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A winter storm April 30 may have dumped 2 inches of snow over much of the Interior, but it didn’t deter our smallest songbird migrant, the ruby-crowned kinglet, from singing and setting up territories in the area. The loud and bubbly song coming from this little songbird is a sure sign that spring has finally arrived.

The ruby-crowned kinglet is olive in color and has buffy wingbars and a distinct white eyering. The male has a red crown that is usually concealed unless agitated. Kinglets are always in motion, usually high in the canopy, and are constantly flicking their wings. While the ruby-crowned kinglet is a very tiny bird, it lays a large clutch of eggs, usually eight to 10. Although the eggs themselves weigh only 0.65 grams, an entire clutch can weigh as much as the female herself — about 7.5 grams or the weight of three pennies. Ruby-crowned kinglets breed in the boreal forest of Alaska and Canada and winter as far south as southern Mexico.

Geese numbers seem to be on the decline as of late, but both Canada and greater white-fronted geese can still be found at Creamer’s Field Migratory Waterfowl Refuge.

The big news at Creamer’s Field has been the arrival of sandhill cranes — not in very big numbers like in the fall, but they are starting to touch down and use the fields and ponds. It’s so nice to hear their bugling from miles away. An interesting observation — two sandhill cranes were seen hunting frogs at 10 Mile Chena Hot Springs Road.

The seasonal pond on the way to the Alaska Bird Observatory’s banding station saw its first horned grebe on Monday — it was chasing all other waterfowl in the pond including a pair of lesser scaup and American widgeon. Northern shovelers made their arrival to the pond this week as well.

The first green-winged teal of the season was spotted at Eielson Air Force Base on Friday. An uncommon waterfowl visitor to the Interior, a gadwall, was seen at the front ponds of Fairbanks International Airport on Sunday. Bonaparte’s gulls were seen at Lakeview Terrace on this same date.

Shorebirds are starting to make their way into the area. Wilson’s snipe were heard winnowing and calling along Chena Hot Springs Road on April 21 and April 23 (sorry, I forgot to mention that in prior birding reports). A lesser yellowlegs was heard on Chena Hot Springs Road on Sunday, and Monday brought a flyover solitary sandpiper to the University of Alaska Fairbanks potato fields and the first lesser yellowlegs to Creamer’s Field.

This lovely warm weather of late has produced a wave of songbird migrants starting over the past weekend and is still ongoing. Numerous varied thrushes and American robins were reported beginning Thursday.

The first sightings of horned lark were also on that date at Eielson Air Force Base. Another sighting from Eielson includes the first reports of yellow-rumped (or Myrtle) warbler on Friday. A Hammond’s flycatcher was heard calling on Saturday on Red Fox Road here in town. A golden-crowned sparrow was seen at a birdfeeder off Sheep Creek Road on Sunday. Several new songbird migrants arrived at Creamer’s Field on Monday including white-crowned, fox and Savannah sparrows, three tree swallows and a flock of five rusty blackbirds.

Other notable sightings from this day include a sharp-shinned hawk and a flyover golden eagle seen from the Creamer’s Field farmhouse and barn area. A peregrine falcon was reported from Salcha on Monday. A northern flicker was seen near the Peat Ponds at the intersection of Sheep Creek and Murphy Dome Roads.

Observations from other birding hot spots around town:

Cushman Ponds/Tanana Lakes: The ice is slowly receding from most of ponds along Cushman Street, not so much on the Lathrop side. Notable sightings include: ruby-crowned kinglet, slate-colored junco, mallard, common goldeneye and the bald eagle pair is still nesting.

Fairbanks International Airport Ponds: The edges of the front ponds have open water, while the sloughs behind the airport are about 20 percent open. An American kestrel was seen here over the weekend and waterfowl sightings include mallard, common goldeneye, American widgeon and bufflehead.

Smith Lake: The lake itself is still mostly frozen over, with the edges barely melted; however, the pond along Sheep Creek Road is almost open. Notable sightings in the area include slate-colored junco, merlin, northern pintail and mew and bonaparte’s gulls.

Down the Richardson Highway: Recent sightings from Quartz Lake include northern hawk owl, ruby-crowned kinglet, American tree sparrow, American robin and slate-colored juncos.

Please contribute to these reports by calling in your bird sightings to the Alaska Bird Observatory (451-7159) or the Arctic Audubon Society Birding hotline (451-9213).