Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 8:48 am, sunset 6:35
pm for a total length of day of 9 hours and 46 minutes. Tomorrow will be 5
minutes and 22 seconds shorter.
Weather: The unseasonably
warm weather continues with temperatures in the high 40s. A strong
south-southeast wind today whipped Resurrection Bay into whitecaps laden with
driftwood and other debris stolen from the beaches by the high tides. A
seemingly endless of serious squalls blasted the area with heavy rain and at
one point, hail. Just when one wondered if it could rain any harder, it did!
On a day when most people are
content to stay indoors planning a trip to Hawaii, intrepid Anchorage birders
Scott Schuette and Doug Gochfeld decided to drive down to Seward, into the
teeth of the storm, to go birding. In between and in the squalls, they walked
around Lowell Point, not finding much besides rain and wind.
I had just left Lowell Point
beach, but whizzed right back after hearing the phone message. Scott was
gracious to wait for me on Pinnacle View Road right across from the driveway to
the Caines Head State Recreation Area upper trailhead parking lot. I hopped
out, waited less than a minute, and there it was! A male YELLOW-BELLIED SAPSUCKER
busily attended to his collection of holes drilled in alders and willows.
This is a rare bird for
Alaska, and possibly the first report for the Kenai Peninsula. As a Life Bird
for me, I had to look it up. He looked small to me, but he's right between the
tiny 6 ¾" Downy woodpecker and large 9 ½" Hairy woodpecker. His red
crown and red throat really stood out, as did the long, white wing patch, and
mostly black back with patches of buffy and white feathers. Of note, both the male and female have a red crown, but the male sapsucker has a red throat and the female's is white. The belly, despite
the name, was not yellow, but more of a faded yellowish-buffy wash. He was a
handsome bird, even when somewhat bedraggled in the rain.
During the heaviest rain, he disappeared, probably taking
refuge in the nearby spruce boughs. When the rain let up, he flew towards the
bottom of an alder and hopped upwards to a row of round holes drilled in the
tree. He drank the sap, drilled a few more holes, preened briefly, then flew to
another small alder then a willow to sip the sap there. I would think this late in
the year, the sap would hardly be flowing, but apparently he found something.
Occasionally, he called. The
high, short, descending call reminded me of air being let out of a balloon.
Stokes describes it as a downslurred "jeeer".
A small flock of BLACK-CAPPED
CHICKADEES flew in and showed great interest in his sap project. He didn't care
for the competition and chased them around the small grove.
Scott didn't think this bird
would hang around long, but if you have the chance, it sure seemed to like this
particular grove of small trees.
Many thanks to Scott and Doug for this fantastic find!
Many thanks to Scott and Doug for this fantastic find!
Good luck and
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report
Reporter
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