Thursday, December 28, 2023 inspiring Varied Thrushes and winter weather
Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 9:05 am, sunset 3:57 pm, for a total day length of 5 hours and 49 minutes. Tomorrow will be 1 minute and 15 seconds longer.
After two days of clouds, sea smoke, and heavy snow, Venus reappeared in the morning sky, heralding bright sunshine all the short day. Daytime temperatures hovered around 15 with strong NNW winds 15-25 mph creating ground blizzards. Wind chill minus 1.
VARIED THRUSHES forgot to migrate this fall. Three at the hospital heated sidewalk, three at my feeder, more at Ava’s, several at Two Lakes Park, three at Lowell Point Beach making an honest living at the wrack line; some are even trying to sing in this bitter cold. Very inspiring!
Also inspiring, the octogenarian bicyclist blowing down Lowell Point Road then riding back to town in the teeth of the wind, and the black Lab who found it a fine day for a swim in the bay and a roll in the snow.
Happy Birrr
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
Monday, December 25, 2023 Christmas Day Special!
Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 10:03 am, sunset 3:54 pm for a total day length of 5 hours and 51 minutes. Tomorrow will be 43 seconds longer.
Sunny skies but UV Index still stuck at zero; serious north wind 12 mph with gusts to 27 mph; overnight high of 14 at midnight, hovered around 7 midday, then dropped to 4 at 9 pm; wind chill minus 12. In summary, a very bright, cold, windy, and beautiful birdy Christmas day.
On this fifth day of the Seward Count Week, I again searched in vain for the Townsend’s Solitaire at Lowell Point Beach State Recreation Site. Though the high tide limited access to the beach, the trip was worth it to see colorful holiday decorations dancing in the wind, an annual tradition for a local family. I heard WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS, saw PINE SISKINS and COMMON REDPOLLS, STELLER’S JAYS, BLACK-BILLED MAGPIES, and a VARIED THRUSH.
Two Lakes Park was already in the shadows though it was only 12:30 pm. A VARIED THRUSH perched in the parking lot, a great start! I found two AMERICAN DIPPERS territorially feeding in separate sections of the inlet creek at First Lake, and another in the outlet creek of Second Lake. Diving and splashing in the freezing water as if it were summer. Brrr!
At Second Lake, two BALD EAGLES basked in the sunshine high in a spruce, protected from the wind. Everything below endured cold shade and a chilly breeze including an elusive PACIFIC WREN that darted past into the gloom and disappeared. I haven’t seen a Wren in a long time!
Not ready to remain in the town shadows, I drove back into the sunshine to Ava’s Hot Spot off Nash Road. What a good choice! I enjoyed watching a bouquet of beautiful birds as they hungrily feasted on sunflower seeds, peanut butter, and suet. Their colors glowed in the low sunlight: red and olive-green PINE GROSBEAKS, a brilliant blue STELLER’S JAY, raspberry-breasted COMMON REDPOLLS, and red-capped male HAIRY and DOWNY WOODPECKERS. Plus PINE SISKINS, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES, AND DARK-EYED JUNCOS.
Suddenly, the BRAMBLING flew in and watched the show from a tangle of branches. He really glowed! It was exciting when he finally perched in the clear and posed for a few seconds.
Then I heard the familiar honking of TRUMPETER SWANS and bolted out of the car to watch the parents with one cygnet flying low over the trees, circling over Salmon Creek. Great yard bird, Ava!
I reluctantly left around 2:30 pm and headed home, back into the shadows. An hour later, I raced down to the waterfront to catch the almost full moon rising over Tiehacker and 6182' Hearth as alpenglow tinged the snowy mountains pink then lavender, and deep purple as the sun set. What a spectacular finale to this Christmas Day Special!
Happy Birrrrding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Reporter
Saturday, December 23, 2023 Seward Christmas Bird Count ramble
Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 10:02 am, sunset 3:53 pm for a total day length of 5 hours and 50 minutes. Tomorrow will be 20 seconds longer.
Dark, dark day today with a heavy blue-gray lid, occasional light rain, and mostly calm until the wind shifted from east (calm) to northerly breeze around 1 pm. Temps ranged from 30 to 37º. All in all, much nicer than the bleak forecast. No, Seward didn’t get 18” of snow in the last 24 hours, or 19” today; too warm. The actual snow depth ranged from 0 at the beach to 30”.
No knowing my availability, I free-ranged today when I could. I failed to find the Townsend’s Solitaire at Lowell Point Beach but delighted in refinding a YELLOW-BILLED LOON. Such presence! Two PELAGIC CORMORANTS disputed standing rights to a small bit of Pinnacle Rock protruding above the water; the original homesteader lost. A single HORNED GREBE paddled and dove near four COMMON GOLDENEYES.
PINE SISKINS, COMMON REDPOLLS, and a CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE fluttered in the spruce and alder trees. A VARIED THRUSH paused in a bare alder. Add two STELLER JAYS and a BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE cruising around.
Thanks to birdseed scattered at the edge of the hospital’s heated sidewalk, I found two FOX SPARROWS of the “Red” group, including the one with most of its tail missing. Two VARIED THRUSH, bright as pumpkins, chased each other off, unwilling to share. DARK-EYED JUNCOS fed unconcerned among them, apparently not a threat.
A quick check of the inlet creek at First Lake produced a noisy, chucking RUSTY BLACKBIRD, busily flipping over leaves and debris in the creek. No Dipper today for me.
The 11.52’ high tide at 10 am took a while to recede. I checked the tidelands around 1 pm, crossing the tracks of a momma moose and her calf, fortunately not seen. Though the pond was mostly frozen, a dozen BUFFLEHEAD and 30 MALLARDS paddled in a small open area. Five SNOW BUNTINGS waited for photos amongst the beach rye grass then took off. Two adult GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS and an immature SHORT-BILLED GULL poked through the emergent wrack line. Many more Gulls were much farther out on exposed mudflats. A RAVEN in a hurry flew past, calling “Kowa!” Unfortunately, I did not refind the Killdeer.
Two drake GREEN-WINGED TEAL dabbling along the ebbing tideline with Mallards were a nice surprise. Beyond them in the bay, two adult TRUMPETER SWANS, resembling ice floes, steadily paddled towards the creek. Earlier I watched and heard two adults and one cygnet flying up Resurrection River. An immature BALD EAGLE perched in a spruce watched me slog to the parking lot.
Over at the harbor entrance, four WHITE-WINGED SCOTERS, six SURF SCOTERS, a Horned Grebe, and a COMMON MERGANSER paddled along under surveillance by two adult Bald Eagles. The coal dipper yielded two GREAT BLUE HERONS, standing quietly. A mob of NORTHWESTERN CROWS, 100? flew past; about 30 dove down to briefly festoon the guy wires nearby and disturb the peace.
Back home, the usual RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, Dark-eyed Juncos, and a BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE feasted on sunflower seeds and suet before the close of this very short winter day.
Results from the day are still being compiled, with three more days left for Count Week. I will post the final results when they are available.
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
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