Friday, May 22, 2026 Pipits, Geese, Whimbrels, Tattler

Seward, Alaska

Sunrise 5:04 am, sunset 10:47 pm for a total day length of 17 hours and 42 minutes. Tomorrow will be 4 minutes and 12 seconds longer.

 

The cool, rainy May weather is stuck and getting monotonous: an overnight low of 33 today with a high of 38. Fresh dusting of snow on the mountains and rain at sea level. Nonetheless, even cold rain is the color green as evidenced by greening grass and emerging leaves. 

 

I last spotted the BAR-TAILED GODWITS, DOWITCHERS, and DUNLINS on May 19. 

 

But the slow, cool spring may have contributed to the lingering 85 GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE and 25 CACKLING GEESE. 

 

Surprisingly, six HUDSONIAN WHIMBRELS and one WANDERING TATTLER probed among the rocks and wrack at Scheffler Creek despite the human and dog disturbances. A tiny male YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER flitted among them for flies.

 

New today, a large pulse of about 50 AMERICAN PIPITS popped up from the grasses in the upper field along the Airport Road. 

 

The TRUMPETER SWAN is sitting on her nest at the Mile 1 Nash Road. I hope they built this year’s nest high enough to keep the eggs out of the frigid water.

 

About 10 VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS swooped about catching some of the numerous insects.  I saw a few TREE SWALLOWS but Swallow numbers seem quite low.

 

The SAW-WHET OWL has been beeping from lower Mt Marathon as early as 9 am. (!)

 

No sign of “my” Hummingbird since the first sighting last week. Hmmmm.

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter

Tuesday, May 19, 2026 More photos of Bar-tailed Godwits, Long-billed Dowitchers, Wandering Tattler

Seward, Alaska

The dismal weather may have encouraged a handsome pair of BAR-TAILED GODWITS, about 13 LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS, and at least one WANDERING TATTLER to linger. What a pleasure to study and photograph these long-distance migrants! 

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter

Saturday, May 16, 2026 Bar-tailed Godwit, Dowitchers, Pacific Golden-Plover, and a Rufous Hummingbird

Seward, Alaska

Sunrise 5:17 am, sunset 10:33 pm for a total day length of 17 hours and 15 minutes. Tomorrow will be 4 minutes and 37 seconds longer.

 

Cool and cloudy weather continued this week, with a low of 35 and a high of 40 today. More of the same with moderate rain is forecast for the next week as another big storm blows in from the Gulf of Alaska.

 

This morning, two VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS swooped low over the road hunting insects (mosquitoes have emerged), revealing their diagnostic white rumps. I hope they find one of my nesting boxes suitable!

 

I heard my FOS HERMIT THRUSH singing in my yard, and watched my FOS YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER fly-catch from a willow at Nash Road wetlands.

 

At the tidelands, a pale female BAR-TAILED GODWIT probed through the mud for marine worms, small clams, and crustaceans. The bars on her tail became visible only when she flew. 

 

The Alaskan subspecies baueri breeds on sub-Arctic and Arctic coasts and tundra. They are famous for their non-stop flight across the Pacific Ocean without feeding to reach their nonbreeding grounds in New Zealand and eastern Australia. In 2022 a juvenile flew 8,425 miles from Alaska to Tasmania in 11 days, 1 hour, setting a record.

 

Another long-distance flyer from Hawaii, a female PACIFIC-GOLDEN PLOVER, gleaned sluggish flies from the wrack line. Other shorebirds included my FOS SPOTTED SANDPIPER, small numbers of WESTERN and LEAST SANDPIPERS, SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS, and a GREATER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS. 

 

Nine DOWITCHERS continued to feed in the shallows of the pond.

A single HUDSONIAN WHIMBREL dined in wet areas in the upland grasses.

Small lingering flocks of CACKLING and GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE fed in the sedges.

An adult BALD EAGLE swooped into the flats, scattering alarmed Geese, NORTHERN PINTAILS, GADWALL, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, NORTHERN SHOVELERS, AMERICAN WIGEON, and MALLARDS. She landed, grabbed a huge piece of seaweed (?), and stroked powerfully back to her nest.

 

Around 6 pm, my FOS female RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD magically appeared at my feeder, just as if she never left. My neighbor reported their first one Friday and one was reported at Bear Lake on Thursday. 

 

Another exciting day of birding!

 

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Alaska HumTrack Project

The Alaska Wildlife Conservation Center launched The Alaska HumTrack Project, the first-ever Rufous hummingbird migration tracking research conducted in Alaska. 

In partnership with the Banding Coalition of America and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, AWCC will safely band and fit 50 Rufous hummingbirds with tiny digital trackers—each no larger than a grain of rice—to better understand their migration routes and the factors behind a 65% population decline over the past 30 years. Each bird’s DNA will also be added to a long-term database to track population trends over time.

With a project cost of approximately $15,000, donors from all fifty states can help by sponsoring one bird tracker for $300, or contribute any amount to help fund the research needed to protect this extraordinary species.

https://secure.qgiv.com/for/alaskahumtrackproject/

Check out updates on Hummingbird Banding on the Kenai Peninsula:

https://www.facebook.com/groups/271338450887253

 

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter

Friday, May 8, 2026 FOS Dunlins, Marbled Godwit, Wandering Tattler

Seward, Alaska

The drizzle returned but delivered exciting First of Season birds including small numbers of bright breeding plumage DUNLINS sporting black bellies feeding among the WESTERN and LEAST SANDPIPERS.

The big excitement was a magnificent MARBLED GOTWIT strolling and feeding on the mudflats. The largest of the Godwits, it stands at 18” high, with a very impressive, long bi-colored bill. We heard its call, but did not find until it flew farther away. Great camo! The outstretched wings revealed distinctive cinnamon-colored linings.

A large flock of about 30 HUDSONIAN WHIMBRELS landed in the estuary pond to preen and probe. Other smaller flocks flew overhead. 

About 20 DOWITCHERS, too far to determine species, clustered in the shallows, stitching away like mechanical sewing machines.

The single SAVANNAH SPARROW finally had company as a small pulse joined him to pluck sluggish flies from the beach sand.

ARCTIC TERNS flew back and forth from the tidewater to the shore, many carrying small fish including salmon smolt. A proud male seemed reluctant to relinquish his prize and teased his waiting lady as he paraded around and around, close then far, then close. She repeatedly opened her lipstick-red bill and begged before he finally forked it over. What a guy has to do!

Robin C alerted me to a FOS WANDERING TATTLER at Scheffler Creek south of the boat harbor Uplands by the pedestrian bridge. It took me a while, but I finally found one, poking along the edge and in the wrack-covered rocks.

The search was productive, however, as I found two or three Hudsonian Whimbrels stalking secretively through the rocks. One took offense at another and aggressively flew in to chase it away. This was interesting; all the other Whimbrels I’ve seen seemed to tolerate each other in close proximity.

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter