The Kenai Peninsula Borough provides free household hazardous waste collection four times a year at the Seward Transfer Facility located at the end of Dimond Blvd. Bring your household hazardous waste on Saturday, May 18^th from 8:00 am to 5:00 pm. The next collection date is July 27. Household collection is free; businesses and organizations should call Emerald at  1-877-375-5040 ahead of time to let them know what to expect.

Many home improvement projects result in hazardous waste such as extra or old paint, varnish, stain, paint thinner, paint stripper, caulk, wood preservatives, and adhesives.

These products are all household hazardous waste that should NOT go in the trash can. But if you paint, varnish, or stain an old board and let it dry it’s no longer a hazard and can be safely disposed with the regular trash.

Maintaining a vehicle generates used motor oil, antifreeze, windshield wiper fluid, car wax and cleaners, lead-acid batteries, brake fluid, and transmission fluid. Hazardous waste again.

Insecticide and insect repellent, weed killers, rodent poison, pet spray and dip, mothballs, and disinfectants are all household hazardous waste. 

Old cleaning supplies are hazardous waste too: furniture polish and wax, drain opener, oven cleaner, tub and tile cleaner, toilet bowl cleaner, spot remover, bleach, and ammonia. Any product that contains words like “danger, explosive, poison, flammable, caution, corrosive, warning!” should be handled with care and treated as hazardous waste.

Fluorescent bulbs are hazardous waste, but they are not accepted at the Transfer Facility. Thanks to a grant for a cool machine from Holland America, the City of Seward provides fluorescent tube recycling the first Friday of every month at the shed north of City Hall from 3 to 4 pm. The next fluorescent bulb recycling event will be Friday, June 7^th.

Help keep our beautiful community clean and healthy by selecting less hazardous products for your needs, and by taking advantage of these free quarterly hazardous waste recycling events.

For more information contact the Seward Transfer Facility at 224-5327, the Kenai Peninsula Borough Solid Waste Department at (907) 262-9667 or on the web at www.borough.kenai.ak.us/solidwaste.

Submitted by Carol Griswold

Two surfers played like seals in the green surf at Fourth of July Beach on Saturday. It was quite entertaining!

Submitted by Carol Griswold

It’s been a busy winter for big vessels in Resurrection Bay! The M/V Tustumena ferry at dry dock at SMIC is so big at 296 feet, that it won’t fit inside the shipyard structure.

The huge supply vessel, Aiviq docked in front of the M/V Aurora, another state ferry. The Aiviq not only towered over the ferry with its massive superstructure, but it is 358 feet long and 79 feet wide. The Aurora is a mere 235 feet long.

The Noble Discoverer drilling rig dwarfs both state ferries and the Aiviq at 512 feet long by 85 feet wide.

At the end of February, the Xiang Yun Kou, a heavy-lift transport vessel registered in China arrived to scoop up the drill rig. It is a whopping 709 feet long and 141 feet wide.

By comparison, in the summer, a succession of cruise ships fill the bay. The Statendam, registered in the Netherlands, is even bigger than the transporter at 722 feet long and 105 feet wide.

Then, a few days ago, the biggest ship of them all arrived, the M/V Meister, a coal ship registered in Panama. It is 738 feet long, and 105 feet wide.

Quite a line-up this week with the Aurora, Tustumena, Aiviq, Noble Discoverer, Xiang Yun Kou, and Meister all in the bay at once. But majestic Mt Alice makes them all look small.

Submitted by Carol Griswold

Information on vessels  from http://www.fleetmon.com/en/vessels

Guided by powerful tugs, Shell Oil’s drilling rig, the Noble Discoverer, began its slow but steady journey from the Alaska Railroad Dock to the waiting semi-submerged transport ship around 6:30 am on Saturday morning. Calm seas helped make this delicate operation much easier.

By early afternoon, the rig was temporarily secured in place, and the transport ship began to pump out the ballast water.

