Tuesday, June 24, 2025 Greater, Lesser, Least and a Hummer

Seward, Alaska

Sunrise 4:34 am, sunset 11:28 pm for a total day length of 18 hours and 53 minutes. Tomorrow will be 42 seconds shorter.  Clouds lowered the temp to the mid-40s today with showers in the forecast.

 

Civil twilight began at 2:45 am; a ROBIN heralded the new day around 3 am, joined by an exuberant FOX SPARROW. They don’t get much sleep!

 

At the head of the bay, I saw 3 SNIPE winnowing and calling. A SAVANNAH SPARROW adorned a blue Large-leaf Lupine flower spike, likely nervous about its hidden youngsters. A LINCOLN SPARROW and an ALDER FLYCATCHER sang from the bushes. 

 

Also heard in the trees, YELLOW-RUMPED and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLERS, a DOWNY WOODPECKER, and HERMIT THRUSH. TREE SWALLOWS zipped up and down a creek nabbing flying insects for their babies. 

 

Suddenly, a flock of 10 LESSER YELLOWLEGS flew over, softly calling “tu, tu, tu”. Fortunately, they landed and I was able to get a few photos. I haven’t seen Least Yellowlegs for a while and wonder if they are already starting to migrate south. Two LEAST SANDPIPERS poked along the beach with them. A GREATER YELLOWLEGS foraged nearby.

 

This evening, I chanced to see a female RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD feeding on my pansies under the hummer feeder. I wonder if she too has babies waiting for her?

 

Exciting but perilous times for fledglings as the innocents venture into the world.

 

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter

 

 

 

 

Sunday, June 22, 2025 Gray-cheeked Thrushes!

Seward, Alaska

What a treat this afternoon to hear 3 GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSHES in the wetlands just before the Welcome to Kenai Fjords National Park sign, as if conjured!

 

Also heard 2 SWAINSON’S by the 1889 marker, HERMIT, and VARIED THRUSHES and saw a ROBIN for a quintet of expected Seward thrushes.

 

Unfortunately, it was too hard to hear the songs in the videos that I wanted to share, so I deleted them.

 

Birding, biking, and botany go hand in hand. The native wildflowers dotted along the roadside include streamside, woodland, and alpine species which provide an everchanging feast for the eyes accompanied by birdsong. I included a few here.

Please excuse the formatting; it just won't display properly.

 

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter

                                              Nootka Lupine

                                              Lupinus nootkatensis

    

                                              Northern Goldenrod                                                                                              Solidago multiradiata

                                            
                                                Red or Western Columbine

                                                Aquilegia formosa

     

Yellow Mt Avens

   Dryas drummondii

                             

                                          Pink Wintergreen, most still in bud                                                             Pyrola asarifolia

 

                                           Single Delight, Frog's Reading Lamp                                                                                                   Moneses uniflora

 

         

  Purple or Blackish Oxytrope

         Oxytropis nigrescens

Yellow Paintbrush

Castilleja unaslaschcensis

                             River Beauty, Dwarf Fireweed                                                      Chamerion latifolium

 

                                                 

                                                                   

                                     

                                    

Friday, June 20, 2025 Swainson’s Thrush, finally

Seward, Alaska

Happy Summer Solstice!

Sunrise 4:33 am, sunset 11:27 pm for a total day length of 18 hours and 54 minutes. Tomorrow will be 1 second longer, and then the days become imperceptibly shorter. Grab them while you can!

 

Another beautiful, sunny day, but hazy from wildfire smoke drifting south from the interior. Temps ranged from a low of 47 to a high of 60, though it felt warmer. Early morning north wind switched to south, 2 to 6 mph with gusts to 14. Cooler temps in the forecast and showers next week.

 

I was delighted to finally hear the upward-spiraling song of three SWAINSON’S THRUSHES as I e-biked along Exit Glacier Road. One could be even heard from the busy parking lot.

 

Also noted: VARIED THRUSH, HERMIT THRUSH, ROBIN (seen, not heard), ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER, WILSON’S WARBLER, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER, YELLOW WARBLER, TOWNSEND'S WARBLER, NORTHERN WATERTHRUSH, FOX SPARROW, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, COMMON REDPOLL, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE, BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE (staked out at Nature Center).

