Sunrise 9:12 am, sunset 6:12 pm for a total day length of 8 hours and 59 minutes. Tomorrow will be 5 minutes and 15 seconds shorter.
Winter Weather Advisory today through tomorrow afternoon for snow, mostly at higher elevations and north of Seward, and rain. The 7” of snow forecast for tonight will likely be rain with the temperature hovering just above freezing. Sn’rain and strong NW wind with gusts to 39 mph is forecast for Tuesday.
Heavy cloud cover and light rain today resulted in a dim day, but one full of wonderful surprises. This morning, three wary GREAT BLUE HERONS silently flew away from wetland ponds to other secretive spots. I heard a “chit-chit-chit-tew!” along the beach and discovered a single, FOS SNOW BUNTING. It walked ahead of me for a ways, gleaning rye grass seeds scattered in the sand.
I did not find the Killdeer reported yesterday.
This afternoon, I again received the “ABC” lesson, “Always Bring Camera (even though it’s raining)” after spotting a FOS (First of Season) YELLOW-BILLED LOON at Lowell Point Beach. Excited, I hustled back to the car to get the camera and then spent some time relocating it.
The light brown juvenile had a prominent forehead bulge and bright scalloping on its back. It often surfaced with its mouth open, in the act of swallowing its prey (a fish?) after yet another successful chase. It didn’t spend much time idling at the surface and did not stop to preen or stretch. I felt so lucky to have seen it! A PIGEON GUILLEMOT in winter plumage paddled nearby.
About nine PELAGIC CORMORANTS circled around another fishing hole, diving repeatedly. A few BLACK-LEGGED KITTIWAKES, SHORT-BILLED GULLS, and a RED-BREASTED MERGANSER expressed interest as well, diving in to grab a snack.
Closer to shore, a lone LONG-BILLED DUCK in winter plumage, also FOS, paddled and dove. It seemed more curious than wary.
I felt richly rewarded, birding on this dim, sprinkly day.
