Seward, Alaska
Sunrise 8:16 am, sunset 7:59 pm for a total day length of 11 hours and 42 minutes. Tomorrow will be 5 minutes and 30 seconds longer as the Earth tilts towards the Spring Equinox at 7:06 pm on Tuesday, March 19.
Light snow showers in the past week culminated in a surprise 18+” of snow overnight on Tuesday, with a dash more yesterday morning. As the town shoveled out, the sun peeked out, turning the scene into a winter wonderland.
Last night, as the moon’s Cheshire-cat grin drifted behind Mt Marathon, I heard a hopeful SAW-WHET OWL beeping in my neighborhood. I followed the sound to a tall spruce tree in a yard at Madison and Third. I wondered if the inhabitants appreciated the magic of this little Owl, or perhaps were annoyed by a supposed loader’s backup alarm.
The new snow completely blanketed the ground, burying access to invertebrates, fallen seeds, and grit formerly available under the spruce trees.
At first light, my feeders were buzzing with birds, mostly PINE SISKINS and REDPOLLS, with a dozen or so RED CROSSBILLS, a SONG SPARROW, two shy VARIED THRUSH, a raiding STELLER’S JAY, and a cameo by a SONG SPARROW. After I replaced the suet block, even a pair of WHITE-WINGED CROSSBILLS zoomed in for the treat.
On this gorgeous sunny day, temps ranged from a low of 17 at 7:30 am to a high of 37 by midafternoon; without the wind, it felt like summer. Everything appreciated this break!
Red Crossbills and White-winged Crossbills seem to be everywhere this winter. I saw more Red Crossbills gleaning soggy seeds from tide-washed spruce cones at Afognak Beach today. They worked away at the cones, apparently finding seeds. Are the abundant tree cones empty?
Two males actually squabbled over one cone with tiny ferocity; the victor carried the heavy load into a nearby spruce for more private dining. I watched others eat rockweed and poke through the sand, possibly for grit or amphipods. It was enchanting to observe these trusting, beautiful finches at such close range.
Two red-eyed adult SHARP-SHINNED HAWKS in the distance skirmished with each other, flashing through the trees. One dove after a Crossbill but missed.
I heard soft trumpeting and watched fourteen magnificent TRUMPETER SWANS fly from a stream to the eelgrass bed in the bay. These tough Swans have overwintered in the Seward area through very challenging weather and just have to hang in a little while longer for the ice to melt off the ponds and wetlands.
I watched RAVENS build a cliffside nest last week, fetching perfect sticks from their favorite Stick Store far away. 1”-long krill washed up on the beach on Monday’s high tide, an annual spring event a few AMERICAN CROWS appreciated. I heard at least ten Varied Thrushes singing in my neighborhood.
With Daylight Savings, it’s light so much later and the long, cold nights are getting shorter. Spring is coming!
Happy Birding!
Carol Griswold
Seward Sporadic Bird Report Reporter
