Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 9:57 pm, sunset 3:51 pm for a total day length of 5
hours and 53 minutes. Tomorrow will be 1 minute and 1 second shorter.
Last night the sky revealed almost forgotten stars; I even
saw the dog star Sirius sparkling to the southeast following the mighty hunter
Orion across the black sky. My hopes were high for a little sunshine the next
day!
Alas, by morning, the wind had changed back to the south and
with it came blasting wind, stinging rain, white-caps on the roiling sea, and
an overall dismal grayness that made a short day even shorter. The thermometer
reached a low of 26 at 5 am but rose to 41 by midday. The wind ranged from 7 to
24 mph with gusts to 33 mph. And the barometer kept sliding downhill.
An amazing non-bird bright spot was a local kite-surfer with
a bright pink sail nailing the waves and wind. That sure put a smile on my
face!
Tomorrow, Count Day, the forecast calls for rain with
variable winds to 6 mph shifting to southerly in the afternoon and seas
subsiding to 2 feet. Should be a “GO” for the boat crew and the Field and
Feeder Counters!
I looked hard for a Dipper and Pacific Wren today without
success. My wish list was long but by the end of the short day, I only added
two new species: a BROWN CREEPER (check!), an adult HERRING GULL (check!), and
an OREGON JUNCO (subspecies check!). It was fun to see that Red FOX SPARROW
again.
45 species total for Count Week so far.
Wishing everyone a very successful Christmas Bird Count!
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
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