Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 9:53 am, sunset 3:50 pm for a total day light of 5
hours and 57 minutes. Tomorrow will be 1 minute and 28 seconds shorter.
Clear skies prevailed again today with temperatures ranging
from a low of 13 to a high of 21 with light northerly winds. Tomorrow is
forecast to be cooler.
Once again in the predawn twilight, I heard the ’hood hummer
ticking from the depths of a spruce near my neighbor’s heated feeder. I hoped to see him, but instead saw the
WHITE-THROATED SPARROW scratching through the frozen dirt.
A flock of about 30 ROBINS and PINE GROSBEAKS mobbed one of
the few remaining Mt Ash trees along the 300 block of First Avenue. I heard the BOHEMIAN
WAXWINGS chirring.
Along the waterfront, handsome BARROW’S GOLDENEYES fed in a
tight raft, diving in synchrony. A single RED-BREASTED MERGANSER female
snorkeled along, quite close to shore while a large group of COMMON MERGANSERS
paddled past. A small flock of SURF SCOTERS splashed and dove farther offshore.
Like a moth to the flame, I headed to Ava’s Place. I enjoyed
watching and listening to the whirring wings, melodic whistles, and cat-fights
of the PINE GROSBEAKS as they flowed back and forth from the trees to the
feeders. A lone PINE SISKIN popped up in their midst, scavenging fallen
sunflower seeds in the yard. This is the first one I’ve seen in a long time,
and it’s odd that there’s only one.
After a time, I heard the wonderful ticking voice of the
local celebrity. The ANNA’S HUMMINGBIRD zoomed into view, resplendent,
iridescent, and confident. He checked out the front window feeder, then sipped
at the lamp-heated feeder under the car porch. Temporarily satiated, he sat in
the sun on a branch. What a thrill to see this beautiful toughie again!
Ava is researching buying fresh flowers from the local
grocery store to provide pollen for protein. In addition, she is considering
blending crushed insect-based fish food with sugar water, and letting that
solution freeze to the base of a feeder where he likes to feed. These are all good ideas that may
extend his life if he accepts them.
The congenial rhythm of the birds feeding was abruptly
disrupted by the flash of a black and white bird streaking through the yard. A
NORTHERN SHRIKE! Pandemonium ensued as the Grosbeaks dashed away in all
directions and the little birds vanished. I hoped the hummer was smart enough
to hide too. The yard was empty for many long minutes.
Then, first one brave and hungry Pine Grosbeak tentatively
reappeared, then another, and another. Just as it appeared the threat was over,
back came the Shrike. Again the birds scattered, but this time, the Shrike
followed.
I watched the Shrike swirl after a bird through an alder
thicket across the driveway. Such dexterity! There may have been two Shrikes,
hard to tell. The blur of predator and prey swept through Ava’s front yard; the
prey was a BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEE!
What a frightful experience to be singularly chased by an
extremely adept predator, through the alders, through the dry grasses, up,
over, and through one obstacle after another. I did not see the finish nor did
I want to as they flashed out of sight. One bird has to eat, the other wants to
live. It’s tough. It’s life.
I stayed long enough to watch the regulars return and resume
feeding, still wary and watching, but hungry enough to risk it.
Over at Fourth of July Creek, I heard a ringing call and
followed it to find an AMERICAN DIPPER. Undaunted by the ice overhanging the
creek, he calmly walked in the frigid water, plunging his head underwater to hunt
macroinvertebrates and tiny fish. Here’s another tough bird, this one a local,
a passerine that dives like a duck and seems impervious to the short, cold days
of winter.
I received a report of a RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER in the
Clearview Subdivision, but it was too late for me to track him down. I hope to
look tomorrow. What frozen sap is sustaining him???
At day’s end at 3:40 pm, a lovely pink alpenglow stole up
the mountains on the east side of Resurrection Bay then faded to a delicate
wash of lavenders, blues, and grays. The almost full moon rose after I left, but
I saw it in my imagination, just as I imagined the two Anna’s Hummers snuggled
up in a spruce tree for the long night.
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
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