Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 9:44 am, sunset 3:56 pm for a total day length of 6 hours and 11 minutes. Tomorrow will be 2 minutes and 36 seconds shorter.
The “wind” symbol on my weather app did not exaggerate. The NNW wind blew 9-27 mph with gusts to 42 mph. The wind whipped the spume off the white-caps, creating flashes of rainbows in the right light. Dust devils and plumes of dust rocketed down Lowell Point Road and Resurrection River Valley. Snow swirled off the mountains, revealing bare rock once more. Trees swayed and creaked. Trash cans fell over and rolled with anything else not secured.
Despite below-freezing temperatures and wind chill, I saw amazing sights today of people outside enjoying the beautiful sunny day. A dozen or so preschoolers, 3-5 years old, searched Lowell Point Beach for sea treasures, only slightly out of the brunt of the wind. A woman jogger stretched against the new Kids Don’t Float stand, seemingly oblivious to the blast. More visitors headed to the beach as I was leaving; the parking lot was over half full.
An octogenarian biked into the teeth of the wind in town. A bicyclist less than half his age pedaled home also into the wind, wearing nothing more than suited an average summer day, not even a hat. Two little girls skipped merrily down the street, propelled by the wind at their backs. I even saw a guy wearing shorts at the Post Office, though maybe he just hopped out of his heated truck to dash in for the mail.
The brutal wind was not kind to the lonely SNOW GOOSE, still hanging out by the waterfront bike path. The poor thing hobbled over to a frozen puddle and futiley tried to get a drink. The Crows know how to peck the ice with their sharp bills and eat ice chips, and also probably know where to find running fresh water in the winter. I hope this lost goose will succeed soon; it looked so pathetic.
Just before 4 pm at sunset, I spotted several PINE GROSBEAKS and ROBINS gobbling frozen Mt Ash berries at the edge of the parking lot at Two Lakes Park. Among them was a much smaller, lighter, streaky bird, an immature or female CASSIN’S FINCH! This bird was first reported on November 26 in the two hundred block of Second Avenue, but I never saw it. I raced home for my binoculars and camera (ABC: Always Bring Camera!) and in the increasingly dim light, got a few documentary images showing the little crest and white eye-ring.
Google sez Cassin’s Finches feed primarily on tree buds and seed, but this one was definitely eating the frozen berries. Google also sez that mid-BC is their northern range and they’re supposed to migrate south from those northern hinterlands in late summer or early fall, even as far as the mountains of Mexico. Instead, this one took a leap to Alaska. The species is listed as “Casual” in the 2023 Checklist of Alaska Birds, more rare than “Rare.”
The first one I ever saw was a male in February 2009 in my yard, feeding on sunflower seeds, continuing into April when a female joined him. The second visit was a female/immature on November 28, 2020 near the Alaska Sealife Center, feeding on Mt Ash berries with Pine Grosbeaks and Bohemian Waxwings. And now this one, looking perky even after another short, cold, and windy day.
The golden glow of morning faded under midday clouds but revived to a gorgeous purple and magenta alpenglow a brief six hours later. What a crazy, spectacular winter day!
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
PS Thanks to alert readers, I realized my subscription to eBird Rare Bird Alerts Kenai Peninsula had been dropped. A Cassin's Finch eruption landed one in Anchor Point and another in Homer this first week of December. Amazing!
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