Seward, Alaska
Spectacular, sunny spring day! A new high of 62º, south wind. Full moon!
Even more RUBY-CROWNED KINGLETS and VARIED THRUSHES sang along Exit Glacier Road today. About every 500’, ROBINS hopped along the roadside feeding in the new grass along the warm edge of the pavement. WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS chattered from the cones clustered at the top of the spruce trees. A Woodpecker drummed.
While sitting on a comfy rock in the warm sunshine by the deserted Exit Glacier Nature Center, listening to the rustle of dry cottonwood and alder leaves swirling past my feet, I heard a familiar descending trill. Yes! First ORANGE-CROWNED WARBLER! I leapt up and eased closer to the sound.
Sure enough, he was busy picking off insects pollinating and feeding on a blooming willow, the warbler magnet. He sang and snacked his way through the branches. Another Orange-crowned Warbler answered. A COMMON REDPOLL joined him briefly then moved on.
Farther back, I then heard the rolling warble of my first of year YELLOW-RUMPED WARBLER. Another answered. Yay!
I was surprised to see a juvenile WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILL on a nearby spruce. This species can breed any time of year, as long as there’s enough food.
The cottonwood trees here just burst into bloom as well, the male trees’ reddish catkins expanding like a Slinky popped from a box in slo-mo. Although the trees are wind-pollinated, birds are attracted to the insects on the sticky buds and stems.
The dormant deciduous trees and shrubs look dead, and stubborn patches of snow linger, but spring is definitely on its way at Exit Glacier.
Back in town, First-of-season TOWNSENDS’ WARBLERS sang from a spruce forest near Afognak Beach. FOX SPARROWS sang from hidden perches. A Yellow-rumped Warbler found my blooming Sitka willow. VIOLET-GREEN SWALLOWS checked out the airspace over my house and one even sat on the power line near a nest box. Fingers crossed!
Although I have yet to see a Rufous Hummingbird at my waiting feeder, I received several reports today of hummers just out of town at Lowell Point, Ava’s Place, Nash Road, and Woodland Hills off Nash Road. A neighbor reported hummers every day this week. Overall, they are a week late after the expected date of April 29, according to record guru Todd Eskelin of the USFWS.
After such a warm day, buds are bursting into miniature leaves or flowers all over town. The rain on Monday painted the lawns green. Everything is springing to life; what a perfect word for the season!
Happy Birding wherever you are!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
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