American Robin

NEWS FROM THE NORTHERN OBSERVATION POSTS
April 8, 2008

Diane Sickles: Anchorage, AK
We celebrated April Fool’s Day with the first day of our SBA testing! The class will finish those today, so a collective sigh of relief may be heard in the far reaches of Alaska! Everyone in the state was to test this week from 3rd grade through high school!

Meanwhile, outside we have been having daytime temperatures in the mid-high 30’s with a few 40+ temps thrown in if you stand in a sunny area. It still goes below freezing at night, so the melting is happening slowly, especially in areas where the snow has never been disturbed. Our tulip bed is covered with about an inch of snow/ice, so I’m hoping to see bare ground by the end of the weekend. Nearby there are the big piles of snow from the shoveling of walks, so I don’t know how that will affect the ground beginning to warm up.

We’ve been seeing mallard ducks returning to the area, but I have not yet had an official report of a robin. We’ll keep our eyes and ears open. I’m sure they are on their way north.

Stan White: Homer, AK
We know that the robins are on their way because we are keeping track of them on Journey North. When we first hear their cheery morning song we will let you know. Here at the tip of Alaska's Kenai Peninsula winter is still very much evident. At our elevation (about 1000 feet above sea level there remains about one and a half feet of snow. Down by the bay the snow is all gone and the streams are almost ice-free. It has been a rather dreary spring so far; we still are waiting for that April day with the warm sunny air that has been absent since last fall. And we are still awaiting our first migrants.
However, this is the time of year when things begin happening at an
astonishing speed. The buds of the willows and alders are swollen and ready
to put forth their catkins and leaves, the grass is already green and
growing beneath the snow, and the perennials are preparing their new growth for when the snow finally melts. Until then, have a happy spring!

Bruce Bennett, Whitehorse, YT
My predictions for the first American Robin: I expect that we will see the first one around April 12th and will hear the first around April 14th.

Our nights are still below freezing but the days time highs are now consistently above freezing, averaging between +5-+7C. The Trumpeter Swans have returned in abundance, with nearly 70 out at Swan Haven and approximately 200 in total throughout the Yukon. There are also lots of Common Goldeneye, several 100 counted and a few Lesser Scaup, Mallard, Redhead and Bufflehead are around now. As for forest birds, there are still virtually none. One American Tree Sparrow was seen last week but that may be it. Also one Killdeer, one Red-tailed Hawk, one American Kestrel and several Bald and Golden eagles have returned. Flocks of Common Redpolls are still attending feeders throughout the city, often to the exclusion of everything else except a few chickadees or Pine Grosbeak.

The most unexpected spring migrant was a single Barn Swallow, perhaps the earliest ever seen in Yukon, was seen on April 2nd. There is still very little open water though parts of the Yukon River are now open. Most of the main roads are now free of snow and many side roads as well. There is still a nearly continuous blanket of snow in the forest between 1-2 feet deep. The south-facing slopes are now free of snow, and a few Trembling Aspen in sheltered locations in downtown Whitehorse have catkins. The first pussy willows can be found on the willow trees, but the real blooms are not expected for a few more weeks when the nights stay above freezing. Some arctic ground squirrels have emerged from their burrows. I have not seen any flying insects of any kind year; not good news for that Barn Swallow. It is snowing at the moment, but there is slightly less snow overall this winter, at least in southern Yukon.

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