Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 8:03 am, sunset 8:10
pm, for a total day length of 12 hours and 7 minutes. Tomorrow will be 5
minutes and 30 seconds longer.
It seems Winter is defrosting
the freezer and tossing out leftovers that need to be used up before their imminent
expiration date. Over the past 10 days, we’ve received a hearty helping of a
blizzard featuring horizontal snow seasoned with sleet and west wind, a dash of
new ice, scraps of blue sky peeking between snow squalls, rolls of somber gray
morning skies giving way to warm sunshine by afternoon, bits of warm sunshine (42º!) turned to an illusion by the cold north wind, a soup of calm and cloudy days
with light rain, followed by a blast of high wind, and mixtures of every combination
thrown out for good measure.
Time for this chore is
running out as the lovely Spring Equinox nears her 8:15 am arrival on March 20
(Never mind we are already past 12 hours of daylight.)
The forecast is for sunshine
with a side of wind for the most of this week. Then as a huge storm approaches,
about a foot of snow is forecast for next week with temperatures bouncing
around freezing. Winter sure doesn’t want to leave unnoticed!
Snow still covers most of the
ground, pushing the birds to feeders, but patches of brown grass are emerging. Above the constant background
clamor of hundreds of PINE SISKINS and COMMON REDPOLLS, I heard the tiny bells
of the DARK-EYED JUNCOS singing their spring song.
Away from the racket,
BLACK-CAPPED CHICKADEES sang their sweet “fee-bee!” VARIED THRUSHES, here all
winter, ring their telephones ever louder and more skillfully with practice.
SONG SPARROWS piped up from brush piles with enthusiasm.
But the sweetest song, was
that of the Red, interior subspecies of FOX SPARROW. This extraordinarily
dapper male overwintered in my neighborhood, causing much excitement. I did not
recognize his full, rich voice at first as he sings a different song from our
usual “Sooty” Fox Sparrow. Luckily, I saw him in action; his concert freely
given made me smile all day.
The SHORT-EARED OWL, first
spotted on March 5th is still here. On March 12, I spotted four
GRAY-CROWNED ROSY-FINCHES, though one has been reported intermittently in town
this winter. Also on March 12, I found 15 TRUMPETER SWANS, one more than usual,
including five cygnets! Now I wonder if the family with one adult and two
cygnets is the Nash Road family, or is it the family with two adults and two
cygnets? We will never know, but how exciting to have so many swans overwintering
here!
The tiny RUBY-CROWNED KINGLET
has survived the winter so far at Ava’s, sustained by her suet feeders. Ava
also had at least 10 ROBINS on March 15, a WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, hundreds of
Pine Siskins and Common Redpolls, several CHESTNUT-BACKED and BLACK-CAPPED
CHICKADEES, and a DOWNY WOODPECKER.
A caddisfly adult landed on
the side of my sun-warmed house March 15; I wonder where it hatched as not much
of the local lakes/ponds are open. That night, I finally heard the soft hooting
of a nearby GREAT HORNED OWL around 9 pm. The next night, I heard the steady
beeping of the SAW-WHET OWL far up the mountainside.
See-saw goes the weather, but
Nature knows Spring is on her way.
Hang on for the wild ride!
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report
Reporter
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