Seward, Alaska
Cacophony: ca-coph-o-ny, \ ka-ˈkä-fə-nē
1. harsh or jarring sound
2. an incongruous or jarring mixture, a striking combination
3. gulls
Do gulls ever sleep in the spring? I’ll bet the racket from the seafood processing outfall pipe south of the harbor keeps the Waterfront campers awake! Constant din also erupts from the tidelands at the head of the bay, the mouth of the Resurrection River, and at low tide at Afognak Beach. I’m not sure what is causing all the excitement except that it’s fresh seafood, including ground-up fish "waste", herring and their eggs, sand lance, and maybe salmon smolt.
Scattered small groups of MEW, HERRING, and GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS staked out the sandy beach at low tide, watching each other warily while they fished. The easily crumbled sandy banks of small streams seemed to be hot spots. I watched a Herring-type Gull magically nab one small fish after another out of the sand, not the water. It was amazing to see.
A RAVEN swiped his bill through the sand, digging shallow pits, then grabbed one sand lance after another, laying them in a neat pile. He must have chomped them first, as they made no attempt to burrow in or escape. I was surprised that he didn’t just immediately eat them, but instead gathered them up in his beak like a Puffin and hopped away from the paparazzi and the gulls to eat them in private.
Farther from the tide line, three distant large brown birds walked along, also probing the sand. I was thrilled to recognize them as my First-Of-Season WHIMBRELS! Two first-winter Mew Gulls also watched them. Suddenly, one Whimbrel pulled out a shiny fish! The gull charged over in a flash and chased the unlucky shorebird. Fortunately, the Whimbrel managed to evade the pirate and enjoyed the sand lance.
Fishing in the sand is a fascinating technique apparently mastered by Gulls, Ravens, and Whimbrels.
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
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