Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 6:22 am, sunset 9:38
pm for a total day light of 15 hours and 15 minutes. Tomorrow will be 5 minutes
and 18 seconds shorter.
Sparkling day! Blue sky and
sunshine! Crystal clear air cleansed by recent rains. Low 48º at 7:30 am,
rising to a very pleasant 59º high by 12:30 pm. Today was a day of many
discoveries at several locations.
Blue sky framed Mt Marathon,
Phoenix Glacier, and Mt Benson, bathed in bright sunshine. Reluctant gray
clouds lingered at the peaks, unwilling to move along. Phoenix Glacier
continues to retreat, revealing more rocks between the deeply crevassed ice
lobes.
While examining a pink salmon
carcass at the tidelands, I heard an odd cry behind me. I looked up and to my
amazement, saw a juvenile PEREGRINE FALCON flying past! As quick as I could, I
switched cameras and shot off a few images of the fantastic falcon. It stroked
powerfully with purpose, heading for a tranquil gathering of gulls resting on a
small spit.
Instant pandemonium! It flew
through the blizzard of screeching white feathers, but did not succeed in
striking any. I lost it in the melee but was thrilled at the sighting. This is
the first Peregrine of the year for me.
Overhead, first one BALD
EAGLE then another and another began spiraling up into the blue sky, taking
advantage of the south breeze. Several juveniles were missing so many feathers
due to molting, it was surprising they could even fly. Their wings reminded me
of a child’s gap-toothed smile. Soon, there were at least a dozen eagles plus
speck-dot black RAVENS and white gulls soaring ever upwards above me in a
lovely ephemeral mobile, dancing between the wisps of clouds.
A few SAVANNAH SPARROWS
flitted along the beach, and two LEAST SANDPIPERS. Shorebird-wise, it continues
to be pretty quiet.
Another surprise awaited. The
good dog sniffed out a small mammal carcass. I checked it out and found an
inch-long SEXTON BEETLE, or Burying Beetle at work. This impressive stout black
beetle sported brilliant orange and yellow patterns on its wing covers.
They are famous for finding
carcasses, suddenly appearing where they have otherwise not been seen. They can
bury the carcass if not too large, or move it to a more suitable spot on their
sturdy backs. Then they advertise for females to lay eggs near the future food
source.
This one carried mites as
most do, serving as taxis, delivering the mites to carcasses where they
reproduce. Such a fascinating story, right before my eyes!
Check out these links for
more information by ecologists Mary Wilson and Bob Armstrong at http://juneauempire.com/stories/092410/out_711593825.shtml#.WZkawnd95TY
Also check out this link
showing spectacular photos of hummingbird flower mites hitching a ride on the
bills of tropical hummingbirds.
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report
Reporter
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