 

Songs are dwindling as frantic parents switch jobs from choral celebrities to fast food finder/haulers, but I am still hoping to hear a GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSH.

 

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Report

 

 

Tuesday, June 17, 2025 Oystercatchers, Loons, Scoters

Seward, Alaska

Sunrise 4:33 am, sunset 11:26 pm for a total day length of 18 hours and 53 minutes. Tomorrow will be 0 minutes and 34 seconds longer. That's about it! We've reached the max!

 

Mild temperatures continued today with a low of 43 accompanied by drizzle, and a high of 53 under partly cloudy conditions in the afternoon. The sky was weirdly hazy from wildfire smoke drifted over from the raging wildfires in British Columbia, Canada. The forecast calls for temps rising into the mid-60s with sunshine for the next few days, then back to clouds and showers.

 

Yesterday, at Fourth of July Beach, a loud, ringing “WHEEP! WHEEP!” spun me around in time to see a pair of BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS flying along the shore. The chunky all-black shorebirds with long, red bills and orange eyes landed on the other side of the creek and snuggled down in the rocks exposed at the low tide. After a few minutes, back they flew, the lead WHEEPING as they flew far out into the middle of the bay and disappeared. What a great surprise and hard to miss!

 

Next, I found a pair of WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS paddling, stretching, and flying, displaying their white wing patches. I wondered if they were the same birds spotted this winter. What strange and fascinating flattened bills they have! That white crescent under the drake’s pale eye is very fetching!

 

Today, I refound the White-winged Scoters with 13 SURF SCOTERS, diving in synchrony just offshore. The Surfer drakes sported almost gaudy orange, white, and red bills, riveting pale blue eyes, white foreheads, and a dashing white stripe down the back of their heads. A pleasure to see.

 

A bit farther out, I found first one, then two COMMON LOONS in full breeding plumage diving and paddling away, then closer. Can black and white birds get any more stunning? Their pattern of white stripes and spots was impeccable. When they stretched, it looked like a cape of glittering stars laid out across their wings and backs.

 

A male BALD EAGLE perched in a nearby cottonwood while the female sat patiently on her palatial rainforest nest. Godwin Glacier peeked out of its mountain cradle, blue crevasses atop the newly exposed bedrock. 

 

What a place, Resurrection Bay, framed by spectacular scenery and home to fabulous birds!

 

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Reporter

  

Sunday, June 15, 2025 Alas, no cygnets

Seward, Alaska

Though I’ve checked the Nash Road Mile 1 pond twice a day since Friday, I have not seen any signs of cygnets. I watched expectantly as the adults emerged from behind the tall vegetation, straining to see the tiny babies close beside them. Hopes rose. After both were fully in view, my heart sank anew. The adults paddled serenely either singly or together without any babies in tow every time. 

 

I even found a MALLARD hen hiding in the wind-blown grass near the nest on Friday evening while the parents were out dining. Hopes sank. On Saturday, an adult Swan preened by the nest before slipping into the water. Hopes rose. This morning, one Swan paddled from the middle of the pond to the back. Hopes sank again. There is nothing to indicate that they are parents.

 

It seems they are content to rest and eat in this productive wetlands while maintaining ownership for next year. Sigh.

 

Sorry for the sad news.

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter

Thursday, June 12, 2025 No Cygnets YET

Seward, Alaska

 

I checked the pond at Nash Road this morning: only one TRUMPETER SWAN in the far back. I checked again this afternoon around 5:45 pm and found one Swan close to the road, leisurely preening and eating water horsetails without any apparent concerns. It was delightful to watch him up so close, nestled among the blooming bog buckbean.

 

I repeatedly scanned the pond, particularly the nest site, now overgrown with greenery. Nothing.

 

By and by, the Swan slowly paddled off, grabbing bites of salad as he went. I looked one more time before starting the car to drive home and saw, to my astonishment and relief, a white Swan rising like a specter from the grass shrouding the nest! She stood over the nest, big as a billboard, as I strained to see if there were any puffs visible underneath. No, not yet. 

 

How did I miss seeing her all these times? Her presence explains why her mate remained. He wasn’t alone after all!

 

She proceeded to carefully cover the nest with nearby vegetation as her handsome beau approached. Then she gracefully descended and they both paddled off, side by side. Expectant parents, enjoying a few quiet moments before the kids hatched and dominated their every moment for the next 9 or 10 months.

