Seward, Alaska
The fierce north wind howled and roared all last night, and
finally diminished to a low rumble by mid morning. I was so confident in the
new super-insulated feeders that I only took a short piece of electrical wire in
case I needed to poke out a little ice in some of the feeder ports.
What I found was complete failure of the feeders, thanks to
the snarling wind. The new foam box was nowhere to be seen, blown to oblivion.
The little nightlight that was nestled inside dangled from its electric cord,
swinging in the wind, shining brightly. The caulk had failed on the
bottom of the feeder still wearing its cheery pink sock cap, allowing the wind
to separate the feeder from the box. I should have tied the feeder to the box
for backup. The 75-watt lamp dangled in the breeze by its cord, luckily also
unbroken.
I was disappointed to find the heat-taped feeder was frozen
though it was still on top of the 7-watt nightlight in the super-insulated box.
I unhooked it and tied it to the stepladder top platform as best I could with increasingly
colder fingers. Then I aimed the 75-watt lamp close to it and tied it down, in
hopes of melting the sugar solution and keeping it liquid.
I gathered up the remaining components of my feeder to fix
at home. On a whim, I drove around the neighborhood, looking for the wayward foam
box. What luck! It had blown over the cliff and was trapped by some alders near
the road, looking none the worse for its flight. Maybe I’ll put my name and
address on it!
After that big disappointment, I
headed to Ava’s for a boost. I didn’t have long to wait. There he was, the
little jewel, flashing the magenta, metallic sequins on his head and throat in
the sun. He was more active today, taking short flights, always in the sun.
While hoards of PINE GROSBEAKS
surged from the carport to the trees, whistling and mewing, he sat calmly on
the various accidental perches under the carport, watching. Nothing seemed to
bother him, this little sparky speck. I was tickled he perched facing out today
so I could see him flashing now and then. Be still, my beating heart!
And now, back to the feeder repair. The cold and wind are
forecast to stick with us for several more days, providing a perfect, if
frustrating environment to figure out how to keep a hummingbird feeder from
freezing.
In other Anna’s news, Kate reported both the banded male and
female Anna’s at her feeder in Cordova yesterday: https://www.facebook.com/alaskahummingbird/
Gwen in Juneau reported a female and young banded male in
Auke Bay on January 11th. Tough birds all!
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
The jar of sand made me think maybe you could heat it well in an oven and then cover with acouple of socks" use it as another heat source. Rocks might work too. J Pat
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