Seward, Alaska
The sky miraculously cleared
last night and I saw a gorgeous half moon suspended in the sky! I haven’t seen
the night sky for so long, it was a bit of a shock!
The sun reigned all day,
gracing us with its warm, glowing presence. The SHARP-SHINNED HAWK still
patrolled the neighborhood in the morning, accompanied by his Corvid buddies.
I decided to do my COASST
beach survey a day early in case of inclement weather the next day. A single
TRUMPETER SWAN fed in the pond at the head of the bay. It seemed very wary, which
made me suspect it was a migrant, not one of our many locally raised swans. Three
NORTHERN PINTAILS swam nearby.
I flushed a complaining
SNIPE, so fast I was unable to get one photo before it dove back into the
grasses. A GREAT BLUE HERON rose majestically from the wetlands and flew
ponderously to the low tideline. I haven’t seen a GBHE in months! I wonder
where they hide?
While admiring the white bones of a pink salmon
carcass, one of a zillion along the beach, I glanced up and instantly dropped
to my knee and started shooting images. Close by were three LONG-BILLED
DOWITCHERS intently probing the mud, and a single juvenile PECTORAL SANDPIPER.
I was astounded! I haven’t seen shorebirds for weeks!
The Dowitchers did not seem
perturbed at my presence, in fact, I had almost walked right past them. They
kept feeding, probing their long, sensitive bills into the mud. The Pectoral
Sandpiper, however, stood at attention, ready to flee. After a few long
moments, he bolted, followed by the Dowitchers, but not far. They continued to
feed, they and their reflections, in a shallow intertidal puddle.
Finally, they all took off,
heading towards the tideline, the Great Blue Heron, and the noisy gulls. What a
treat!
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report
Reporter
No comments:
Post a Comment