Saturday, December 16, 2023 Killdeer, Cassin’s Finch, Rusty Blackbirds, Fox Sparrow

Seward, Alaska

Sunrise 9:58 am, sunset 3:51 pm, for a total day length of 5 hours and 52 minutes. Tomorrow will be 56 seconds shorter. The temperatures rose from 17º at 6 am to 34º by late evening, turning the afternoon snowfall into rain. 

 

But wonder of wonders! The blue-gray, overcast day was reflection-calm this morning and the high tide waited until mid-afternoon. I found the KILLDEER at the tide flats, poking through the exposed mud as if the recent storms and short, short days of an Alaska winter were of no consequence. 

 

Next stop, the grocery store where incredibly, a CASSIN’S FINCH was reported gleaning gravel bits near the store entrance. I searched without success, but saw it on my way out with my hands full of grocery bags. Of course, it disappeared under the propane tank enclosures after I was ready with my camera. What an unusual and busy spot for a rare finch to choose for a bit of grit (supplemented by some bird seed.)

 

The hot spot at Second and Madison was hopping, literally. An almost tailless red interior FOX SPARROW popped out of the shrubs, then one of two creaking RUSTY BLACKBIRDS, an eye-popping bright VARIED THRUSH, a flock of DARK-EYED JUNCOS, and RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES. 

 

I just missed a Brambling. Almost at the same time, another Brambling was reported in Forest Acres, possibly the same one seen at Ava’s recently, but maybe it’s a third one.

 

Just before dusk, two BOHEMIAN WAXWINGS silently fluttered up and down from power line wires across Jefferson St, perching then hawking exactly like flycatchers. The temperature was above freezing so maybe there were insects flying. They were both very intent, not a berry in sight. Such interesting behavior!

The Seward Audubon Christmas Bird Count is scheduled for Saturday, December 23. Count Week starts on Wednesday, December 20. With luck, these and other fabulous birds will be counted.

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter

 

 

Wednesday, December 13, 2023 Brambling, Townsend’s Solitaire

Seward, Alaska

Sunrise 9:54 am, sunset 3:51 pm for a total day length of 5 hours and 56 minutes. Tomorrow will be 1 minute and 28 seconds shorter as we approach the Winter Solstice on December 21. 

 

Finally got a break in the squally weather with mostly clear skies and sunshine; note, UV level still flatlining at zero. High at 7:30 am of 21, dropping to 16 around 11 am. A chilly north wind persisted at 3-8 mph with gusts to 15, lofting shimmers of loose snow, and riling the bay.

 

It’s not hard to rise before the sun in winter; I hustled out to the tidelands at 10 am hoping to beat the rising 12.73’ high tide. The hidden sun illuminated the tops of the western mountains with a bluish cast and crisp blue shadows. I watched the dawn creep down as the sun finally peeked over the eastern mountains at a leisurely 10:43 am. Short days, long nights for the birds.

 

I was unsuccessful in my hopes to spot the Killdeer reported last weekend, and refind some Snow Buntings. Instead, I found the usual RAVENS, MALLARDS, SHORT-BILLED GULLS, and two TRUMPETER SWANS feeding in the flooded stream channel, almost obscured by swirling snow.

 

Next, I sought the BRAMBLING, found by Robin C at Ava’s on Sunday and Tuesday. A wonderful variety of hungry birds cycled through her yard and feeders: a single BOHEMIAN WAXWING, PINE GROSBEAKS, RED-WINGED CROSSBILLS, RED-BREASTED NUTHATCHES, BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES, DARK-EYED JUNCOS, a SONG SPARROW, DOWNY WOODPECKERS, HAIRY WOODPECKERS, BLACK-BILLED MAGPIES, and a BALD EAGLE and RAVEN fly-over.

 

It was exciting to watch for the Juncos in particular, knowing the Brambling liked their company. They ebbed and flowed like the tide, disappearing under the deck, then up in the trees, or hopped on the snow. Finally, I caught sight of a striking burnt orange and black finch with a yellow bill. Yay! I waited for another long time and was able to get a few photos before a Pine Grosbeak chased him back under the deck. 

 

The sun was already over halfway across the sky. I headed to Lowell Point Beach on the west side of Resurrection Bay, arriving at the 12:45 pm high tide. Lowell Point No-Beach. A handsome drake RED-BREASTED MERGANSER paddled back and forth across the drowned beach where people normally walked, snorkeling and diving. I dodged fingers of seething water reaching into the beach rye grass, down to the end of the beach. Pinnacle Rock was flooded, leaving only a small tip exposed.

