Monday, July 28, 2025 Ravens digging fish, and a BIG ONE!

Seward, Alaska

 

Sunrise 5:30 am, sunset 10:40 pm for a total day length of 17 hours and 9 minutes. Tomorrow will be 4 minutes and 42 seconds shorter.

Another spectacular day today with bright sunshine and a gentle breeze. Temperatures ranged from 50-67 by mid-afternoon.

A minus tide again lured me into a mid-morning walk along the tide flats at Afognak Beach. 

A BALD EAGLE adult stood in a freshwater channel, preening and drinking, keeping cool. Two GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS fought over a pathetic pink salmon carcass that was little more than a rag. Flounders left interesting arrow-shaped depressions in the sand where they had rested before the tide dropped. 

Out near the low tide line, 20 RAVENS and some GULLS busily excavated with their bills, flinging sand from jagged pits about 4” deep. I watched several successful fisher-diggers grab a buried Sand Lance and toss it down the hatch. 

It is amazing to me that the fish can breathe while buried in the sand, and that the birds know how to find them using this ingenious fishing technique.

MARBLED MURRELETS called to one another with piercing, loud contact calls, I presumed between family members. “I’m here! Where are you?” It’s always great to see and hear these unusual, tree-nesting, commuting Alcids.

While strolling along the water’s edge admiring the sea treasures, I heard an explosive exhale and looked up in amazement to see a Humpback Whale breaching halfway out of the water just offshore!!! It crashed back into the water with a tremendous splash and disappeared!

I snapped a few photos as it resurfaced for air, revealing several deep scratches on its side in front of the dorsal fin.

In all the times that I had scanned the water watching KITTIWAKES, PELAGIC and DOUBLE-CRESTED CORMORANTS, MARBLED MURRELETS, and Harbor Seals I did not notice any spouts. That whale had to breach right in front of me to get my attention. I spent a lot more time waiting and walking along the edge but it headed off into the distance. 

Time was suspended in another way as I happened to be there just before the tide changed. The wavelets ran up and down the shallow beach, but neither advanced nor retreated. Then, imperceptibly at first, they reached a little farther and a little farther, and soon it was clear that the tide was coming in. 

How fun to feel connected to the tides, the ocean, and the invisible moon, a mighty cycle so regular I can read the change on a tide table.

Update: the next day I saw a single WHITE-WINGED SCOTER.

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter 

July 19, 2025 Violet-green Swallows, Arctic Terns, Steller's Jay babies

Seward, Alaska

Sunrise 5:10 am, sunset 10:59 pm for a total day length of 17 hours and 49 minutes. Tomorrow will be 4 minutes and 7 seconds shorter.

Cloudy with temps continuing around 46-57º and calm. Warmer temps in the mid-60s and sunshine in the forecast for next week.

After saying farewell to my hummers on July 11, I almost took down the feeder. But at 6 pm on July 16, a RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD hovered in front of my kitchen window looking at me as if to say, “I’m still here!” I immediately made a new batch of sugar solution. There it was the next morning at 9 am, sitting and sipping. That was the sweet finale; I haven’t seen any since.

“My” VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS are still using the nest box. They are about a week behind the other neighborhood Swallows. I enjoyed watching the gorgeous dad taking a little time for himself to preen and bask in the sunshine on July 17. 

What appears to be a black and white bird when swooping above is truly eye-popping when illuminated from behind in the sun: brilliant green back, violet rump, iridescent blue on scapulars, white face with large, alert eyes, tiny black bill, and immaculate white front. 

The babies should be fledging soon.

The ARCTIC TERNS have already left their nests and headed out to sea, all except three adults and one last baby who I only saw walking on the beach. It’s a late bloomer who no longer enjoys the protection of the colony to fight off predators. Two SHORT-BILLED GULLS remained nearby but I did not see any young. 

