Seward,
Alaska
Sunrise
9:16 am, sunset 6:08 pm for a total day length of 8 hours and 51 minutes.
Tomorrow will be 5 minutes and 13 seconds shorter.
27
WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS zipped over the Lagoon yesterday, chattering. First
flock of the fall that I’ve seen.
After
the season’s first snowfall yesterday, today dawned with something else new: a
peek at the sun! The sun, however, brought the north wind with gusts to 23 mph which
quickly blew away the meager snow in town, leaving the icy patches. The
forecast is for chilly temperatures for the next few days with lows in the low
20s overnight to mid-30s daytime. Then, with a slight rise in temps, back to
rain or snow showers for the next week.
I
was surprised to find a female LONG-TAILED DUCK this morning, diving near a dozen
COMMON MERGANSERS in the lee of the wind by the harbor Uplands. This has become
an unusual fall and winter species.
A
murder of NORTHWESTERN CROWS mobbed a snack car along the Waterfront that drove
off and left me with the expectant crowd. A few brave ones rode along on my
hood and rearview mirror, but I have learned not to feed them or face mobbing
forever. They don’t forget a food source! Instead, I enjoyed watching them
crack through the ice-covered puddles and finding no liquid water, gobbled down
the ice chips.
At
12:30, my neighbor sent me a photo of an Owl perched high on top of a power
pole a block south of my house. I dashed out, but it had vanished. Slowly, I
drove up the alley, looking in vain for that needle in a haystack. Suddenly,
the brown owl appeared, flying low away from me! I sped up, following, losing,
then refinding it just as it landed in the green grass by the side of the road.
Several unsuspecting vehicles passed it, but it did not flush. I crept up and
parked alongside the road near the amazing owl.
A
SHORT-EARED OWL!! I was expecting a Great-Horned Owl as I’ve never seen this
species in my neighborhood before. The beautiful Owl looked right at me with
its stunning yellow eyes as I clicked away, but did not seem perturbed. It was
alert to the few vehicles driving past, and put up its horns when a couple
bicycles rolled by. The addition of two more bicycles and a couple of dogs on
leashes exceeded its maximum for tolerance and it wafted away.
This
is a species of high conservation concern in North America mostly due to
declining grasslands. An ADFG study found Short-eared Owls satellite-tagged in
Nome flew to states in the Pacific Northwest, Midwest, and Texas. One flew
almost 4000 miles from Nome to central Mexico. http://www.adfg.alaska.gov/index.cfm?adfg=wildlifenews.view_article&articles_id=445
May
it find munchies in urban Seward or more suitable grassland habitats with voles
on its long migration south. Bon voyage!
Happy
Birding!
Carol
Griswold
Seward
Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
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