Seward Alaska Sporadic Bird
Report
Sunrise 4:49 am, sunset 11:02
pm for a total of 18 hours, 12 minutes. We are almost at the maximum amount of
daylight as we approach the June 20th Summer Solstice.
The last section of Herman
Leirer Road (aka Exit Glacier Road) to Kenai Fjords National Park opened on
Saturday, May 25 just in time for Memorial Day weekend. Visitors from around
the world were amazed at the snow still piled along the roadside and on the
trails. Spring was even later here than in town.
On Monday, temperatures in
the low 60s kick-started the cold ground. On Tuesday the thermometer soared to
a remarkable 79ยบ. Sap raced to activate every dormant bud. Without benefit of
time-lapse photography, one could see them swell and burst; tiny exquisite
origami leaves unfolded and miniature flower clusters unfurled. Fancy green
tassles, the male flowers, sprang forth from alders; willow flowers (male and
female on separate trees) popped open; fragrant cottonwood buds dropped their
sticky covers. Bright grass spears poked though last years' lifeless tatters.
Remnant snow patches fled town and more vanished from mountainsides. In just a
few days, the brown and white landscape transformed into a tapestry of vibrant
spring greens.
Just in time, a touch of the
tropics arrived to feast on tiny insects attracted to the willow, cottonwood,
and alder buds and flowers. Brightly colored Warblers are easiest to see now,
when the leaves are small and the males pause momentarily to sing.
I visited Exit Glacier on
Wednesday morning, parking by the Kenai Fjords National Park welcome sign. A
wonderful wetlands complex stretches on both sides of the road to the bridge
over Resurrection River. Traffic was sparse, allowing long stretches of
solitude.
A very active YELLOW-RUMPED
WARBLER rummaged among last year's River Beauty plants, gathering fibrous,
fluffy seeds for its nest. I watched him make numerous trips from the creek
bank to the mixed deciduous forest on the other side of the road. What a lot of
work, building a nest! How fortuitous that the River Beauty made extra seeds
with generous silky parachutes for its biodegradable home. Perhaps the warbler will drop a few
seeds, and the nest will eventually disintegrate, helping to spread the plant
in exchange for their use.
As I was watching a FOX
SPARROW sing lustily from a spruce treetop, I heard a branch snap. Turning
around, I saw a giant cow moose crossing the road a couple hundred yards away
between me and the car. Moose always look huge when there is nothing between
you but air! She paused, scrutinized my motionless figure for many long
seconds, and then moved on across the road. In a moment, she was completely
invisible in the brown and tan alder and willow thicket. Thankfully, she did
not have any calves with her, or I might have been in really big trouble. There is no reasoning with a momma moose!
Walking slowly back to the
car, I heard a WILSON'S SNIPE winnowing, RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS belting out their songs at top volume, VARIED THRUSHES and ROBINS singing,
and watched more YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS singing and chasing each other through the
thickets. The liquid song of a LINCOLNS' SPARROW drifted across the wetlands. PINE SISKINS and COMMON REDPOLLS flew overhead in small flocks, still
nice to see after this winter's invasion.
The parking lot is a good
place to scan the mountainside for black bears, darker than a shadow; brown
bears just the same color as the ground; and mountain goats, yellower than the
surrounding snow patches. Also look for Ptarmigan, Gray-crowned Rosy-finches,
and Golden Eagles.
I walked along the trail,
still covered with 2 to 12" of snow, trampled down by many human feet and
dotted with numerous moose pellets. All along the trail were ORANGE-CROWNED
WARBLERS, YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLERS, HERMIT THRUSHES, and FOX SPARROWS.
VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS twittered and swooped over the silt-laden Exit Creek, the
outwash plain, and clearings.
Exit Glacier, retreating ever
upwards to the Harding Icefield, was nevertheless beautiful and imposing, blue
crevasses peeking through its white mantle.
I finally found a YELLOW
WARBLER announcing its territory as I completed my loop and approached the
Nature Center.
Soon, I would expect to hear
Swainson's and Gray-cheeked Thrushes, and if the leaves are still tiny, maybe I
would be lucky to see them as well.
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report
Reporter
Check out this link. Gyrfalcon
for Alaska State Bird, anyone besides me?
What the State Birds Should
Be by Nicholas Lund
<http://www.slate.com/articles/health_and_science/science/2013/05/state_bird_improvements_replace_cardinals_and_robins_with_warblers_and_hawks.2.html>