By evening, the rig rode high and dry on the cargo deck, lights blazing. Over the next few days, welders, including graduates of the AVTEC welding program, will secure the rig to the ship for the month-long journey across the North Pacific Ocean to the repair facility in South Korea.

Submitted by Carol Griswold

The final performance of the fabulous play, “Duck Hunter Shoots Angel” will be presented tonight, Saturday March 2 at 7:00 pm at the High School Theater. Tickets are $10 for Seward Arts Council members, and $15 for non-members. Join this worthy organization, support the arts, and receive discounts on future performances.

Don’t miss this show! And be sure to read the program in the form of a hilarious tabloid “The Weekly World and Globe.”  Congratulations to director Doug Capra and the talented cast and crew for a touching, funny, sweet, and thought-provoking play.

Submitted on behalf of SAC by Carol Griswold.

The final performance of the fabulous play, “Duck Hunter Shoots Angel” will be presented Saturday March 2 at 7:00 pm at the High School Theater. Tickets are $10 for Seward Arts Council members, and $15 for non-members. Join this worthy organization, support the arts, and receive discounts on future performances.

Don’t miss this show! And be sure to read the program in the form of a hilarious tabloid “The Weekly World and Globe.”  Congratulations to director Doug Capra and the talented cast and crew for a touching, funny, sweet, and thought-provoking play.

Submitted on behalf of SAC by Carol Griswold.

The gleaming blue and white tug Aiviq cruised into Resurrection Bay on Wednesday, Feb 27 and tied up at the Alaska Railroad dock. Pronounced EYE-vik, the name means “walrus” in Inupiaq. This is the tug that suffered mechanical difficulties while towing Shell’s drilling rig Kulluk along the coast of Kodiak Island in late December.

What a massive tug! She dwarfs all of Seward’s fleet. According to Wikipedia, she’s 360 feet long and 80 feet wide. There’s room on the helideck for a Sikorsky S-92. She can run at 15 knots (17 mph) in open water, and 5 knots (5.8 mph) in 3 feet of level ice, and can pull 200 metric tons. She is also an ice breaker, designed and constructed for breaking ice to open navigable channels for other ships

Practically brand new, she was built in 2012 in Louisiana for $200 million. The vessel is designed for zero discharge (hear that, cruise ships???) with water-lubricated stem tubes and dual oily water separators and sewage plants. More information on-line at

http://www.professionalmariner.com/American-Ship-Review-2013/Aiviq-Pride-of-Shells-Alaskan-drilling-fleet/.

Thursday, an even more massive ship, like a visitor from another world, anchored up in the inner bay. The somber gray Xiang Yun Kou is a semi-submersible, heavy lift vessel built in China in 2011. It is 709 feet long by 141 feet wide with an open cargo deck 584 feet long by 141 feet wide. More information on-line at http://www.cosco.com/en/news/detail.jsp?docId=18484.

Sometime soon, the Xiang Yun Kou will scoop up the drilling rig Noble Discoverer by adding ballast until it is below the draft of the drilling rig. Then tugs will push the drilling rig over the semi-submersible’s deck, the ballast will be discharged, and the tow vessel will rise up with the drill rig on its deck. It’s faster to carry it than to tow it across the North Pacific to a shipyard in Asia, probably South Korea, for repairs. The voyage will take 2 to 4 weeks. More information on line at

http://my.firedoglake.com/edwardteller/2013/02/12/kulluk-and-noble-discoverer-to-both-be-dry-towed-to-asia-for-costly-repairs

Submitted by Carol Griswold

Lincoln

The Council also agreed have the City Manager  write a letter in support of  an exemption from emission regulations for cruise ships  (if I heard right) so they can continue to spew pollution into our “pristine” air. I am dismayed that our leaders here in Council and elsewhere, do not support  cleaner air and a less polluted planet.

