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June 05 - June 19 - FI Newsmagazine Gulls of Fire IslandFire Island Newsmagazine - June 5 -June 19 Page 13 Ring-billed Gull-less common than the Herring Gull and Black-backed Gull but yet a welcome visitoe to our are. It nests in the fresh water lakes of upper New york and Canada. GULLS OF FIRE ISLAND By Paul Stoutenburgh How is it that we go through life and miss so much of what is offered? To me the way to overcome this loss is to become more involved in the natural world around us. Once we catch on to this in- volvement, our life becomes fuller and one finds oneself anticipating what's just around the corner." This in turn creates a whole new field of excitement. On a trip over to Fire Island on any one of the many ferries that ply the Great South Bay, we have a wonderful opportunity to become acquainted with some of the ex= citement of the sea by knowing about the seabirds that drift in endless patterns before I us The gulls of Fire Island are not difficult to get acquainted with. Once introduced to them, they will always be friends and companions The most common gull of the area is the herring gull. This gull is always within sight, and like the stars above, you can count on seeing them every time you visit Fire Island. This bird likes our area so much that Paul Stoutenburgh is a retired educator, columnist, and a Park Service naturalist it nests on the small islands in the bay to the east and west. For those who have occasion to travel to Captree State Park by car you can see this bird nesting all about by the thousands. They nest in the dunes, in the picnic area and along the roadsides. Their eggs, long ago when our pioneer fathers first started this country, provided a pleasant change in diet and were collected and eaten with relish. The whalers also used them and stopped at many of the islands along the coast to collect seabird eggs. In the days when refrigeration and canned goods were unheard of, fresh eggs were a high priority. The gull egg is bigger than a chicken egg and mottled with dark brown splatterings on a sandy brown base. Camouflage is built into all of nature's creatures from the egg to the adult. Few of us can miss this handsome gray - mantled gull with black wing tips and white underbody. What becomes a bit puzzling are the young birds of one or two years that carry their baby brown feathers with them. These gradually change to the adult colors in their second year. The camouflaged brown color is probably given to the "young upstarts" to give them a better chance for survival. In the,; natural world you learn quickly or not at all. Second chances are seldom given. The black - backed gull, largest of all the gulls, is master of all he surveys. No gull doubts his right. All give way to him. He cannot be mistaken for any other, for his jet black wing tops running from wing to wing make him stand out clearly. This gull was much less common 30 or 40 years ago and was considered a stranger 50 years ago. Slowly he has moved down the coast from his nesting ground up north so that he now nests, like the Herring Gull, on the inland islands of our bay. This great gull also has that one- and two —year period of getting acquainted by carrying a coat of brown. Size is the chief field mark and when seen with the Herring Gull, there is no mistaking who is larger. Using the Herring Gull as our bench mark for size and color there is another gull we should become familiar with. Just as the Black - backed is larger than the Herrirg Gull, the ring - billed gull is noticeably smaller. It looks like a small Herring Gull but with a conspicuous black ring on its bill. Again, by comparing size to the Herring Gull, this gull is easy to distinguish. The Ring- billed Gull does not nest along our coast but chooses the inland lakes of New York State and Canada. Years ago when I was going to college I photographed this handsome bird on one of the islands, ironically called Long Island, just outside of Syracuse: I remember that day well. We had rented a boat with the usual half - running motor and went out onto the lake for a picnic. There were thousands of birds in the air as we arrived at the island. All about the rocky shores, the birds were nesting. It was a brilliant clear day with a bright blue sky and as I sat in my blind, taking photographs, it seemed the world could not be better. To this day, these birds which I made acquaintance with so in- timately on that rocky shore long ago still give me pleasure whenever I see them. The birds we see down here during the summer are non - breeders and have not yet been around long enough to realize what makes the world go round. The last gull we'll speak of is the occasional visitor from the south, the laughing gull. This is a small black - headed gull that almost appears like a tern in its graceful flight. This year there seem to be more of these southern visitors. Down in the Chesapeake and along the southern coast this gull is common. Probably many of you have thrown them bread as you took one of the many ferries between the islands. In its adult plumage it's the only bird you'll see during the summer time with a black head. And, of course, because it is such a casual visitor it does not nest here. All gulls basically are scavengers of the beach and fish eaters whenever bait is driven to the surface by predator fish. We should be thankful for the superb job they do of cleaning our beaches. Yet they can only do so much ... which brings me back to my favorite theme ... if we could only work with nature and not overburden her, we could make this world a better place in which to live.