I was about to post that this is coning for the first year, but then I spotted the larger cone on the other side of the plant, and realized it must have actually done it last year.
Those pollen cones are certainly conspicuous! The cone in pic 2 of the original post, do you have a recent pic of it (assuming it is still there!) please?
Alas I set aside a cone at some point but seem to have misplaced it. The tree isn't going anywhere, I'll post a pic in the fall! Or I might find the one I grabbed. I was surprised by how short and squat it was, but I looked it up and that is a trait of this species. Big pollen cones, little seed cones!