Date: 5/27/26 10:08 pm From: rainyday via groups.io <c_griz...> Subject: [AKBirding] Wednesday, May 27, 2026 Lesser Yellowlegs, American Pipits, Hermit Thrush, Yellow-rumped Warbler
Wednesday, May 27, 2026 Lesser Yellowlegs, American Pipits, Hermit Thrush, Yellow-rumped Warbler
Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 4:55 am, sunset 10:57 pm for a total day length of 18 hours and 2 minutes. Tomorrow will be 3 minutes and 44 seconds longer.
With the exception of the unexpected gift of sunshine (and wind) on Sunday and Monday, chilly May intends to finish off her days with clouds and showers, dipping down to freezing then barely reaching 50 on her last gasp.
Birding in the rain seems normal now. On Saturday, I watched two LESSER YELLOWLEGS stalk around a flooded pothole. Everything about them was “lesser” than the Greater Yellowlegs: shorter, straighter bill, fewer bars and stripes, thinner neck, and smaller size.
A LINCOLN’S SPARROW sang its melodious song nearby while WILSON’S SNIPE winnowed from on high.
On Sunday, not one but two female RUFOUS HUMMINGBIRDS buzzed around my feeder! Yay! So relieved and happy they were back!
A pair of VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS checked out one of my nest boxes (free for a song) and I suspect a CHESTNUT-BACKED CHICKADEE has claimed another.
I heard my FOS ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER at the Lagoon.
Today, thanks to a report from Robin C, I found dozens of AMERICAN PIPITS rummaging through the wrack at Afognak Beach. One caught an amphipod while others tracked down flies.
A bright YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER (Myrtle, with a white throat) also rummaged through the wrack with a wide-eyed, rusty-tailed HERMIT THRUSH and a dark, streaky SONG SPARROW. A SPOTTED SANDPIPER flew stiff-winged along the shoreline.
Five adult BALD EAGLES burst out of the spruce; I could hear one beating its way through the thick branches. Quite the excitement!
Then the rain returned in earnest and I trudged back to the car, pleased with this glimpse into the busy birds at the beach.
