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May 06, 1999 - The spring cycleGA • The Suffolk Times • May 6, 1999 The spring cycle Birds begin season of mating, nesting and feeding I knew I was really home when early this morning I looked outside and saw the cows had gotten into our fenced -in garden. I must have left the east gate open. Actually, there are two gates. The one on the east is hardly ever used and is kept shut while the one on the west is left open for general traffic, which meant if the cows had Focus decided to travel they could have ON gotten out there NATURE w and then a chase would have been by Paul on. Luckily they Stoutenburgh must have just gotten in and were busy munching on the wide variety of grasses, pear and apple blossoms and a host of other goodies that aren't on their regular pas- ture menu. As we walked through the garden to move the cattle back out to the pas- ture, we passed the tool shed where a robin built her nest on top of a coil of garden hose. This week she started to lay her sky -blue eggs. She's quite "flit - ty" and flies off her woven wonder whenever we pass. Gradually as the days go by and she sits, movement will start to take place inside her eggs and she'll be more reluctant to fly off. She doesn't go far when she flies and we can usually spot her anxiously watch- ing us from a nearby bush or tree. This will be the second year she has built in the tool shed. While on the subject of robins, each year I get frantic calls from people who have robins (and sometimes bluejays) attacking their windows — and I do mean attacking. Sometimes it's a cellar window, sometimes it's the glass patio door, etc., and for the first time I've had one actually attacking the shiny chrome on my pickup. It all comes about because of the mating game. Mr. Robin sees his reflection in the win- dow, or in my case in the chrome of the pickup, and says, "This is my territory" and then commences to attack the reflection to drive off what he thinks is his competition. Of course, it doesn't go away so the attack goes on and on. What to do is simple. In my case all I had to do was move the pickup away from his territory. That solution doesn't work so well with glass windows and doors. There you have to cover the area with an old sheet or piece of cardboard to eliminate the reflection. Hanging pieces of plastic or shiny foil works well. It's only for a short time that you have to go through this counterattack procedure, for like many activities during the mating time the novelty soon wears off. Dances on the lawn The flickers (our largest wood- peckers) are going through their nuptial dances on the lawn and in the trees about our place. Here there is much bowing and tail spreading along with a wide vari- ety of chirps and sounds that I'm sure are meant to woo their prospective mates. Sorry to say, these large wood- peckers are fighting a losing bat- tle with our common starlings. Down by the pond there's an old dead willow tree. It died because the cows stripped the bark from the tree as far up as they could reach. Now this dead tree makes an ideal place for the woodpeck- ers to chip out nesting holes, which they do very well. How- ever, the starling — being the most aggressive nester — forces out the flicker from its new home and takes over the cavity. The worst part of this is it didn't happen to just one nest, because I spotted another pair of star- lings busy building in a cavity that other flickers had already made. This takeover of native birds' nesting sites is happening along the whole eastern seaboard and is posing a real problem to these handsome large woodpeckers. hear each morning when I step outside. Right now the robin overpowers all others as he sings his heart out to lure a mate. The bluejays aren't the best songsters but they, too, are heard, usu- ally scolding or giving the alarm that there's a cat in the area or they've found a sleepy owl or hawk to torment. No early- morning festival of songs would be complete without the mock- ingbird's delightful repertoire of songs. No one tops him. Other noisy spring champions are the gaudy red - winged black- birds. They have been around for over a month stalking out their claims to a particular part of the marsh or some section of over- grown field that will provide nest- ing sites. They have the uncanny ability of tying together low plant stems in a cluster to make the perfect support for their woven nest. Their call is rather raspy, but nonetheless is part of the spring chorus that we all look forward to. Couple this characteristic raspy call with their brilliant scar- let epaulets that are puffed out on their wings while they spread their tails in front of their prospective mate, and you have one of spring's most delightful mating rituals. Then if you listen carefully you'll hear the soft twitterings of the goldfinch. They come to our feeders and brighten up the yard with their flashes of yellow and bobbing flight Then there's the bickering over who gets what perch to feed from. Sooner or later they