Date: 11/18/24 10:13 pm From: rainyday via groups.io <c_griz...> Subject: [AKBirding] Monday, November 18, 2024 Sparrows
Monday, November 18, 2024 SparrowsSeward, Alaska
Sunrise 9:06 am, sunset 4:22 pm for a total day length of 7 hours and 15 minutes. Tomorrow will be 4 minutes and 26 seconds shorter.
BRRRR!! Cold and clear and WINDY continues. Temps ranged from a low of 11 and a high of 17 accompanied by a howling NNW wind that slammed things around with gusts up to 27 mph and one whopper clocked at 49 mph. More of the same forecast for Tuesday, then a break as it warms up to 40 towards the end of the week.
No snow on the ground, and eager skaters enjoyed the bumpy ice on Second Lake.
The ANNA’S HUMMINGBIRD is miraculously surviving this cold snap, and was reported feeding at his lovely new heated feeder today after an absence of about a week. He puts us all to shame, shivering in our warm gear and lounging about in a heated house. Incredibly tough!
I checked out a sparrow hot spot in the alley behind Marathon Drive, off of Resurrection Blvd, thanks to a tip from Robin C. I enjoyed watching about five flashy STELLER’S JAYS, the Coastal variety, sporting two electric-blue lines on their stylish black crests above their foreheads. Three fancy-tailed BLACK-BILLED MAGPIES sallied through, checking out the scene and grabbed a few seeds scattered on the bare ground.
Finally, a small flock of DARK-EYED JUNCOS appeared, making their way cautiously from the bushes to the ground. A very handsome OREGON JUNCO male popped up too. Then an immature WHITE-CROWNED SPARROW, and a SONG SPARROW.
In the tangled thicket next door, I spotted three or four adult White-crowned Sparrows, but did not get photos. Robin C found a White-throated Sparrow here yesterday, but I will have to keep trying.
Last week on Monday, I watched a BALD EAGLE perched in a spruce tree by the Lagoon. Suddenly, it shot off the branch with a piercing, blood-curdling shriek and roared over the water to the far shore two blocks away.
Bam! Something died for breakfast. The Eagle then carried its feast to the power pole perch and began dining on whatever it was. I know Eagles have superb vision but how did that master hunter manage to nail its prey from so far away? It certainly was not a sneak attack. Frozen with fear?
Thursday, I lucked into a flock of about 10 ROBINS at Madison and Second Ave, eating Mt Ash berries and foraging in the frozen but still green grass. The next day, I followed a VARIED THRUSH hopping quietly along Two Lakes Trail. An American Three-Toed Woodpecker has been frequenting the park this month, but I didn’t refind it last week.
On Saturday, I was happy to find six MARBLED MURRELETS off Lowell Point Beach. I hadn’t seen any in a long time.
The long nights, though cold and windy, bring twinkling stars, red Mars, and bright Jupiter with a waning full moon sailing across the tapestry. Just gotta be tough like that little hummer!
