Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 9:30 am, sunset 4:49
pm for a total daylight of 7 hours and 19 minutes. Tomorrow will be 4 minutes
and 38 seconds longer.
Low of 38, high of 43, cloudy
with occasional light sprinkles. The weather has been like this forever, very
monotonous, and in various shades of gray. The ground is bare, revealing dead
brown grass, mud, and ice. I even washed my car yesterday. Some willows are
budding out. Is this January?
On Wednesday afternoon,
January 20, I ventured out to Lowell Point Beach. The bay seemed absolutely empty,
not even a HARLEQUIN in sight. But after a while, two resident BALD EAGLES put
on quite a show. First one, then the other launched off their spruce top perch over the water. Their wild cries rang out as they flew low over the water,
hunting.
One Eagle reached down and
grabbed something from the surface, and calling triumphantly, flew straight for
Pinnacle Rock, a prominent feature of the state park, and favorite dining
table. As the water drops cascaded off the Eagle, I could see the prey was not an
intact seabird, but more likely one of many COMMON MURRE carcasses that floated
off the beach during a recent high tide. The bay keeps them refrigerated like
leftovers for dinner.
The Eagle stood on the
carcass, surrounded by other carcasses, and seemed a bit disappointed with its
catch. Guess it was already stripped. Soon the giant raptor took flight and
headed back out over the bay. Oddly, a large codfish floated half-submerged at
the surface. Bam! The Eagle struck, grabbing the surprised fish by the tail
with a splash! After a brief struggle, the codfish broke loose from the single
talon hold and dove back into the water. The Eagle gave up and flew back to
the spruce tree to rest.
Shortly afterwards, both
Eagles took off again, heading back to that fish. I wonder if it was injured? A
swing and a miss! The fish gave a mighty splash, and the second Eagle swerved
in for the kill. Another swing and a miss! Then another! I think that fish was just too heavy.
After those failures, the disgusted Eagles
flew off in different directions, still vocalizing, heading for the trees to rest and muse over
the tremendous feast they had both narrowly missed. Can’t eat misses!
Fortunately, a small number
of COMMON MURRES survived the recent wreck. No doubt the Eagles continue to
target whatever Murres they can find, but with the scarcity, it’s getting
harder. That cod would have really been provident.
A few days later, I watched a Bald Eagle ripping into an intact Murre with gusto; one lives, one dies.
The Pacific Cod fishing boats
headed out this week and weather-permitting, should be returning with their
catch for processing soon. The fish waste from the local processors will really
perk up the food web, and perhaps save a lot of bird lives.
Check out these mesmerizing
Cornell Bird Migration Maps. Only three Alaskan species are shown, 10 Black
Turnstone, 43 Golden-crowned Sparrow, and 46 Gray-crowned Rosy-finch, but it's
fascinating. Thanks, Janis for sharing!
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report
Reporter
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