Seward, Alaska
Shortly after watching the
CACKLING GOOSE fly down my street this morning, a quick and curious PACIFIC
WREN popped up in my yard about 6 feet away, inspecting the premises under 3’
high. While frozen in place watching the perky Wren, I heard the loud “seeeep!”
of a BROWN CREEPER and spotted it on a nearby spruce trunk, searching for
calories. Three special birds in a very short time!
It rained hard, but the sun
broke through the dark clouds for a few minutes. A beautiful rainbow arched to
the north. Oddly, a very faint straight rainbow/rainline? shot up from the base
at an angle away from the rainbow. I’ve never seen anything like this and do
not understand the physics. It was more visible to my eye than the camera,
unfortunately.
While walking Two Lakes
Trail, I surprised an adult NORTHERN GOSHAWK. The dark gray bird with a
prominent white eyebrow exploded off through the forest, flying heavily with
its prey. White and gray pigeon feathers littered the green moss next to the
trail. I was relieved to not disturb it again, but delighted to have seen it.
After the walk, I was
fortunate to view the 2015 U.S. Capitol Christmas Tree at mile 15.5
Seward Highway. Check out my article on Seward City News at http://sewardcitynews.com/2015/10/2015-u-s-capitol-christmas-tree
It is a gorgeous tree and
well worth seeing, especially while it is still alive.
Around 2:30 pm, I got a call
followed by fabulous photos, of the CACKLING GOOSE spotted eating grass at the
high school soccer field. Plenty of green grass all over town to satisfy this
little goose! My friend saw it on his way home from school, ran home to get his
camera, and dashed back in the rain to get the photos. Small goose, short neck, rounded head, tiny bill. Excellent documentation!
I am just amazed that this
rainy day was so full of magic, bookended by the Cackling Goose.
Nature’s wonders continue,
rain or shine, light or dark. You just have to be out there to enjoy it!
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report
Reporter
I'm not sure, but it could be a secondary rainbow from the sun reflecting off the water then hitting the raindrops to make the rainbow. I have noticed this before here in Sitka on occasion.
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