Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 8:37 am, sunset 6:51 pm for a total day length of 10 hours and 14 minutes. Tomorrow will be 5 minutes and 23 seconds shorter.
Daylight is noticeably shorter and temperatures are easing downwards with a low last night of 35, rising to a mild 42 degrees by mid-afternoon. After Saturday’s rain and windstorm which knocked out power to Seward for nine hours (thank goodness for the city’s back-up generators!), today’s complete calm was a rare treat.
This morning, puddles perfectly reflected Mt Alice, radiant in her new winter cloak. Mirror after mirror revealed beauty framed by mud. These are the only mirrors I happily and momentarily break, leaving shimmering ripples in my tracks.
Five NORTHERN SHOVELERS, GREEN-WINGED TEAL, AMERICAN WIGEON, a few GADWALL, and MALLARDS lingered into late fall. I am always impressed by the giant orange bill of the Shoveler!
Exit Glacier Road was still open to traffic, so I drove out to say good-bye until spring. DOT may close the road at any time.
Seven adult TRUMPETER SWANS graced the eelgrass beds off Afognak Beach; two pairs and a three-some, plus a raft of Mallards and Wigeon, and SHORT-BILLED and GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS.
An adult Bald Eagle perched high in a spruce overlooking Afognak Creek. Her (?) bill was flecked with blood from a recent feast. She screeched while watching up to four BLACK-BILLED MAGPIES cautiously approach the salmon carcass on the bank and grab morsels. A DIPPER sang, unseen, nearby.
When the sun shrugged off the clingy clouds, I actually felt its warmth. Savor the moment! The forecast calls for sunny and cold at the end of the week with a low of 21, and of course, a brisk north wind.
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
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