As mentioned at the meeting, Tote converted two of its diesel-powered ships to cleaner-burning liquefied natural gas. This will significantly reduce sulfur emissions by 95% and achieve significant reductions in particulate matter including nitrogen oxide and carbon dioxide. The ships will exceed regulatory compliance for the remainder of their service lives.

We should demand that the cruise ships do the same not only for our health, but for our children, grand-children, and the planet. I applaud Tote’s leadership to implement clean-air programs like this.

Sincerely,

Carol Griswold

Here are a some photos of the exciting 2013 Alaska Tsunami Ocean Sciences Bowl, featuring the Seward Team  ”Don’t Say No to Coho”: Alex Ashford, captain, a three time participant, Josephine Braun  and Kara Knotek two time participants, and Isabel Barnwell, and Maranda Clark first time. Their very interesting and pertinent paper and presentation was “Resurrection Bay Wild Coho Salmon in Potential Danger.”

The Seward Team came in 11th out of 24 quiz bowl teams, and their paper took 9th place. Congratulations to all the team members and to coach Carlyn Nichols.

All the teams’ papers, contest results, and more information is available soon at http://seagrant.uaf.edu/nosb/index.html.

Submitted by Carol Griswold

Despite the bitter cold and ferocious north wind, about 50 birders beelined to Seward this weekend to look for the rare  Siberian Accentor. Fairbanks, Palmer, Eagle River, Anchorage, Moose Pass, Cooper Landing, Kenai, Soldotna, Homer, Juneau, Kodiak and probably other towns, were all represented.

It was quite a winter adventure. Two drove all the way from Fairbanks, enjoying the northern lights en route. Others drove through white-out conditions along Turnagain Arm, temporarily blinded whenever a semi passed. Several remarked on the beauty of the Scenic Highway and the scenery surrounding Seward.

First Avenue north of the hospital looked like a block party with cars and trucks parked all along both sides. Warmly dressed birders from 11 to 80 years old scanned the mountainside through their binoculars and spotting scopes. First another uncommon bird from Asia, a Brambling, was spotted on the green moss by the cliffs. Then the sparrow-sized Siberian Accentor popped up nearby. Most, but not all, got quick glimpses of the small masked bird, as it scratched for frozen insects and spiders under the spruce trees and brush. This is the first documented Siberian Accentor found in Seward and one of the few recorded on the Southcentral road system, saving many an expensive trip to Gambell or the Pribilofs. It is listed as “casual” on the Checklist of Alaska Birds, a category even more unusual than “rare.”

If you watched the movie, “The Big Year”, you will understand why these sane and accomplished people took time and effort to get to Seward and stand around in the freezing weather to check off another fabulous Life Bird. “Ching!”  Seward is becoming a real hotspot for winter birding with the 2011 Redwing, the 2012 Bramblings, and now the 2013 Siberian Accentor. If businesses are wise, they will welcome this winter business and bring some “Ka-Ching!” to their cash registers!

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter http://sporadicbird.blogspot.com/

Seward is about to be invaded by a menagerie of marine muses in the form of Pretentious Pandalids,  Terrifying Tardigrades, Saber-Tooth Salmon, Marvelous Megalops, Nuclear Narwhals, and a host of other oceanic concoctions.  But never fear.  It’s all in the name of good, clean competition and education when the 16^th annual Tsunami Bowl, Alaska’s version of the National Ocean Sciences Bowl (NOSB), gets underway on Friday, February 8, 2013 at Seward High School.  Twenty-five teams (some with names easier to pronounce than others!) from 18 different high schools across Alaska will compete for the Tsunami Bowl Championship and the opportunity to face winners from 24 other regions across the U.S. at the NOSB final competition in April.

The competition lasts all weekend, with oral presentations of the students’ research into the topic of “Estuarine Systems and the Importance of Freshwater in Marine Science” all day Friday and on through Saturday morning, February 9.  Saturday afternoon the Tsunami Bowl quiz competition begins, with teams squaring off against each other and the clock, to answer marine science questions.  The action concludes Sunday, February 10, around noon when the Championship will be decided, based on a combination of each team’s research score and quiz score.

