Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 8:46 am, sunset 5:40 pm for a total daylength of 8 hours and 54 minutes. Tomorrow will be 5 minutes and 19 seconds longer. The days are growing noticeably longer, especially on sunny days.
Partly sunny today (yay!); temperature dropped from an overnight high of 29 to a low of 16, offset by a NNW wind around 12 mph increasing to howling with frequent gusts up to 34 mph. The bay remains warmer at 45ยบ. Forecast for tomorrow is cooler, sunnier, and windier, then back to snow and snow showers for the rest of the week.
Seward received a 17” blanket of lovely snow on Friday, sifting down and swirling around like a snow globe, light enough to easily shovel between dumps. Now it’s just blowing around, stinging, and drifting up.
Finding few birds on my stroll/blow about town, I decided to get my bird fix at the Alaska Sealife Center. Fortunately, access was open to the aviary despite the strong winds, where amazing and gorgeous sea birds were close enough to see eyeball to eyeball.
The KING EIDER and SPECTACLED EIDER drakes in full breeding glory, vied for best of show with exotic combinations of colors. Their more demure yet classy hens, clad in hues of brown with subtle patterning and a dark blue-gray bill that sometimes beamed bright blue, accompanied them with justifiable pride.
Easily missed, a pair of first-year STELLER’S EIDERS, hatched in May 2022, joined the aviary a few months ago. The young male is molting into a more mature look with white feathers splotching the brown. The dark brown female sported a long blue-gray bill and a glimmer of a blue speculum for dash. This is the smallest Eider species, only slightly larger than the nearby HARLEQUIN DUCKS.
How fantastic to watch three of the four Eider species on this blustery day! The only one missing is the largest, the Common Eider.
RHINOCEROS AUKLETS’ whiskers tangled in the wind, and sometimes the birds blew backwards in the gusts. A row of TUFTED PUFFINS, still far from breeding finery, paddled furiously against the aquarium glass, perhaps enjoying the reflections. One posed comically, as they do, watching me with warm brown eyes. The HORNED PUFFINS, were even further from changing, some still in the process of shedding their old bill plates.
The drake SMEW was elegant in black and white, especially when he raised his crest, surprised by a gust. His lady napped unconcerned, head tucked under wing, not interested in this paparazza.
High above on the cliffs perched the RED-LEGGED KITTIWAKES, enjoying the sunshine peeking over the enclosure walls. Occasionally one or two dashed overhead for a quick fly-about.
COMMON MURRES flocked and preened together, still wary of people. Shrill PIGEON GUILLEMOTS huddled on the rocks. HARLEQUINS paddled along the far side, not nearly as curious and friendly as the Eiders and Auklets.
After a while, my fingers growing cold, I reluctantly left to enjoy the many wonders awaiting in the other habitats. What a spectacular and marvelous watery world, so close and yet so mysterious!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
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