I watched the five adults leap into action against first one adult BALD EAGLE then a second as the marauders flew low across the beach with a little snack in mind. The ferocious smaller birds dive-bombed the Eagles and loudly screamed bird profanities until they drove them off. 

Then a GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL flew in range and the defense also proved successful. What a treacherous time for the baby!

Were the Short-billed Gulls exhibiting altruistic behavior? I wonder why they remained, and joined in the defense like the Three Musketeers, “All for one and one for all!” I hope the little one will soon become a skilled aviator instead of a sitting target and start the long migration to Antarctica.

Also spotted, a small flock of peeps, including LEAST and SEMI-PALMATED SANDPIPERS, and two LESSER YELLOWLEGS. Otherwise, it was pretty quiet.

This afternoon, while walking up to the gate at Lowell Canyon Road, I held the Merlin app towards an unusual woodpecker sound I did not recognize. AMERICAN THREE-TOED WOODPECKERS! I saw a flutter through the dense cottonwood leaves and heard several babies vocalizing from both sides of the road, but was unable to see them. On my way back 15 minutes later, I heard nothing.

Back home, I found two adorable baby STELLER JAYS snoozing on the back deck, blue-gray balls of downy feathers with bright blue wing and tail feathers and a tiny dark crest. They still have their gaping baby bills. O, they were so tired! They hardly stirred when I suddenly appeared, then quickly dozed off again. It won’t be long before they become alert, perky rascals.

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter

 

 

Monday, July 14, 2025 Oystercatchers, White-winged Crossbills, and other surprises

Seward, Alaska

Sunrise 5:00 am, sunset 11:08 pm, for a total day length of 18 hours and 8 minutes. Tomorrow will be 3 minutes and 39 seconds shorter.

 

Cooler and cloudy today with temps ranging from 46 to 53º after two days of sunshine and temps reaching 60º. 

 

Amazing bird day today starting with yard birds in the morning: VIOLET GREEN SWALLOWS swooped overhead with aerial refueling of fluttering babies. I hoped that some were “my” Swallows, fledged from one of my nest boxes.  

 

The Merlin app alerted me to the presence of a TOWNSEND’S WARBLER and ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER; the FOX SPARROW sang loudly from the side yard, a SONG SPARROW chipped from the raspberries; PINE SISKINS zzzz-ed overhead; RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES yank-yanked; a STELLER’S JAY threatened predation on CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE fledglings begging in the spruce. 

 

Add the sweet serenading of the neighborhood ROBIN and HERMIT THRUSH, counterbalanced by squawking RAVEN juveniles. 

 

Missing were the RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS that disappeared on Friday, July 11, leaving me forlorn. They sure tanked up prior to migration.

 

At Fourth of July Creek came a surprise sighting of three BLACK OYSTERCATCHERS intently feeding among the algal-strewn intertidal rocks. One seemed smaller, perhaps a juvenile with its parents. Not one “Wheep!”

 

Fishing nearby: 3 SURF SCOTERS, 5 MARBLED MURRELETS, 7 HARLEQUIN DUCKS, GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULLS and a few SHORT-BILLED GULLS, KITTIWAKES, a PIGEON GUILLEMOT, a Harbor Seal and a Sea Otter. Another surprise, a BARROW’S GOLDENEYE flyby after being absent all summer.

 

At the edge of the beach rye grass, a SPOTTED SANDPIPER called anxiously, her babies probably nearby. Ditto, a concealed SAVANNAH SPARROW chipping from the grasses.

 

I checked the BALD EAGLE nest, but did not happen to see any eaglets or adults. One adult flew past and landed out of sight in the forest, otherwise it was pretty quiet.

 

Add a few BLACK-BILLED MAGPIES and RAVENS to top off the list.

 

In the afternoon, I enjoyed an eBike ride along Exit Glacier Road into Kenai Fjords National Park. Brilliant magenta fireweed is already blooming halfway up the spikes; Mt Dryas moved on to producing “Albert Einstein” balls of white, wild seed heads. Cottonwood seed fluff joined the summer “snow” of willow seeds parachuting in the wind; who says plants don’t move?

