Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 4:52 am, sunset 11:12
pm for a total day length of 18 hours and 20 minutes. Tomorrow will be 3
minutes and 19 seconds shorter.
With the warm weather in June
and July, almost everything seems to be at least two weeks ahead of schedule.
Salmonberries, blueberries, and nagoonberries are already ripe. Lupines are in
seed, fireweed blossoms are opening closer and closer to the top. Everything is
green, green, green.
I heard VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS
saying what may have been good-bye yesterday afternoon. About 40 circled over
my neighborhood, calling to each other in an urgent tone. Something important
was definitely happening, and now it seems like they are gone. Poof! Bon
voyage!
I haven’t seen any RUFOUS
HUMMINGBIRDS at my feeder since the crazy activity and fireworks on the Fourth
of July. Perhaps they have departed as well. Other reports would be of
interest.
A ROBIN family with two
spotty fledglings, and a cheeky young STELLER’S JAY enjoy my birdbath in this
warm weather. Trickling water is irresistible. The ripening Elderberries are
also a big attractant.
I heard a bonus RUBY-CROWNED
KINGLET singing this afternoon, and a ROBIN and a VARIED THRUSH. Two PACIFIC
WRENS sang the news about their territories along the Mt Marathon mountainside.
Most birds are now silent, so these were a treat.
The resident TRUMPETER SWAN
family is thriving at the mile one Nash Road wetlands. Sometimes they are
completely hidden at the back, and sometimes they are right next to the road;
it’s just luck to see them. Their white baby feathers are mostly gone and now
they are sleek, gray juveniles with ever longer necks and wings.
At the tidelands, about 50
peeps, including at least one SEMI-PALMATED SANDPIPER, many LEAST SANDPIPERS,
and a sprinkling of WESTERNS fed industriously along the shore. Upon approach,
the Least peeps hunkered down and became as one with the surroundings like
inconspicuous little rocks. They are masters of camouflage in their beach
habitat.
Three SEMIPALMATED PLOVER
chicks ran about like tennis balls on stilts, taught or by instinct to run like
mad far away while the parent feigns distress.
Fledgling SONG SPARROWS hopped
and fluttered with one little tail feather sprouting out like Dr. Seuss’ Gertrude
McFuzz. Invisible young SAVANNAH SPARROWS, hidden in the sedges, grasses, and
lupines, chipped incessantly for food delivery from the harried parents. It’s
amazing how they can find crane flies, moths, and other insects so quickly, and
hold on to them while collecting even more.
A very protective pair of
GREATER YELLOWLEGS guarded its family, bravely chasing off even the mighty BALD
EAGLE flying past. Three juvenile LESSER
YELLOWLEGS joined the peeps to feed themselves, apparently the product of an
earlier hatch.
The ARCTIC TERNS, of course,
are absent since the illegal and tragic egging in May. I have not seen any MEW
GULL chicks yet, and wonder if any survived. A few ducks, a MALLARD and
PINTAIL, dabbled with their ducklings in the pond, but it’s sadly quiet.
I talked to two visiting
birders at Exit Glacier on Thursday afternoon. They had hiked up to the Cliffs
on the Harding Icefield Trail and saw and heard an impressive number of
species, including GRAY-CROWNED ROSY-FINCHES, a possible TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE,
and GOLDEN-CROWNED SPARROWS. Apparently many birds were still singing higher up.
They recommended an
interesting solution for bird strikes that consists of 1/8th inch
nylon parachute cords installed on the outside of the window, spaced 4.25”
apart. It is apparently very effective, and as the cords are not attached at
the bottom, it is easy to wash the windows. Check it out at http://www.birdsavers.com/factsheet.html
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report
Reporter
When I lived in Northern Arizona, The 4th of July was when Rufous Hummingbirds first showed up at my feeder. Males arrived, and left first, then females and juveniles. They were all gone by the first of October.
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