Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 9:07 am, sunset 6:18 pm for a total day length of 9 hours and 11 minutes. Tomorrow will be 5 minutes and 17 seconds shorter.
Seward basked (relatively) in a brilliantly sunny weekend though the temps dipped to a low of 30 overnight. The skim of ice on the Lagoon and frost soon melted with highs of 36-38. Cooler temps and mixed snow/rain are in the forecast for the next few days.
A trio of phenomenal birders descended on Seward on Saturday and pulled out a fantastic number of species (over 50!) I felt fortunate to tag along in their wake for a bit. The weekend headliner featured five juvenile SHARP-TAILED SANDPIPERS, a new local record.
A single DUNLIN accompanied the wayward Asiatic sandpipers in the saltmarsh while a second Dunlin foraged solo in the tidelands. They found a seasonally expected surprise KILLDEER that split time between the tidelands and the pond, and the immature NORTHERN SHRIKE far out on the tide flats, harassed by a BLACK-BILLED MAGPIE.
Two CACKLING GEESE, subspecies minima, joined the lonely juvenile in the salt marsh. Maybe they will be able to migrate together and figure out the way?
Bristling with scopes and binocs, sharp eyes and radar hearing, they pulled one bird after the other out of the ether. I was especially impressed with their sightings of Loons, apparently all over the place: two Common Loons and one Pacific Loon at Fourth of July Beach, a Pacific Loon at Spring Creek Beach, a Common Loon along the Waterfront and along Lowell Point Road, two more Pacific Loons along Lowell Point Road, and a very uncommon Red-Throated Loon along Lowell Point Road.
They even found the 16 STARLINGS in town that flew over my car on October 19 and have proved elusive and camera-shy since.
While looking to refind a few of those fabulous Loons today, I found a YELLOW-BILLED LOON at Spring Creek Beach! Too cool!
The moral of the story is to bring a sherpa to carry your scope. Or just get lucky and sail along with these birders.
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
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