Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 6:06 am, sunset 10:01 pm for a total day length of 15 hours and 54 minutes. Tomorrow will be 5 minutes and 11 seconds shorter.
Pleasant temps in the mid-50s as low-hanging clouds shrouded the mountains. Forecast calls for partly sunny on Friday and Sunday with rain on Saturday, then showers likely for the next week.
GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS and RAVENS stripped calories from spent pink salmon carcasses strewn along the tidelands. One Gull wore black silt all over its face and neck on its normally spotless white plumage. A nearby LESSER YELLOWLEGS daintily plucked amphipods and other tidbits from the incoming tide. One SPOTTED SANDPIPER bobbed and probed.
I heard chittering and spun around to see nine TURNSTONES land at the water’s edge. True to their name, they immediately started flipping rocks and poked and prodded underneath. Traveling just ahead of the rising water, they occasionally had disputes that sent one or the other packing in protest a short distance away. Lots of rocks, but I guess some are more desirable than others.
A much whiter Turnstone caught my eye among the eight Black Turnstones. A RUDDY TURNSTONE! Only two Turnstone species in all the world, here together in one flock!
I wondered where they nested and where they’re going. Black Turnstones are native to the west coast of North America and breed only in Alaska, along the western coast, concentrating in the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta.
Ruddy Turnstones are more widespread and nest in remote western and northern Alaska, across circumpolar high Arctic tundra and northern coasts of North America and Eurasia. They overwinter along the coasts of six continents!
Alaska’s long-distance flyers overwinter on the west coast of North America or fly from Alaska to Hawaii and then on as far as Australia and New Zealand where they overwinter from September to May. One internet site noted some birds travel more than 6,500 miles between breeding and nonbreeding grounds. Pretty astounding! I wonder if this bird will stick with his medium-distance American cousins and fly to the Pacific coast for the winter.
In both species, the unsuccessful breeders leave first, followed by the moms even before her babies fledge, leaving dads in charge until they are independent. Then the juveniles are left to stock up on the diminishing food supply and master the art of sustained flight. Like many other shorebirds, they migrate without any adult help beyond their inborn GPS.
I also got a brief glimpse of a PEREGRINE FALCON dashing down the tide flats scattering ducks, gulls, a small flock of LEAST SANDPIPERS, two LESSER YELLOWLEGS, and a few SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS.
Arrivals and departures on a daily basis herald a change in the seasons, so exciting to witness!
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
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