Seward, Alaska
Another monochrome day, but filled with high decibel excitement at the tidelands. Thousands of Gulls, mostly GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS and BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES, swarmed the numerous intertidal streams across the head of the bay, screaming and shrieking.
Successful fishers not only had to expertly catch the hooligan, but then race away with evasive aerial maneuvers to avoid greedy pirates.
Juvenile Glaucous-winged Gulls practiced catching chunks of sunken wood and sticks, trying to figure out the art of fishing. Nearby Gulls feigned interest, just in case it might be edible.
Steller Sea Lions, living up to their name, roared, bawled, and growled just offshore, then swirled underwater to chase and catch the hooligan. Harbor Seals quietly popped up for a look around, then slipped underwater to continue fishing.
Dwarfed by the action, outnumbered, and drowned out, ARCTIC TERNS ferried smaller fish from the bay to shore. A small flock of dainty BONAPARTE’S GULLS quietly rested, also uninterested in the melee for the too-large hooligan.
TREE and VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS cruised over the estuary pond, dodging the mud and grass-gathering Kittiwakes still busily denuding the exposed hummocks. It was fun to see a dozen or more Swallows perched like living ornaments on the handy roots of a driftwood log to rest and preen.
On the way out, a BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE flew down to investigate clumps of dead grass for nesting material. Its tail feathers were ragged and worn, but the striking wings looked newly minted and beautiful.
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
No comments:
Post a Comment