Date: 5/8/26 11:17 pm From: rainyday via groups.io <c_griz...> Subject: [AKBirding] Wednesday, May 6, 2026 Swallows, Least and Western Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers, Merlin
Wednesday, May 6, 2026 Swallows, Least and Western Sandpipers, Semipalmated Plovers, Merlin
Seward, Alaska
Unexpected and much appreciated sunshine today! FOS 4 SWALLOWS swooped high above my yard, too far to ID or photograph. Fortunately, they are back in time to catch the slow-moving, recently emerged female mosquitoes.
At the head of the bay, the lone SNOW GOOSE persisted, with CACKLING GEESE and GREATER WHITE-FRONTED GEESE.
Eight PACIFIC GOLDEN-PLOVERS stalked through the grasses.
In the shallow pond, smaller numbers of HUDSONIAN GODWITS and LONG-BILLED DOWITCHERS fed voraciously.
At the tidelands, a pulse of WESTERN and LEAST SANDPIPERS probed the rich intertidal. Up close, it was easy to compare the black legs and coppery rufous on the Westerns to the rather drab plumage of the leastest sandpiper with its yellowish legs. Most of these peeps were actively feeding, but at least one stole a much-deserved nap.
A few dapper SEMIPALMATED PLOVERS joined the peeps for mudflat treats.
I spied a MERLIN perched on a snag, also interested in the new arrivals. A few years ago, a friend reported their yard littered with shorebird parts from a nesting pair in the Forest Acres neighborhood. Not a pretty sight!
