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March 11, 1999 - The pelicans of John Prince Park6A • The Suffolk Times • March 11, 1999 The pelicans of John Prince Park Once again we are camping near water, this time it's at the John Prince. County Park just west of Palm Beach. It seems to be the only bit of natural habitat left in the ever - expanding area around here. This strip of lakefront and marsh was created by the county through the persistent efforts of their first commission- er, John Prince. FOCUS He was a man in public service ON who fought for NATURE the common man in the sense that by Paul he wanted this StoutenbuMh area to have a good park for the people. It wasn't easy in those early days to convince his fellow commissioners that money was to be spent on something more than just roads, waterways and the clearing of land. A conservationist, he was also a realist who believed nature could be preserved and progress supported simultaneously. When he finished he had laid the groundwork for an 890 - acre park with biking, hiking and nature trails, tennis courts, boat ramps and spaces for 266 campsites that wan- der along the lake under great spread- ing trees. How is it that some public officials can be so dedicated and oth- ers are in it only for their own good? All quiet on the lakefront Sitting here by the water, it is quiet and restful, a far cry from the weekend, when the water was alive with boaters — 1— +1 ---� [ ,c�_.nf likee home when the bays are mostly empty during the week but come alive when the week- ends come along. I can remember when I worked all week, how I looked forward to those weekends. It's Tuesday morning and I haven't seen a boat on the lake yet. The only activity I've seen is a pair of coots (duck -like birds) upending themselves in search of the grass that grows below, then popping up with it in their white bills. Momentarily they stop to eat and then return upended, feet paddling to look for more greenery. ■ 0 — * — — 111111 Then there are the brown pelicans that continually cruise along in their deliberate, dignified flight. They are always worth watching for you never know just when one will turn abruptly, fold its wings and dive for a meal below. We're told that there are air sacs built under their skin that cushion their fall. There has to be something, otherwise the bird could never survive the impact. And what a spectacular splash it makes! The mon- strous oversized bill with its dangling pouch is a very effi- cient fish net. It holds its catch inside until all the water is drained out. Then the fish is swallowed. Most of the fish it catches are considered trash fish such as carp, menhaden, catfish, mullet, shiners, chubs, etc. This large pouch, by the way, on hot days acts as a cooler, thereby helping the bird cool down its body when the temperature rises. And to think these clever fishermen just a few decades ago were on the brink of extinction. They were facing the same-peril as our ospreys: DDT 'fnd Dieldren, the chemicals used in spraying. How lucky we were to have a citizens' group right here on Long Island that saw the problem with these chemicals and demanded they be banned. 'I'ne group was from the Bellport area and through their persistence and many court battles with the established bureaucracy, they were able to persuade the legislature to ban DDT. This local incentive eventually spread nationwide and everyone now knows it as the Environmental Defense Fund. Quite an accomplishment for a group of local environmentalists right here on Long Island. The purpose of the EDF continues to be to fight for en- vironmental causes by taking the ras- cals to court and using science and law to prove that a healthy environment must have a place in today's world. But back to the pelicans. Remember the old limerick, "A wonderful bird is that there are actually bird hospitals whose main mission is to take care of disabled pelicans and other birds. Since man has moved into the peli- can's territory, it gets involved in all sorts of man -made trouble. They'll run into high- tension wires, get caught by fishhooks, are con- tinually tangled in the deadly monofilament fish line, are hit by speeding boaters and a host of other disasters that keep the volunteer rehabilita- tors busy. On land their large eight - pound bodies are far from graceful, but in the air all that disappears. Without the aid of wind, they have difficulty getting off the water. Often you'll see them, wings flap- ping, running along the water's surface, their large webbed feet splashing until they are airborne. Pelicans are highly sociable birds, nesting together and often flying together in long strings. It's a beautiful sight to see them low over the water, flying so close they seem to be touching the waves below. They fly with their heads laid back on their shoulders, the