 

I heard a SWAINSON’S THRUSH calling softly near the parking lot, another nice surprise. Two Steller Jays noisily flew crumb patrol. BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE family groups called and chipped from roadside willows along with a few YELLOW WARBLERS. COMMON REDPOLLS blew raspberries overhead. 

 

In the Chugach National Forest just outside the park boundary, a VARIED THRUSH called tentatively. I watched about a dozen WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS call and fly to the top of a nearby spruce. I haven’t seen Crossbills since winter. 

 

I watched another flock of White-winged Crossbills at Two Lakes Park in town. Add to the list a PACIFIC WREN that burst into its long song, and several GOLDEN-CROWNED KINGLETS flitting and twittering through the alders. A RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET also chose to grace the woodlands with its now-scarce exuberant song. 

 

A dark GOLDENEYE grunted plaintively at Second Lake and paddled slowly away. I couldn’t tell if it was a Barrow’s or Common. Like the Goldeneye at Fourth of July Beach, it seems early for them to be back, ready to overwinter.

 

Lots going on outside; I regret any time spent/wasted indoors!

 

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Monday, July 7, 2025 Rufous Hummingbirds, Red Squirrel, Eaglets

Seward, Alaska

 

RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRD activity has dramatically increased at my single feeder. For the past month, I sometimes wondered if I even had hummers, and then only saw one occasionally. This past week, I have enjoyed watching frequent visits by two youngsters and possibly the mom.

 

One checked out the orange rim of the basketball hoop, and when satisfied it was not a food source, zoomed through the netting, an expert flyer. Often, two tangoed in a mid-air dispute over feeder access. Mostly, one sits and sips quietly, tanking up. 

Thanks to Todd Eskelin, hummingbird bander extraordinaire, for the following information: heavy stippling on the throat is pretty conclusive for an immature male. The best way to tell is a lack of gorget feathers and then the amount of rufous in the tail. More than 50% rufous is male, and less than 50% is female." The photos show immature males.

 

A brilliantly blue young STELLER’S JAY flew in, downy feathers still sticking up here and there. It snagged some chunks of suet and flew off.

 

A zippy Red Squirrel scurried around my flower pots, gleaning fallen sunflower seeds from a nearby mostly empty feeder. When it paused, I took a few photos through the window. Pests though they can be and predators of birds, it did look cute.

 

However, when I magnified the photos on my computer, I saw that this squirrel has had a tough time. A bird, possibly a Magpie, had pecked a wound on the top of its head and taken a chunk out of its left ear. A tick, a native species appropriately named the squirrel tick, attacked its right ear. I felt sorry for it and did not begrudge the few seeds it found.

 

Later, I tried to rescue a baby VARIED THRUSH, recently fledged, from an attacking BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE. The poor baby was trapped against a chain-link fence, suffering wounds. I shooed away the Magpie and the baby squeezed though the fence for a temporary respite. 

 

I wonder if local songbird declines are due in part to higher numbers of resident predators like red squirrels, ermine, Magpies, Steller Jays, American Crows, Ravens, and Eagles. They are very, very good at finding eggs and picking off babies.

 

I finally saw two very young Eaglets in the enormous nest at Fourth of July Beach. There may be more but their camouflage brown coloration made them hard to see. The mom stood in the nest, then she dove down to the ocean and in a flash, returned with a fish! Easy as picking up a fast food order! She ripped it into bites for her eager babies.

 

In the quiet evening, the all-night ROBIN serenaded from the top of a spruce; the flute-like, peaceful notes of a HERMIT THRUSH cascaded down in the distance. A FOX SPARROW sang from the side yard, joined by an ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER and an enthusiastic but not musical PINE SISKIN.  As bird songs diminish, these late songsters are greatly appreciated.

 

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold 

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter