Another sunny, fall day,
temps ranged from 36º to a high of 55º, which felt unseasonably warm. (No
complaints!) It was a perfect day for a hike to Tonsina Point, in one of
the Seward area State Parks.
The late September storm
wreaked havoc on the recently renovated uphill section of the Tonsina Trail,
washing over half of it away, leaving big rocks and a ribbon of gravel. It was
still passable, but not nearly as nice.
Along the trail I heard and
saw a few VARIED THRUSHES. Maybe some of these late birds plan to spend the
winter. PACIFIC WRENS scolded from the fallen trees near the trail. Late fall
mushrooms erupted from the base of a dead alder, their caps like tiny umbrellas
crowded together for a rainy day.
This summer’s switchback
trail improvements, including several netted boardwalks and drainage ditches,
held firm against the flood waters, protecting the trail from further erosion.
Yea!
The sparkling, pure water of
the North Fork Tonsina Creek gave no sign of any flood mud. Also, no sign of
all the pink and chum salmon that spawned here and died this summer and fall.
That is such an amazing sight!
The beach along the creek,
however was severely eroded. New trails through the beach rye grass have been
created since the old trail fell into the creek. A giant spruce tree lay on the
beach where the high water deposited it. Such is the power of floodwater!
Also new and of note, a very
wide and thick layer of what appeared to be aged sawdust along the beach. There
is a sawdust source across the bay, but I have no idea now any of it might have
floated away to end up here. It will be interesting to see what effect, if any,
this has on the beach ecosystem.
BALD EAGLES perched on
cliffside spruce lookouts, hopeful for other fish. GLAUCOUS-WINGED and MEW
GULLS scavenged through the tide-line.
The tide was way out, so it
was fun to walk on the ocean bottom. Northern Sea Nettles, a jelly species,
decorated the rippled sandy beach with their radially symmetrical patterns. A flock of 11 BARROW’S GOLDENEYES took flight
just past the tideline, wary of any intrusion, their wings whistling in unison.
Across the bay, new snow
dusted the mountain peaks, termination dust. Godwin Glacier peeked from its
valley south of Mt Alice. Other mountains lining the bay held empty bowls where
cirque glaciers once lived.
Towards the south end of
Tonsina Beach, the ghost forest left from the Great Quake of 1964 showed flood
damage. Several of the once-upright trees had fallen over. Others were pushed
close together in a jumble. There must have been a terrific surf here to move
these around like toys.
Just north of the South Fork
Tonsina Creek bridge, a SPRUCE GROUSE exploded off the path in a whirring of
wings and landed in a spruce tree nearby. She peered down at us for a long time
and then decided to flee. We flushed her again not far down the trail and this
time she wisely flew away from the trail. Usually it’s really hard to find a
Spruce Grouse, but other times, they just show up, always a great treat.
On the way back, I heard what
I thought was a Sharp-shinned Hawk crying. I turned around and traced it to a
mischievous STELLER’S JAY. They are such good mimics!
All in all, a fabulous
afternoon at our Seward State Park.
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report
Reporter
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