bills resting on the folded necks. Slow, powerful wings keep their massive bodies air - borne. We have another species of pelican, the white pelican. It's not as common as the brown, but is seen occasionally here in south Florida and along the Gulf Coast. It's a species that 'dwells in inland lakes and ponds where it breeds. It does not dive like the brown peli- can for its food, but uses its large seine -like bill to scoop up fish near the surface. Often you'll see groups of white pelicans herding fish before them as they feed. With such inviting bike trails that stretch for miles here in the park, it wasn't long before we had to try them out. Once out of the campground we found ourselves on a wonderful wind- ing blacktop bike path that led us in and around giant oaks dripping with Spanish moss, palms of all sorts, orchid trees with their varied colored flowers from white to pink to lavender and, of course, the water - loving cypress trees just coming into leaf now that are so characteristic of this land to the south. Then there were trees with a hundred grey roots dangling down to earth called the banyan trees. Some of these grow to an immense size. Growing around many of these trees is the strangler fig that wraps itself around its victim and eventually smothers it. The natural world is so different down here that we never tire of investigating its secrets. There's not very much animal life left in the park. We see signs of rac- coon tracks in the mud and occasion- ally see a small dark - colored rabbit called a marsh rabbit. Oh, yes there is a small gray squirrel, but that's about all we could find along our 4 1/2 -mile ride. On our way back we wondered what had happened with the idea of "bike trails" off the road in Southold. It might be worth asking. Suffolk Times photo by Barbara Stoutenburgh Almost anywhere along the coast of Florida you are bound to see the dignified- looking brown pelican. To see a string of,them flying low over the water is one of the great sights. Occasionally they wander north and are spotted along our south shore, but don't count on seeing them on your next trip to the ocean. LM IG I D LM v v 1% &P /H L► !'1 75 years ago March 7, 1924 Political advertisement: What has Mrs. Townsend done for this Village of Greenport? She compiled the records of our boys in the World War and has them pre- served at Albany. She called the first meeting of the ladies in the Village Hall to do Red Cross work, before the Red .Cross Society was organized in this village. She worked for the [war] memorial and helped largely to make possible that wonderful dedication service. She formed the Ladies' Village Improvement Society, composed of all classes and faiths, which today maintains the Ladies' Rest Room. She is a promoter of all good work for the betterment of this, her native village, and its citizens whom she loves. Can the citizens of Greenport support this woman with their vote? Vote for Lillian C. Townsend as Trustee. 50 years ago March 4, 1949 Plum Island a county park ?: Suffolk County has staked out a claim to Plum Island, U.S. Government reservation off Orient Point, which was declared surplus last June 22 by the War Department and will soon be offered for sale. A resolution adopted Monday by the Board of Supervisors affirms its "urgent desire" to acquire for the a pelican; his bill will hold more than his bellican." Well, it's true. It's been calculated that the flabby pouch can hold about three gallons of water plus an unlucky fish. The pelican is Louisiana's state bird and is revered down here in the South, so much so county title to the 840 -acre island. ... The island has great possibilities as a boating, fishing and recreational center. It is situated on the Long Island Intracoastal Waterway. The surrounding waters contain some of the finest fishing grounds in the country. The island's protected areas could be developed for use as campsites or picnicking grounds. Presumably, ferry service would be provided between Orient Point and the island, possibly by the New London Freight Lines. 25 years ago March 7, 1974 No vote on town hall site: Southold Town voters made their "take it or leave it" choice of a new town hall this week. They left it. They turned down, 1,679 to 1,310, the proposition put before them Tuesday to purchase 22 acres of land in Southold hamlet for the construction of a new town hall. Supervisor Albert Martocchia said of the defeat, m sad, really sad because the need for a town hall is so great. But I guess we didn't satisfy the people. They want- ed to choose among the three sites. Our lawyer said it couldn't be done." This had been the crux of controversy about new town quarters in recent weeks, with local civic groups insisting that the town should allow the voters to decide in which part of town they wanted their government offices.