Extra Time in Seward

That's Exit Glacier behind me.  Note the blue ice.

Wow, the Seward experience was like the plot of a good novel.  It included highs and lows, successes and failures, some tragedy, but a very satisfying conclusion.

In my last blog I told you how I reached Seward on Saturday evening.  The plan was to bird the Seward area on Sunday, take a pelagic trip through the Kenai Fjords on Monday, and then get out of town, birding my way along the Sterling Highway until I reached Homer on Tuesday evening. 

Steller's Jay

Part 1 went smoothly.  I started at Exit Glacier, a portion of the Kenai Fjords National Park, and the only portion available by car.  Along the way I stopped at numerous scenic overlooks to admire Resurrection River and the glacier itself.  At one stop I saw something drop to the road about 50 feet away.  I got my bins on it and almost yelled out loud - Steller's Jay, another of my "Most Wanted" birds.   I crept a bit closer, wanting to get a good photo but not wanting to disturb the bird from his foraging,  I needn't have worried.  He seemed to utterly ignore me.  I snapped a few shots and then retreated toward my car.  Since November I've added Green Jay, Gray Jay and Steller's Jay to my life list.  That's a great trifecta, if you ask me.

The park itself is really beautiful.  The trail system starts at the headquarters building and there seems to be a trail for everyone. The lower trail is about a mile long.  It reaches an observation area where everyone can get a really good look at the glacier.  From that point there are a number of trails that include more difficult climbs up to the edge of the ice.  Unfortunately, the park wasn't very birdy, at least in terms of species variety.  There were Wilson's, Orange-crowned, and Yellow-rumped Warblers; Hermit and Swainson's Thrushes as well as several Fox Sparrows.  Despite the small number of species, I had a great morning in the park, and I'm thankful that I had the opportunity to be there

Trumpeter Swan

Next I tried Nash Road and Fourth of July Beach.  I had read that the area could be especially birdy during shorebird migration.  That time frame has already passed, so I wasn't expecting a lot.  In fact, other than a Trumpeter Swan on a pond near the beginning of the road, there wasn't a bird to be seen.

Later in the day I drove out to Lowell Point and was thrilled to find two Wandering Tattlers (Lifer!) and large numbers of Harlequin Ducks and Barrow's Goldeneyes.  That was a great way to end a day.


So that brought me to Monday and the long-awaited pelagic trip to the Kenai Fjords.  I got to the boat in plenty of time, but needn't have bothered.  A weather advisory out in the Pacific was keeping most tours inside of Resurrection Bay.  That's a very pretty area, but the birds are farther out and in other fjords.  I was offered a refund or a chance to go out on the same tour on Tuesday when the weather promised to improve.  I dashed back to the hotel and asked to extend my stay there an extra night and then requested that they call their sister hotel in Soldotna and reduce my stay there.  It took a little time, but all the details got straightened out.

Wandering Tattler

But there was the dilemma - the morning was all but gone and I had birded all of the hotspots around Seward.  So I drove 40 miles north eventually reaching the Sterling Highway.  From there, I took three different side roads - Quartz Creek Road, Snug Harbor Road and Skilak Lake Road.  Quartz Creek Road led to a gorgeous campground run by the United States Forest Service.  I went down to the lake and immediately saw some Pine Siskins and Wilson's Warblers.  On the shoreline, a Wandering Tattler wandered about looking for a bit of lunch. 


Later I found a flooded area next to Quartz Creek Road.  In the rushing water were an American Dipper and a pair of Harlequin Ducks.  It was so much fun watching the Dipper dip into the current and bob up a little later with something tasty.  Sometimes I feel really privileged to be a birder, especially when I get glimpses of these little vignettes that reveal so much about the lives of birds!  Then I got the topper for the day.  I was driving along Snug Harbor Road when I stopped the car quickly because I thought I saw a bird foraging on the road just ahead of me.  It was a Pine Grosbeak!  In fact there were two, a male and a female.  Another lifer; another long-desired bird.  Skilak Lake road wasn't very productive for me, but I enjoyed the drive anyway.  The scenery was spectacular, and a Pacific Loon in a pond near the end of the road made it a very worthwhile drive.

Tomorrow I'll try to write about the pelagic trip and wrap up the Seward portion of my time in Alaska.  It was quite an experience!

Pine Grosbeak

American Dipper