Seward, Alaska
Sunny, but colder, and windier today with a low of minus 2, and a high of 5. A howling north wind at 20-30 mph flung streamers of snow off the mountains and flattened the steam from the bay before it could rise.
I chopped up a block of sunflower seed suet and spread it below my two sunflower seed feeders. It’s easier for the two VARIED THRUSHES and FOX SPARROW than the suet feeder cage. They got some and then a STELLER’S JAY (very efficient gobbler) polished it off quickly. I also spread some sand for grit and it either blew away or the birds ate it all up too.
At Lowell Point Beach parking lot, RED CROSSBILLS, WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS, (including juveniles), COMMON REDPOLLS, and PINE SISKINS fluttered from one spruce bough to the next, grabbing the tiny seeds as fast as they could. I found more Crossbills and Common Redpolls eating sand? at the beach.
A SHORT-BILLED GULL daintily picked at a few fish carcasses, mostly just bones, at the tideline. A GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL briefly harassed it but soon left. A RAVEN cautiously circled overhead, wanting it, but not with the paparazzi present. The best way to scatter Ravens is to point a lens at them.
One of the RED-BREASTED MERGANSER hens patrolling the edge found some of the fish bones and tossed them down. It was perilous so close to the shore; she hammered through the surf like a pro.
Far out, I watched the pair of LONG-TAILED DUCKS paddle along, never far from each other. A very distant COMMON LOON preened and finally stretched. The head and nape seemed unusually dark, almost black. That is a puzzle. I wish it had been closer.
Dozens of MALLARDS rested in a shallow nook below Lowell Point Road, not really out of the wind, but in somewhat calmer water. Over by the Uplands, a handsome male GADWALL flew in towards shore and landed. Both BARROW’S and COMMON GOLDENEYES paddled offshore.
Robin C reported a BRAMBLING by Two Lakes Park. Though the feeder was in deep shadows, I was able to photograph it, and got a glimpse of a WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW among the Siskins, Juncos, and Redpolls.
I visited Ava’s again, hoping for another chance to photograph the banded Red Crossbill, but none appeared. A beautiful Steller’s Jay cleaned out the remains of the peanut butter in the log feeder; such efficient guzzlers! I added a RED-BREASTED NUTHATCH, and a pair of BALD EAGLES flying overhead to my list. The little birds buzzed back and forth between the trees, feeders, and snow, busily stocking up for the long, cold winter night.
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
No comments:
Post a Comment