Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 10:02 am, sunset 4:00 pm for a total day length of 5 hours and 57 minutes. Tomorrow will be 1 minute and 44 seconds longer. Whoo-wooo!
No precip for brief periods then bouts of light showers, brief hail, flurries, sn’rain, heavy snow showers, and snow today as the thermometer wobbled around the mid-30s. Cooler temps in the forecast for the New Year on Friday and Saturday in the mid-20s and mostly sunny, which would be much appreciated.
Despite the dim light and the variety pack of precipitation thrown down from the heavens, intrepid birder Jonah Lindquist was out spotting rare birds. Yes, the BRAMBLING male was still here and five or more RUSTY BLACKBIRDS, as well as a female RED-WINGED BLACKBIRD spotted a few days ago. He then found and called a female BREWER’S BLACKBIRD: plain gray-brown, dark eye, no streaking.
The Brewer’s Blackbird is listed as Casual on the 2020 Checklist of Alaska Birds, more rare than Rare, but not as rare as Accidental. I’ve never seen one in Seward or Alaska.
Local birders joined by several surprise out-of-town birders materialized on the site in the alley south of Marathon Drive. Most missed it; a few were lucky to see it but alas! did not get a photograph. The Red-winged Blackbird flew in and fed under the spruce tree feeder, joined by the Brambling, while a Rusty Blackbird gleaned cracked corn from the snow under another feeder. It was a wonderful show but the Brewer’s was not to be lured in to join them.
Finally, five Rusty Blackbirds and the female Red-winged Blackbird circled over the area and landed high in a nearby cottonwood, teasing us. Two more blackbirds perched in another tree farther away; hard to tell who. As the light grew even dimmer and a small blizzard began in earnest, we dispersed, hoping for another chance tomorrow.
According to the Cornell Lab Project FeederWatch, the Brewer’s Blackbird prefers hulled sunflower seeds, cracked corn, and millet on the ground or in platform feeders. Look for them on open ground looking for crumbs, seeds, and insects, and perched up high on utility lines and in groups in the tops of trees.
Red-winged Blackbirds, in addition, also like black oil sunflower seeds, peanut hearts, oats, and milo in large tube feeders, large hoppers, platform, and on the ground.
The Rusty Blackbirds have been found patrolling the bare patches under spruce trees and feeding on seeds scattered on the ground.
And the Brambling, former star of the show? He seems to prefer the ground under the feeders, today in the company of DARK-EYED and OREGON JUNCOS and a WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW. He even tolerated three much larger and more aggressive STELLER’S JAYS.
Never know WHAT will show up in Seward!
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
No comments:
Post a Comment