 

There is hope! While this is a very late date for hatching, the grand event could be any day. Perhaps when I check tomorrow, they will be bookending their darling babies on a tour of the fast food joints nearby. And then, let the milestones flash by!

 

Hooray!

 

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter

Wednesday, June 11, 2025 No Cygnets

Seward, Alaska

 

Sunrise 4:35 am, sunset 11:21 pm for a total day length of 18 hours and 45 minutes. Tomorrow will be 1 minute and 38 seconds longer as we approach the longest day of the year during Summer Solstice on June 20.

 

After being out of town for several days, I anxiously checked for the TRUMPETER SWAN family today at Mile One Nash Road. The pond seemed eerily empty. 

Yes, there was a MALLARD family of cheeping ducklings, a handsome drake RING-NECKED DUCK, the rattle of a KINGFISHER, and several TREE SWALLOWS swooping over the water. Finally, in the far back, I saw the long white neck of one adult Swan periscoping above the green vegetation. Just one.

 

Last Wednesday, both Swans were away from the nest, on what I hoped was a lunch break. On Saturday, Tasha texted concern about both Swans being away from the nest without their babies close by. She feared that the high water in May may have flooded or chilled the eggs and made them unviable. Or the cold, wet spring, or any number of other reasons for nest failure.

 

I checked again later today and didn’t even find one Swan. This is highly unusual. Swans do not leave their cygnets. Poof! Gone was the anticipated joy of counting the tiny youngsters, then watching them learn about food by imitating their magnificent parents, to see them grow and gain confidence, to fledge, and learn survival skills in the lean winter, and then to be totally independent and the cycle started anew. 

 

I will keep checking on the slim chance that they have been well-concealed, hoping for the best but fearing the loss. Sometimes it’s just tough to watch Mother Nature.

 

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter

 

 

Monday, June 2, 2025 Trumpeter Swans update

Seward, Alaska

 

Sunrise 4:45 am, sunset 11:09 pm, for a total day length of 18 hours and 24 minutes. Tomorrow will be 3 minutes and 0 seconds longer.

 

Cool spring temps with a low of 38 and a high of 44 continue with scattered rain showers and a southerly breeze. 

 

Every few days, I check on the nesting TRUMPETER SWANS at Mile 1, Nash Road. The female (pen) has been diligently sitting on her eggs through rain, wind, and chilly temperatures for the past month. 

A few times on warmer days, I observed her rise and carefully use her bill to cover her precious family with vegetation. Then, she eased over the side of the nest into the nearby water, and paddled straight for the water horsetails on the edge of the pond. She must get very hungry!

 

Meanwhile, the male (cob) luxuriated in eating, preening, and napping whenever and wherever he likes, while keeping a sharp eye out for intruders, of course! 

 

On May 27, I happened to arrive just as he took off from the pond. I leapt out of my car to watch and photograph his flight. He ponderously flapped his wings and slapped his giant black webbed feet on the surface, then rose and circled around the pond. He didn’t go far and soon descended with a waterski splash to the smaller pond on the east side of the road and grabbed some salad.

 

After a short while, he paddled to the far end of the pond, bugled, and again revved his engine for takeoff. My heart was in my throat as he gained altitude, abruptly veering upwards past the first row of high-voltage power line wires, and then the next set. I was so relieved when he finally cleared the menacing and deadly wires and landed safely back on the other pond. 

 

A 25-pound Swan who falls after hitting power lines, has little to no chance of surviving the crash, even if he is not electrocuted. 

 

On May 31, I was surprised to hear a “honk!” and find seven Trumpeter Swans flying in a ragged line at the head of the bay. They landed but soon took off. The leading pair of adults few right overhead on their way to the edge of the low tide, followed by two more adults and three, year-old cygnets. After a short while, the pair again took off, trailed closely by the other five.

 

The beautiful Swans flew in an ever-widening circle around the valley becoming smaller and smaller until they disappeared. Where did they come from, and where did they go? More mysteries to ponder. 

 

Today, the pen was still sitting on her nest. I’m excited to see how many cygnets will pop out this year…four like last year? Seven?  The answer will be revealed soon!

 

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter