Seward,
Alaska
Sunrise
8:11 am, sunset 8:02 pm for a total day length of 11 hours and 51 minutes as we
approach Spring Equinox. Tomorrow will be 5 minutes and 30 seconds longer.
The
cold snap snapped, the wind took a tiny nap then switched to the south, and the
temperature rose from single digits to the mid to high 30s. Morning snow morphed
to sn’rain, then sleet, steady rain, and then a medley of assorted squalls
punctuated by a peal of thunder this afternoon. The blustery wind hit speeds of
52 mph gusts. Exciting to watch but not an easy time to be at sea!
The
birds are busy making a living, ie surviving as best they can. I spotted two
glowing orange VARIED THRUSHES speckled with raindrops, sorting through the wet
leaves and duff under the spruce trees with JUNCOS in my yard today. These
thrushes have likely been here for the winter; even at a frigid 9ยบ they sang.
Out
on the bay, the sea ducks bobbed and dove under the white-capped, frothing
waves. Many flocks took to the air, flying from the boat harbor to the bay and
back, spooked by hungry BALD EAGLES careening overhead. I looked for pelagic
species blown from the Gulf without luck, but with this big a storm, it’s
likely something interesting will show up.
The
Lagoon is still mostly frozen, but in the widening opening, I spotted two
female SCAUP with the usual COMMON GOLDENEYES and COMMON MERGANSERS. Visibility
was very poor, but Robin C reported two GREATER SCAUP in the bay yesterday.
Last
night, in the lull, the SAW-WHET OWL called from the Mt Marathon slope. I
haven’t checked the Lost Lake Trailhead owls recently, but maybe they took the
opportunity to be heard as well.
Check
out the fascinating live-time wind current website at http://earth.nullschool.net Zoom in,
zoom out, go all around the globe.
Happy
Birding!
Carol
Griswold
Seward
Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
No comments:
Post a Comment