Spectators are welcome to watch as students demonstrate their knowledge of marine related topics.  Volunteers are still needed to help with the competition.  If you have a few hours to spare, please contact Phyllis Shoemaker at phyllis.shoemaker@alaska.edu or 224-4312.  More information about the 2013 Tsunami Bowl is available on the web at http://seagrant.uaf.edu/nosb/index.html.

A small but dramatically colored bird called a Siberian Accentor, is creating quite a stir in the bird world. This rare bird should be in northern Siberia! Kit and Janet Durnil found the bird in dense alders and small spruce in town on January 22nd. I documented the bird  and emailed the photos to Buzz Scher  who identified it quicker than a bird book. It is so rare in North America that in fact, it is not in all the bird books. The Sibley and Kaufman field guides do not have it, but the National Geographic Field Guide does. It’s the first bird in the index, “Accentor, Siberian.” It’s also the first bird in the app iBird Plus.

The owner of the house where it was found, thought she caught a brief glimpse of it in December. Kit is wondering too, if he might have seen it during the Christmas Bird Count. It’s very secretive and hard to spot despite its tawny orange coloration and distinctive black mask. Hopefully, the birders planning to converge on Seward this weekend will be able to find it.

The other rare birds in Seward, the Bramblings, have apparently moved to town from Lowell Point. They too have been spotted in the neighborhood feeding on Mt Ash berries.

For more information and photos, please visit my Sporadic Bird Blog at http://sporadicbird.blogspot.com/

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

The National Audubon Society keeps track of bird data collected by citizen scientists across the Americas in the annual Christmas Bird Count, and uses this information to assess the health of bird populations and to help guide conservation action.

On Seward”s Count Day, Saturday, December 22, 2012, twenty-eight Field Counters, including two young birders and three Boat Crew, birded the Seward Circle from 9 to 4 pm. Another seven Feeder Counters kept vigil at their often lonely feeders. The Tonsina Trail Route was covered this year, as well as the Iditarod Trail, and out to mile 2 on Exit Glacier Road.

For the land counters, the day remained mostly calm and overcast with brief afternoon snow flurries. The boat crew, however, birded in seas to 3 feet with a north wind up to 17 mph. Overall, the lack of precipitation and minimal snow made conditions quite enjoyable for walking and biking despite the cold temperatures ranging from 0 to 15º.

The Seward Count Day species was down considerably to 52, but Count Week added 9 species resulting in 71 species. The 2011 CBC had a more usual 61 Count Day species but only 6 Count Week species totaling 67 species. Overall numbers, thanks to the White-winged Crossbill boom of 510 birds, were higher this year as well, 3358 compared to 2461 last year.

Several normally seen species such as the Long-tailed Duck, Scaup, Northern Shrike, Varied Thrush, Gray-crowned Rosy-finch,  did not make the list at all. Many species had very low numbers. Also surprising was the low count, 4, of juvenile BALD EAGLES. The adult eagles dined well all winter on starving Common Murres and raised healthy eaglets that successfully fledged. Where are they now? Incidentally, no murres were seen.

Many Feeder Counters wondered where all the birds were, finding few to no birds this fall or winter.  The birds may have found enough natural food with the lack of snow cover and abundance of spruce cones and bountiful Mt Ash berries. Phyllis and Sid watching their feeder in town enjoyed a visit by a three adult BALD EAGLES. She captured a dramatic photo of an eagle swooping in as a NW CROW flew away like a bizarre shadow. Ava contributed the only AMERICAN TREE SPARROW at her feeder.

Despite the best efforts of the Lowell Point team, Joe, Kerry, Ann, and Nan, the rare BRAMBLING proved elusive after showing the day before for Count Week. They did score on the only GREAT BLUE HERON, and a MERLIN. A remarkable 41 RUSTY BLACKBIRDS stayed in town, feeding on the ground under spruce trees.

