.
On Saturday, I enjoyed a walk
through the serene black and white world of snow and forest at Two Lakes Park.
An odd irregularity to the peaceful white blanket up ahead caught my eye. Upon
closer inspection, I found little tufts of brown and white fur scattered all
over the bank. Higher up, footprints and wing prints in the snow told how a
GREAT HORNED OWL plunged after a rabbit and grabbed it.
The owl enjoyed dinner high
up in a nearby spruce tree, inadvertently decorating the tree branches and bark
with little bits of fur as the rest showered to the ground. The good dogs were
fascinated by this discovery, and their Lab report soon made a mess of the
drama. One found the rabbit's foot, apparently only lucky because the owl found
it inedible. The dog thought it might be, but I took it away before she could
prove it.
What a thrill to discover the
owl's story! And incidentally, Bird #63, confirming the snatch of GH OWL
hooting I heard on February 7th.
Other notes:
February 11: RED-FACED
CORMORANTS at the SMIC boat basin, Mile 5 Nash Road. A brownish juvenile stood
on a piling with two glossy green-sheened adults, preening in the sunshine.
NORTHERN SHRIKE at Fourth of
July Beach. It vocalized many times, a harsh, gutteral sound, perched at the
top of an alder.
February 12: about a dozen
MARBLED MURRELETS bobbed in the choppy white-capped waves as nearby GLAUCOUS-WINGED
GULLS dove headfirst into the froth for dinner, possibly herring, just offshore
by the Greenbelt.
February 13: calm and cold,
ghostly fog sprites danced down the bay. A pod of at least 7 Steller Sea Lions
patrolled the bay along Lowell Point Road, popping up to watch me with
curiosity. I finally found the lone male BLACK SCOTER, and a RED-NECKED GREBE,
#61 and 62.
February 14: GOLDEN-CROWNED
KINGLET busily at work, quite close in a spruce branch, talking to itself in a
tiny high voice, "tsee, tsee, tsee."
February 15: A drake MALLARD
flew furiously high across the sky; I didn't wonder why for long. A BALD EAGLE
soon appeared, stroking powerfully after it, cutting underneath. I did not see
the conclusion, but felt there was duck on the menu today.
February 16: I followed a
flock of 12 birds to a neighbor's Mt Ash tree where I identified them as
GRAY-CROWNED ROSY-FINCHES. They looked forlornly at the feeder, swarming with
NW CROWS, and departed.
About 20 ROBINS sat quietly
in a May Day tree.
At 7:30 pm, I was lucky to be
outside to hear an extremely close NORTHERN SAW-WHET OWL calling loudly from
the lower slopes of Mt Marathon. At 10 pm, all was quiet. One never knows with
owls!
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report
Reporter
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