all have their time on this unusual upside -down bird - feeder where the openings are below the perches rather than above. As they hang upside down, the food is daintily picked out of the tiny holes. This special feeder is designed so that no com- petitors feed from it, as no other birds have learned the trick of hanging upside -down to feed. What a delight the goldfinches are to watch. There's no mating ritual as yet with these yel- low jewels, as they are one of nature's latest nesters. They will nest when seeds are most abundant, then you'll see them cavorting and doing their nest- building. This is usually during the month of August and early September. Our suet feeder was empty when we got home from our trip south. We had loaded it to the brim when we left and it should have lasted a good while, but just let a raccoon get a whiff of it and it will soon be gone. Those hands of theirs can reach into the smallest of places. Crows are another problem with their long pointed beaks. They also do a good job of cleaning out my suet. After we loaded it up, it didn't take long for the chickadees, nuthatch- es and woodpeckers to find it again. Now there's a steady flight to and from as they feed on this high - protein food supply. Of course, Mr. Starling is al- ways there to get his share. - As the days get longer and the tem- perature rises, the water in our pond warms up and the painted turtles emerge from their winter sleep. They come out to bask on old logs and tree limbs that float about. Here they warm up and become active for the coming season. I see 10 to 15 basking in the sun — some small, some large. It's good to see the young ones for it means they are reproducing well. Spring with all its glory is all about us. Suffolk Times photo by Barbara Stoutenburgh One of the brightest gifts you can bring to your birdfeeders Is the colorful, cheery little goldfinch. The best thistle feeder is the one from which the goldfinches have to feed "upside-down." Lot_V 5 I.VVK 12 AL:1% 75 years ago May 2, 1924 News Items about town: Greenport —Frank Macom- ber Jr., who has been working at the Hollywood Moving Picture Studio at California for the past few months, returned to Greenport on Sunday. He likes California very much, but Greenport is home. Cutchogue —Frank Tyler has a pretty cottage well down on Pequash Avenue, not far from the summer colony. It looks as if the avenue would be built up thickly in the near future, clear to the waters of Peconic Bay. Mattituck —A great deal of interest has been shown here lately concerning the proposition of buying a large tract of bay property for a public park. There have been a great many arguments pro and con and at the present time, it has not been settled whether or not Mattituck is to have a park. 50 years ago May 6, 1949 Theater celebrates: It was 10 years ago next Wednesday, May 11, that the Prudential Theatre Company opened the doors of its handsome new theater in the Village of Greenport to the public. This new the- ater replaced the building which was destroyed during the hurricane of September 1938. On the 10th anniver- sary of the opening of the Greenport Theatre next week, the Prudential Theatre Company has in every way possi- ble lived up to the reputation of giving Greenport the most modern theater possible. Of course, our cardinals are chasing each other around. First attacks are to drive the extra males out of the territo- ry and then the process of showing off to find the most suitable mate follows. Their repetitive call is ever present in the springtime chorus of bird songs I Classifieds: Southold— Five -room cottage, two -car garage, guest house, gas and electric, approximately 3/4 acre, full purchase price $3,500. Southold — $1,000 cash, monthly payments of $29.60 will buy free and clear in 15 years this VA- approved bun- galow with garage and all improvements, on a large plot. 25 years ago May 2, 1974 Editorial: A reasonable length of time has passed since the rejection by the voters of the Southold location of a proposed new Town Hall. The bad feelings engendered by this experience may have receded, but the need for a consolidated central location for the town's business has not. There is a need for a Town Hall and it is not our impression that the majority of voters was against the spending of revenue - sharing funds for a Town Hall, but rather the manner in which the choice was offered. The Greenport site on Moores Lane is still available- There are other locations that would bear investigation by an objective committee.... We have always thought that Brecknock Hall would make an ideal location if the purchase price was cheap enough to allow for additional modification and expansion.... Surely if the Town Board stated that a search for a loca- tion was under way, other properties might become avail- able that would have desirable characteristics. ... The next time it would seem prudent to get a recommendation from a citizens' committee to assist in the board's selection and thus develop a popular acceptance for the project.