 

A bird flushed from the rocks and flew past too fast for me to identify. This was the mystery bird from December 8. I started to trudge back to try to find it when it returned and landed about 10’ away on the tip of some driftwood. A TOWNSEND’S SOLITAIRE! The sweet thrush just sat there quietly looking at me as I clicked away in perfect light. Wow. Then, off down the beach to another perch. What a gift of its presence!

 

The sun bid adieu with a flashy little prism in a cloud and threw the beach into shadows at 1 pm, but I wasn’t done yet. I simply drove away from the mountains and back to town for an encore. A BALD EAGLE obliged me, regally staring afar and then down at me from its eagle perch near the harbor. 

 

Around 2 pm, the sun set again. I could have driven to the east side of the bay for yet another moment in the sun, but decided to turn in, well satisfied with a short but spectacular day of winter birding.

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter

 

 

Wednesday, December 6, 2023 Cassin's Finch, Snow Goose, Alpenglow

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!

 

Friday, December 1, 2023 Snow Buntings

Seward, Alaska

 

No Rock Sandpipers today, but a flock of about 30 SNOW BUNTINGS swirled ahead of me in the wind and disappeared into the beach rye grass. Except for one female, who posed quietly on a log. What a beauty!

 

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter

Thursday, November 30, 2023 Rock Sandpipers, Dunlin, Snow Goose

Seward, Alaska

 

Sunrise 9:32 am, sunset 4:03 pm, for a total day length of 6 hours and 30 minutes. Tomorrow will be 3 minutes and 23 seconds shorter.

 

This last day of November sighed to a close with bright Jupiter in the eastern sky and the Big Dipper slowly rotating around Polaris. Is this an enticement to forget the rain followed by hail this afternoon? Or the overall rainy month with a cold snap in the middle? 

 

Seward still has no snow on the ground (ephemeral white slush does not count). Today’s high was 34 around midafternoon, with a low of 28. The north wind shifted around noon to SE with gusts to 31 mph in the squally afternoon. The forecast calls for slightly cooler temperatures tomorrow and 30% chance of rain/slush in the morning.

 

I lucked out today at the tidelands with the break in the weather, only light rain and mild wind. Even at noon, however, the light was very dim due to the thick pewter-gray clouds all around. 

 

As the tide rolled in, I spotted 26 ROCK SANDPIPERS and two DUNLIN feeding at the rapidly diminishing tideline. How fun to hear their chittering as they angled for a choice spot at the table! A GLAUCOUS-WINGED GULL and the smaller SHORT-BILLED GULL stood companionably among them like giants.

 

Farther along the beach, a single female SNOW BUNTING popped up, possibly same bird I saw previously on November 17. She was very secretive and did not stop for a photo this time.

 

In the short time it took to walk the beach and return, the tide covered the table and the Sandpipers disappeared. Timing is everything; birding is serendipity.

 

I checked out the Blue Dipper by the harbor and found two GREAT BLUE HERONS standing on the platform looking glum in the rain and rising wind.

 

Despite the weather, several people were out walking the bike path with their dogs. I was relieved to see the SNOW GOOSE flying from the disturbance; it had not been invited to a Thanksgiving feast. It flew high and away but soon circled back and landed nearby. 

 

The poor goose has an enlarged, knobby, distorted left leg, an injury that healed badly. The goose walks with a slight limp but uses the left foot frequently to scratch a persistent itch under its chin. 

It’s strange to have a Snow Goose here so late, but the lack of snow means grass is available. It will be interesting to see how long it stays.

 

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter

Saturday, November 18, 2023 Snow Goose!

Seward, Alaska

Sunrise 9:05 am, sunset 4:23 pm for a total day length of 7 hours and 18 minutes. Tomorrow will be 4 minutes and 29 seconds shorter. 

 

Cold and clear today continued with a low of 7 and a high of 11. Strong NNW winds 10-13 mph with gusts to 32 mph pushed the wind chill into the negatives. Brrrr! No snow on the ground, at least not in town.

 

Thanks to a tip from Robin, I found a lone SNOW GOOSE hunkered down against the wind, eating grass along the Waterfront bike path. First reported two days ago, this a very late bird! I didn’t see any Snow Geese in the spring or fall migration this year so it was quite a surprise to have one here now. 

 

The blasting wind and cold may help reduce the usual pedestrian and dog traffic on the path and give this poor goose a chance to fuel up before it flies south.

 

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter