Weather: It was partly cloudy with a decent breeze out of the northwest. Overnight temperatures were in the mid to lower 30s with daytime highs around 50.

Birds: Quite a few scaups and a handful of Buffleheads were on Swan Lake. I also noted two Trumpeter Swans.

At the Baranof Street Cemetary I observed Ruby-crowned Kinglets, Dark-eyed Juncos, Golden-crowned Sparrows, Fox Sparrows, and Townsend’s Warblers, most of them singing at one point or another. I also saw a Hermit Thrush, the first of season for me. The Townsend’s Warblers (which I heard but did not see) were also first of season for me.

This afternoon I took a look at the gulls in the channel and noted that there were still some Thayer’s Gulls around. I’m curious as to when they leave.

There were lots of sparrows around in general. I also noted quite a few Savannah Sparrows on my journeys throughout the day.

Plants: I noticed a dandelion in full bloom on a rocky outcrop across from Sealing Cove. The trees are stlil mostly bare and many of the Salmonberries have yet to actually bloom.

Jen Cedarleaf provided these photos of a Leucistic Fox Sparrow she’s been seeing this week on Alice Island.
(click for larger version)

Despite the unusual coloring, I’m pretty confident it’s a Fox Sparrow due to the shape of the head, the lack of any suggestion of stripes on the face, and chevrons rather than stripes on the chest. Jen said it behaved more like a Fox Sparrow than a Song Sparrow (the other most likely alternative) as well.

I took a walk to Totem Park this afternoon to look for migrants. I also made a quick stop at Swan Lake after hearing a report of a new goose.

Weather: It was blustery today. Winds were blowing strong out of the south and west at Totem Park. Squalls with rain, sleet, and hail were frequent. Later in the afternoon it started snowing.

Birds: There were three Black-bellied Plovers at Totem Park, the first I’ve seen this year. Also were three American Wigeons, a flock of 50 shorebirds, mostly Black Turnstones but a handful of Surfbirds and Rock Sandpipers as well. Other birds I saw at the park included 2 Canada Geese, Common Merganers, Common Goldeneye, Barrow’s Goldeneye, Bufflehead, Mallards, Mew Gulls, Glaucous-winged Gulls, dark wing-tipped sub-adult gulls that I think might be Herring Gulls, and Harlequin Ducks.

At Swan Lake there was a Trumpeter Swan a Greater White-fronted Goose, Mallards, and quite a few scaup.

While walking along the sidewalk adjacent to Crescent Harbor last week, I happened to catch sight of something brown and not vegetation-like in the salmonberry bushes growing beside the path ahead of me. I managed to stop before I flushed the Song Sparrow perched on one of the branches. As I watched, the bird chewed on a swollen green bud that appeared close to opening.

Although I tend to think of Song Sparrows as ground-feeding seed eaters, I have on a previous occasion noted a Song Sparrow eating the still-green seeds of saltbrush (Atriplex gmelinii). Prior to this individual, I do not remember seeing a Song Sparrow eating greens, however.

I continued to watch, and the sparrow sang a little bit, but not its full song, as it kept its bill mostly closed, though I could see its throat moving in time with the soft chirps and trills. After a little bit of singing, it moved up the branch and really went after one of the buds. Shortly after this, I caught sight of a quickly moving bird down in the rocks. The Song Sparrow in the bushes noticed also, and directed his attention toward where the second bird had flown. Upon seeing the second bird appear again from the rocks, the first one flew down to the rocks as well.

I took a look at the branch where I had seen the Song Sparrow chewing at the buds. Despite the vigor with which it appeared the bird was chewing, the marks seemed subtle to my eyes. I took a photo of the bud that appeared to have the most obvious damage, but even that I suspect I would find difficult to notice unless I looked for it specifically.

Curious about the eating habits of Song Sparrows, I looked up the food habits of Song Sparrows on the Birds of North America Online Song Sparrow account. From that I see they also frequently consume invertebrates and fruits (which does not surprise me, I probably should have realized that myself). However, it does not mention them eating greens.

Update: Someone pointed out to me that insect larvae could utilize the buds, and perhaps the Song Sparrow was going after them. I’ve not noticed such insect larvae (or evidence thereof), but that’s probably because I haven’t been looking.