Friday, October 31, 2025 Anna’s Hummingbird, Cackling Geese

Seward, Alaska

Sunrise 9:19 am, sunset 6:05 pm, for a total day length of 8 hours and 45 minutes. Tomorrow will be 5 minutes and 12 seconds shorter.

Unbelievable weather this week! A major storm hit Southcentral Alaska on Wednesday and Thursday as a giant low moved across the Gulf of Alaska. Seward experienced NNE winds gusting 35 to 45 mph and over 4” of rain with temps warming from 30 to 39º.

 

A rare thunderstorm rumbled in around 8 pm on Wednesday night, the roiling clouds ignited by lighting. The flashes and booms came fast and loud like fireworks, echoing off the surrounding mountainsides. Stinging hail, heavy rain, and angry wind accompanied the phenomenal show for the next 5 hours, which finally diminished after a final flash and boom around 1:30 am. Mamma mia!  

 

Not to be outdone by the sky, at 9:33 am on Thursday, the earth shook with a 5.4 magnitude earthquake, centered 44 miles southwest of Seward. The quake started slow, jiggling anything loose, then one big jolt that made me jump, followed by several smaller jolts, then faded. It seemed to last about 10 seconds, hard to say. Fortunately, that was it. Whew!

 

After this challenging week of rain and wind, the ANNA’S HUMMINGBIRD materialized at my feeder today shortly before noon, a resilient storm survivor. Where and how did he shelter through that long, hard night? He sipped for several minutes, flashing his magenta jewels when startled by a Nuthatch or Chickadee in the adjacent sunseed feeder. I managed to get a few through-the-window photos before he zoomed off. I did not see him again today. What an inspiration!

 

At the head of the bay, two more CACKLING GEESE joined the three-some. Will the five finally migrate together?  

 

Tuesday was my last sighting of a SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPER when it serendipitously flew over the marsh and landed at the edge of the shallow pond in full view. Maybe they’ll leave with the Geese before it snows next week.

 

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter

Sunday, October 26, 2025 Sharp-tailed Sandpipers, Yellow-billed Loon, Killdeer, Dunlins

Seward, Alaska

Sunrise 9:07 am, sunset 6:18 pm for a total day length of 9 hours and 11 minutes. Tomorrow will be 5 minutes and 17 seconds shorter. 

 

Seward basked (relatively) in a brilliantly sunny weekend though the temps dipped to a low of 30 overnight. The skim of ice on the Lagoon and frost soon melted with highs of 36-38. Cooler temps and mixed snow/rain are in the forecast for the next few days.

 

A trio of phenomenal birders descended on Seward on Saturday and pulled out a fantastic number of species (over 50!) I felt fortunate to tag along in their wake for a bit. The weekend headliner featured five juvenile SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPERS, a new local record.

 

A single DUNLIN accompanied the wayward Asiatic sandpipers in the saltmarsh while a second Dunlin foraged solo in the tidelands. They found a seasonally expected surprise KILLDEER that split time between the tidelands and the pond, and the immature NORTHERN SHRIKE far out on the tide flats, harassed by a BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE.

 

Two CACKLING GEESE, subspecies minima, joined the lonely juvenile in the salt marsh. Maybe they will be able to migrate together and figure out the way? 

 

Bristling with scopes and binocs, sharp eyes and radar hearing, they pulled one bird after the other out of the ether. I was especially impressed with their sightings of Loons, apparently all over the place: two Common Loons and one Pacific Loon at Fourth of July Beach, a Pacific Loon at Spring Creek Beach, a Common Loon along the Waterfront and along Lowell Point Road, two more Pacific Loons along Lowell Point Road, and a very uncommon Red-Throated Loon along Lowell Point Road.

 

They even found the 16 STARLINGS in town that flew over my car on October 19 and have proved elusive and camera-shy since.

 

While looking to refind a few of those fabulous Loons today, I found a YELLOW-BILLED LOON at Spring Creek Beach! Too cool!

 

The moral of the story is to bring a sherpa to carry your scope. Or just get lucky and sail along with these birders.

