Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 8:50 am, sunset 5:36
pm for a total day length of 8 hours and 45 minutes. Tomorrow will be 5 minutes
and 17 seconds longer. After three sunny days, the clouds moved in yesterday
afternoon. Light snow began today with temps hovering around freezing.
Rain/snow and wind in the forecast through Monday.
Feeders around Seward are erratically
packed wing-to-wing with PINE SISKINS mixed with smaller numbers of COMMON
REDPOLLS, then eerily empty. At Ava’s Place this afternoon, I watched a living
carpet of chattering Siskins and Redpolls glean fallen sunflower seeds on the
ground. A lovely apricot-orange, first-of-year RED CROSSBILL guarded the hanging
platform feeder from Siskins. CHESTNUT-BACKED and BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES
flitted in where they could.
Suddenly the first wave of at
least 100 Siskins lifted up in a cloud with a whoosh of whirring wings and
cries of alarm. Then another 100, and another. They swarmed overhead like bees,
uncertainly swooping back and forth. Finally, a hundred or so settled like
autumn leaves in reverse on the top branches of a nearby cottonwood. That
didn’t last long; again they rose as one and swirled away.
My head swiveled around,
looking for the source of this panic. There in a cottonwood down the driveway
was the silhouette of a SHARP-SHINNED HAWK. Suddenly, a MERLIN dashed past,
taking a close look at the unmoving Sharpie. No wonder the little birds were
edgy!
A DOWNY WOODPECKER, caught in
the rush, froze on the trunk of a mayday tree, willing itself to be a small
burl. The perky RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET, however, perhaps deeming itself too small
to be of interest for dinner, took advantage of the sudden absence of
aggressive Siskins, to feast exclusively at the suet feeders in peace. He
chattered loudly when perhaps he should have been a bit more discreet, given
the circumstances. A few Chickadees popped up to enjoy the uncrowded sunflower
seed feeders. Three HAIRY WOODPECKERS called from cottonwoods a bit farther
away from the immobile Sharpie.
Ava reported a NORTHERN
HARRIER visited her front yard recently, either passing through or hoping for a
little fast-food.
No wonder the little birds
are jumpy!
On January 27 just before
dawn, I heard a hoarse squawking and followed the sound to the very top of my
spruce tree where a juvenile NORTHERN SHRIKE perched. It seemed quite content,
greeting the day with various blatts interspersed with chatty conversation. I
watched the sunlight finally reach the Shrike, lighting its belly with a warm
glow; its effective hooked bill quite plain to see. Its presence explained the
absence of any birds at the feeders below.
On January 29, a small raptor
riled up a flock of 132 pigeons in mid-town. It was too far away to tell if it
was a Merlin or Sharpie.
On February 3, a juvenile
SHARP-SHINNED HAWK blasted through Ava’s front yard scattering all the diners.
It then perched on a branch and preened nonchalantly, as if unconcerned it failed
at lunch.
I received a report of a
GOSHAWK around February 5 along Lowell Point Road.
On February 9th, a
juvenile Sharpie perched near my house, watching and waiting. A BLACK-BILLED
MAGPIE flew past, checked it out, then broadcast the news from the safety of a
nearby spruce.
In between the excitement of
spotting these bird predators, I enjoyed spotting the resident TRUMPETER SWAN
family with two cygnets flying past on January 26, a COMMON GOLDENEYE drake
fishing for gunnels in the boat harbor, a HERRING GULL basking in the cold
sunshine, COMMON
MERGANSERS napping, NORTHWESTERN CROWS bathing and sunning despite the cold, and a perky DIPPER plunging into ice water to eat.
The RED-BREASTED SAPSUCKER
has vanished but the HOODED MERGANSER pair was spotted today at the Stash and
Store Pond.
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report
Reporter
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