The only kids, Cody and Casey, participating in the Count on their usual route on Exit Glacier Road found the usual RAVENS, MAGPIES, and PINE GROSBEAKS and were impressed with a lone COMMON MERGANSER. Then just as they were preparing to leave, a raptor, which they identified as a PEREGRINE FALCON, flashed across the road, chasing a flock of small birds, perhaps Redpolls or Siskins. The boys and their mom Wendy watched in amazement as the falcon perched on a nearby snag above the car, plucking its dinner, feathers floating down like snowflakes. Now, THAT is a memorable moment!

Another usual bird was a DUNLIN that erupted off the beach with 11 other unidentified shorebirds. Instead of flying off with them, it veered back and landed on the beach nearby giving Marilyn and me a great show. I wonder now if the others were also Dunlins. At least 5 were seen afterwards during Count Week. 38 ROCK SANDPIPERS were also counted in the same area on Count Day.

Count Week turned up nine species including: BRAMBLING, NORTHERN GOSHAWK, SPRUCE GROUSE, GLAUCOUS-WINGED X HERRING GULL hybrid, HOODED MERGANSER, VARIED THRUSH, PACIFIC WREN, SHARP-SHINNED HAWK, and SONG SPARROW.

The CBC is a 100% volunteer project. Special thanks to Captain Jim Herbert for donating the use of his aptly named Kingfisher III landing craft, fuel, maintenance, preparation, and time on short notice for the 13.5 mile ocean route. Tasha and Sadie meticulously counted the seabirds by gender, and nailed 417 BARROW’S GOLDENEYES, the second highest number.

Kudos to Wendy for encouraging her two young boys to explore nature and contribute to citizen science. Thanks to Kit and Robin for diligently scouting for birds throughout the Circle, far in advance of the Count, and to Janet who birded 4 miles on her all-terrain handcycle with studded tires. We were lucky to have Sean and Kurt count and cruise 2 miles out Exit Glacier on their fat tire bikes. I appreciate the efforts of the hikers who spent many hours outside with cold fingers and feet: Ami, Matt, Tim, Michelle, Ann, Terry, Christina, Ron.

It was great to have new Field Counters, Kirstie, Terry, Kathy, and Natalie help to cover several routes this year. Thanks to the four birders from out of town who came to help us. To the faithful Feeder Counters, Phyllis, Sid, Judy, Ava, Duane, Sanna, and Katy thank you for your time watching, hoping, and counting. Many thanks to the folks who feed the birds faithfully all winter even though it is sometimes slow. Thank you for the generous monetary donations to support the Audubon CBC program. And thanks to everyone for their time, effort, and enthusiasm counting birds on a cold, overcast day.

For more information on the Audubon Christmas Bird Count, and other citizen science opportunities like the Great Backyard Bird Count, please visit http://birds.audubon.org/christmas-bird-count.

Happy Birding!

Carol Griswold

Seward CBC Compiler

http://sporadicbird.blogspot.com/

And here’s a few more photos of the Friday Gala Event, submitted by Carol Griswold.

Here are a few photos of the “My Favorite Things” from the Museum Grand Opening.

Submitted by Carol Griswold.

What an exciting event! It seemed like the whole town turned out on Saturday afternoon to see the sparkling new facility. The new Library Museum will be open for business on Monday; return your library books and check out new ones. While you are there, don’t forget to check out the spectacular views from the east facing windows. Congratulations Seward, on an amazing new building!

Below are photos taken for SCN while reporter Heidi Zemach sang and played guitar with the talented Seward Singers.

Submitted by Carol Griswold

Tuesday, January 8th the sun finally peeked out from under the blanket of clouds. The sunset on the surrounding snowy mountains was spectacular!

Submitted by Carol Griswold