Sunday, July 19, 2026 Catch-up

Seward, Alaska 

Sunrise 5:10 am, sunset 11:00 pm for a total day length of 17 hours and 50 minutes. Tomorrow will be 4 minutes and 6 seconds shorter. 

 

NOAA issued two severe Weather Alerts for Seward from Sunday morning until Tuesday morning: a Flood Watch (be prepared) and Flood Warning (take action). It rained hard all day with only a few brief breaks. Up to 6” of rain and increasing wind are forecast due to an “atmospheric river” moving up from the Kamchatka Peninsula across the Gulf in a succession of lows. Temperatures remained cool this week in the mid 40s to low 50s.

 

Two bright spots in this otherwise dismal and gloomy day: RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS have not yet migrated and continued to come to feeders. It’s such an inspiration to watch these tiny but intrepid jewels zipping fearlessly through the deluge. Their raincoat is far superior to mine.

 

“My” VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOW family is still in the nest box after a late start. At least two babies begged in their charming but insistent staccato baby voices. One baby plugged the opening, watching alertly for the food service delivery, then ramped up the excitement as dad appeared, yellow beak wide open. It’s a wonder how the parents found any insects in the downpour. I hope the babies can wait until these storms pass for their first flight into the wide world.

 

On July 15, I found momma GADWALL paddling along with her seven adorable ducklings in tow. An immature BALD EAGLE nearby showed a suspiciously keen interest in the young family. 

 

SHORT-BILLED GULLS dive-bombed an “innocent” adult Bald Eagle perched on a driftwood log, hanging his wings out to dry. No doubt, fledgling gulls were in the area and potentially on the snack menu. Danger lurks everywhere for the young and vulnerable.

 

14 SHORT-BILLED DOWITCHERS stitched industriously in the estuary pond with about 20 GREATER and LESSER YELLOWLEGS. Nine flew overhead, resembling pieces of an M.C. Escher tessellation just waiting to be arranged.

 

The ragged clouds provided just enough veiling to allow me to once again capture sunspots on the Sun, 93 million miles away. There were two active regions this time, one on each side of the earth-facing disk. Incredible!

 

The TRUMPTER SWANS at Mile 1 Nash Road continued to paddle and preen, sometimes near, sometimes far. The cygnet is now about 3 weeks old and growing dramatically. When one parent stretched her enormous wings, I could see that her primary feathers are just unfurling. No wonder they preen constantly. 

 

Note to self: get outside when you can; life goes on despite the challenging weather.

 

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter

 

Tuesday, July 14, 2026 Common Murre with deformed bill update

Seward, AK

My recent report generated interest from USFWS, NOAA Fisheries, International Bird Rescue, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, and other scientists and organizations in Anchorage, Oregon, California, and as far away as Midway Atoll NWR and SE Tasmania, thanks to a link to the Pacific Seabird Group. 

 

Deformed bills, also known as Avian Keratin Disorder (AKD), in land species such as chickadees, ravens and crows are well documented. Deformed bills in seabirds are not common or, perhaps, not commonly observed.

 

Some of the seabird deformities noted were the result of healed injuries (trauma). AKD in seabirds is poorly studied but may be linked to a previously unknown virus, the Poecivirus, as is the case with landbirds, and other causes. 

 

A consensus has not been reached on the cause of bill deformities in seabirds, but marine bird observers agreed on the importance of looking more closely during surveys. “Absence of evidence is not evidence of absence.”

 

Thanks to Dave P for these links:

https://feederwatch.org/learn/articles/deformed-bills-alaska/

https://www.usgs.gov/centers/alaska-science-center/science/background-beak-deformity-research#overview

 

The USGS website has more information on AKD research primarily on land birds at https://www.usgs.gov/centers/alaska-science-center/science/beak-deformities-landbirds

 

Here’s a link to report Beak Deformity and Banded Bird Observations:

https://alaska.usgs.gov/science/biology/landbirds/beak_deformity/observerreport.php

 

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter

 

Thursday, July 9, 2026 Sandpipers, Babies, Common Murre deformed bill

Seward, Alaska

Sunrise 4:51 am, sunset 11:17 pm for a total day length of 18 hours and 25 minutes. Tomorrow will be 3 minutes and 3 seconds shorter.

 

Weather remained mostly cloudy and cool with lows in the mid-40s and highs in the 50s. Green is the color of rain and there are dozens of hues, shades, tints, and tones for the solar panel leaves to choose from, with floral accessories.

 

The frenetic Seward Fourth of July celebration caused in a gap in my birding and posting though I was always listening and looking. 

 

A ROBIN serenaded the whole neighborhood from the top of my spruce tree for several evenings; his sweet notes soothed my soul even while declaring his territory. Not to be outdone, a HERMIT THRUSH played his woodland flute from the mountainside. 

 

Remarkably, at 12:30 am after the July 3 fireworks, the lonesome SAW-WHET OWL was reported beeping from the forest of Mt Marathon. I confirmed that on July 8 at 12:15 am. He seemed to be waiting for the duskiness of a Seward night, limited though it was.

 

On June 29, thanks to a tip from Robin C, I photographed a COMMON MURRE, possibly a first-year bird, actively preening just offshore of the Waterfront. A closer look revealed a deformed bill with the upper mandible severely crossed over the lower. He was able to preen and seemed alert and healthy so maybe the deformity has not interfered with catching fish.

 

It’s baby time! The young Corvids, RAVENS, BLACK-BILLED MAGPIES, and STELLER’S JAYS are almost full-sized and already adept at flying. Like teenagers, they like their independence but still beg insistently and loudly for handouts.

 

I surprised a momma GADWALL with 6 ducklings on June 29. One veered off as the others scurried to safety with mom and huddled, still as a stone. I hope they were reunited after I hustled away. 

 

I am sure now that the large ARCTIC TERN colony has collapsed, leaving only six adults. One Tern chick was reported last week, but I haven’t seen it. Their neighboring SHORT-BILLED GULLS were very protective of a single tiny gull puff wandering away from the nest site. There may be more, but I don’t want to disturb them to check.

 

The SPOTTED SANDPIPER babies have recently fledged. How funny to see that they dip and bob when fresh into the world, just like the adults.

 

On June 30, a WESTERN SANDPIPER adult fed with a loose flock of 20 LEAST SANDPIPERS. I expect many of the Least Sandpipers nested locally, but was surprised to see the Western.

Judging from a SAVANNAH SPARROW’s beakful of insects, their babies have hatched. I watched an adult walking around on top of a dense growth of Beach Greens, nimbly catching flies and other insects.

 

In early July, Six DOWITCHERS returned to feed in the shallow estuary pond as if they’d never left. 

Robin C reported a KILLDEER on July 6 in the Harbor Uplands, an unusual and brief summer sighting.

The young TRUMPETER SWAN cygnet continues to flourish under the watchful eyes of its magnificent parents, though they are often on the far side of the wetlands and hard to see.

 

Coming and going and growing. It’s summer!

 

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter