Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 4:33 am, sunset 11:27 pm, for a total day length of 18 hours and 54 minutes. Tomorrow, Summer Solstice, will be 4 seconds longer.
Cool, cloudy weather with lows in the mid-40 to highs in the low 60s recently delivered sprinkles and a bit of real rain, but not enough to end the drought. More sun is in the forecast for the next week with warmer temperatures.
Many members of the bird choir have quit for personal reasons and to spend more time with their growing families. The thrush section seems the most reliable though stretched thin: a ROBIN serenading here, a few HERMIT THRUSHES fluting there, once in a long while a VARIED THRUSH calls in.
I noted a SWAINSON’S THRUSH singing at the 40 mph sign on Exit Glacier Road, and two GRAY-CHEEKED THRUSHES swirling near the Exit Glacier welcome sign. VARIED THRUSHES in the park were silent, but busy snatching flies and spiders off the roadside.
A few representatives of the warbler section are also still checking in to keep up appearances: Mr. WILSON, YELLOW-RUMPED, ORANGE-CROWNED, but mostly YELLOW WARBLERS near the welcome sign wetlands. Northern Waterthrushes did not bother to tune in.
While the FOX SPARROW remains the loudest, I hardly heard any RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS, the earliest Spring arrival. Some COMMON REDPOLLS blew raspberries as they flew over to another engagement. In town, the SONG SPARROW still sings lustily, but he’s on a year-round contract
Given that ARCTIC TERNS arrived in mid-May and presumably are on a tight schedule to raise a family and do a flip-tern back to Antarctica, I was amazed to watch a pair mating today at Afognak Beach. About 21 Terns fished or loafed on the recently exposed sand as the tide retreated. Failed nesters? Pair bonding? It did seem that a few carried unwilling passenger fish on a flight-see, but they seemed far from the known nesting sites.
At least 40 BALD EAGLES shared the tide flats with about 150 fishers who flailed away with snag hooks hoping to intersect with a red salmon. Surprisingly, many did. One such tough fisherman dragged his heavy catch back to shore, with his small dog peering out from a backpack! Those who cleaned their catch left tasty carcasses for the Eagles to fight over. Quite the crazy scene at the tidelands and at the overflowing parking lot where eager fishers also parked along both sides of the road creating congestion.
A big surprise at the Mile 1 wetlands: an adult TRUMPETER SWAN preening on the east side of the road. I only saw one Swan periscoping from the vegetation at the rear of the pond. Was one of the parents taking a spa break? If so, this pair has a very relaxed parenting style.
I agonized over the grim possibilities when I only found one parent with 3 cygnets yesterday. Usually the babies are bookended or closely guarded by both adults wherever they go. I was so relieved to find them all together a few hours later feeding. Where had the other adult and two cygnets gone? Mysteries.
Later in the afternoon on a quiet walk around Two Lakes Park, I came around the curve to find a momma moose with her two darling calves feeding in the shallows of Second Lake close to the trail. I rushed past, but fortunately she seemed unperturbed. Then I really rushed, home to get my camera. When I returned, seemingly minutes later, people told me about JUST seeing them as they too, passed. But this enormous animal and her calves had vanished without a trace. No wet footprints, no sounds, nothing. I carefully checked here and there without success.
But the wildlife show was not over! A huge boar brown bear peacefully grazed in the lush greenery of the Mt Marathon slope north of the race trail. Its light brown coloration made it easy to find after I got the tip around 9 pm. An adult BALD EAGLE soared past, apparently not encumbered by the loss of several primary feathers in its left wing leaving a large notch.
As the dusk crept in, a Hermit Thrush sang, scoring some overtime for the last official day of Spring.
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
No comments:
Post a Comment