Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 7:50 am, sunset 8:20 pm, for a total day length of 12 hours and 30 minutes. Tomorrow will be 5 minutes and 29 seconds longer.
The cold north wind took a break yesterday, but today again felt like someone left the freezer door open and the fan on high. Sunny but chilly!
Despite the continuing ice and snow, Spring is nudging its way back. While meltwater with mini-whitecaps flowed down the slushy streets, hordes of newly arrived BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES joined MEW and GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS in a screeching white cloud at the head of the bay. More gathered by the seafood processor on Lowell Point Road.
A few PIGEON-GUILLEMOTS already in snazzy black and white breeding plumage paddled on the fringe of the seabird melee featuring winter residents: BARROW’S GOLDENEYES mixed with a few COMMON GOLDENEYES, COMMON MERGANSERS, and a small raft of SURF SCOTERS. A Steller sea lion lounged nearby, shimmering in the sunshine just under the surface, popping up to breathe.
There were few seabirds at Lowell Point Beach: red-eyed HORNED GREBES (2) still in winter plumage, a pair of RED-BREASTED MERGANSERS fishing with a single hen COMMON MERGANSER, and a PELAGIC CORMORANT farther out. No sign of any MARBLED MURRELETS.
Monday, March 22: in the much-appreciated calm on a monochrome day, I watched 31 overwintering ROCK SANDPIPERS and 2 DUNLINS feed at the tidelands. The Dunlins chose to dine together, away from the others. I happened to get a photo showing the flexible bill tips, handy to feel for amphipods and other invertebrates hiding in the sandy silt.
Sunday, March 21: Hardy, overwintering TRUMPETER SWANS continued to battle the elements, feeding on eel grass off Afognak Beach. As they flew north and low, I managed to get a photo of 22 Swans including two cygnets, while a few more stayed behind, almost invisible in the whitecaps and glare of the sun.
Around the point, sheltered from the wind, two PINE SISKINS quietly foraged through the wrack-line for tidbits while others noisily gleaned tiny seeds from spruce cones swaying in trees overhead.
Friday, March 19: After hearing zero WESTERN SCREECH OWLS along Old Exit Glacier Road (6:45 to 7:15 pm), I headed home to warm up. A bird flashed across the road in front of me in the twilight, landing at the hotspot at Second and Madison. I quickly stopped, rolled down the window and got my camera ready. An immature NORTHERN SHRIKE seemed to be hurriedly digging around in the snow and ice under the bushes. Stashed bird parts? Scattered bird seed? I could not tell.
It obligingly perched for an instant on a branch, fluffed up for a quick photo then shot off, likely to its nearby night-time roost. Even though I didn’t hear the Owls, I was thrilled with the bonus Shrike sighting.
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
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