 

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter

Friday, October 24, 2025 Anna’s Hummingbird update

Seward, Alaska

In the dusk around 5 pm on Tuesday, October 21, I spotted the distinctive silhouette of the elusive ANNA’S HUMMINGBIRD quietly perching on a bare branch of an aspen tree near the feeder. I did not see it feed. 

 

On Wednesday, it rained so hard during a big storm, I needed windshield wipers on my kitchen window. I leaped up, camera in hand when the hummer zoomed in to the feeder around 9:30 am. 

 

Though the light was dim and the rain ran in rivulets down the window, I snapped a photo though the glass as he turned and flashed his scattered magenta speckles. The minimal spangles lead me to think he is an immature male. I wonder if youngsters are extending their range from BC, or if he was a born and raised Alaskan?

 

I did not see him on Thursday, but after another dreary, dim, rainy morning, the sun peeked out around noon and the hummer returned. He seemed a bit jumpy, flitting up then back, maybe wary of the Nuthatches and Chickadees zipping in and out of the big-bird exclosure. But he soon settled back down to rest on the handy feeder perch while he sipped the cold sugar solution.

 

He's a toughie! As the news traveled, other neighbors were considering putting up their hummingbird feeders too. Spread the joy! Nothing like the sight of a tiny hummingbird to cheer one up on these otherwise gloomy days.

 

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter

Update: Hummer bander extraordinaire, Todd Eskelin, confirmed that this is definitely a hatch-year male. The closest known breeders are in Juneau, so he could have hatched in SE Alaska, but Todd thought it more likely he came from British Columbia, Canada. Over 75% of the Anna's he has banded have been hatch-year males. They are the most likely to disperse to new areas.

Monday, October 20, 2025 Red-faced Cormorant, Tundra Swan

Seward, Alaska

I did not see the flashy green Anna’s Hummingbird today. However, I did refind the CACKLING GOOSE, MIA since Friday, hanging out with MALLARDS, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, AMERICAN WIGEON, and GADWALL.

 

Hundreds of Silver Salmon returned home last week, flooding into Scheffler Creek the Lagoon, and into the small tributaries. The fish-viewing platform just north of the Gateway Hotel on Fourth Ave provided great views of a dense formation swimming in the middle of the stream. Salmon spawned right in front of the interpretive signs. 

 

The bonanza attracted many predators. Harbor Seals lurked at the mouth of Scheffler Creek and Steller Sea Lions patrolled in deeper water. BALD EAGLES, RAVENS, GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS, AMERICAN CROWS, and BLACK-BILLED MAGPIES in turn feasted on fresh salmon on the sandbar in the Lagoon. DIPPERS and MALLARDS dined on salmon eggs. It’s the last hurrah before winter.

 

On Thursday, October 16, I found seven GREAT BLUE HERONS perched on the fuel tanks stacked in the industrial zone near the airport wetlands; adaptable birds! A late-date SNIPE flushed from the sedges.

 

On Friday, on an end-of-season ebike ride on Exit Glacier Road, I had the pleasure of hearing PINE GROSBEAKS singing in the distance. I have yet to hear them in town.

 

Over at the seafood processing plant on Lowell Point Road on Saturday, I found an immature RED-FACED CORMORANT fishing with a single DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANT, and several PELAGIC CORMORANTS. The species trio made for great comparisons. The Red-faced Cormorant’s light-colored bill, thicker than a Pelagic Cormorant’s, really stood out. 

 

An immature RED-NECKED GREBE paddled along shore. A few dozen BARROW GOLDENEYES rafted and dove among the scattered BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES, GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS, and SHORT-BILLED GULLS. 

 

Seeking refuge from the chilly blast of the north wind, I hunkered down at Fourth of July Beach. It seemed really quiet bird-wise. Then, I saw a male BELTED KINGFISHER successfully spot, dive, catch, and eat several small fish in succession from his perch at the top of the sheet-pile breakwater. What a superb fisher!

 

On Sunday, two distant Swans circled the head of the bay and then flew off to the northeast. When I checked my photos, I discovered one was a TRUMPETER SWAN, as expected. But the other, smaller Swan, sported a yellow spot in front of its eye: a TUNDRA SWAN!

 

That afternoon, the ANNA’S HUMMINGBIRD visited my feeder.

 

What an exciting week!

 

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter