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September 20, 1999 - Focusing on the aftermath of Floyd6A • The Suffolk Times • September 30, 1999 Focusing on the aftermath'of Floyd I'm sitting out in our garden the sec- ond day after hurricane Floyd's visit. There's not a cloud in the sky and from where I sit there's hardly a trace of that devastating blow. Yet, if I were to move 20 feet toward the house, I would see dead branches down and tattered leaves everywhere. How fortu- nate we were to have missed FOCUS what could have been a real dis- ON aster. I move my chair and writing NATURE table within a by Paul handshake of a Stoutenburgh butterfly bush mainly to experience closer the monarch butterflies that are passing through. I like the idea of them stop- ping in at my garden on their way south. The butterfly bush really does a job of attracting them, and so we've added new ones through the years: purple, magenta, pink, white and yel- low. They all attract equally well. The monarchs come in waltzing on the air as if there were no gravity. Once they've selected a blossom, they fold their wings upright in typical butterfly fashion and get right down to business. I take my binoculars and zoom in on one as it lands on a blossom. Its long black legs walk around the blossom to position it over the proper vessel of nectar. I can see its long black anten- nae moving about. Then the black pro- boscis (tongue) rolls out and probes deeply into the blossom. For a moment all movement stops; now its wings make a single pumping motion. Could this be an aid in retrieving the nectar? Monarch a welcome sight It moves to another flower on the ••.E„...v .wv uttay uJ't-_Aiae-bL1fSltrg- and, of course, the probing black straw collecting. All this repeats itself time and time again. After a few minutes, its appetite satisfied, it flies away, dancing as if there wasn't a care in the world. Wind and storm, lightning and thunder, it cares little for what's ahead. After all, didn't it just come through a hurricane? Of course not monarchs stop in at my garden for refueling. Some glide and fly right through t'-e pasture, but for those at do stop by, I'm in ,t grateful. Even though we escaped Floyd's mighty wrath, I knew the ocean would be putting on a grand show and so the very day after, Barbara and I jumped int the pickup and headed fo Shinnecock Inlet in Hampton Bays. We were surprised to see how lit- tle damage there was along the way. It seemed that we on the north shore were tattered more than they but when we came to the ocean it took first prize. We passed the Shinnecock Coast Guard Station that was all boarded up with new plywood sheets, then over the Ponquogue Bridge to the huge pavilion parking area the Town of Southampton has provided for its citizens. (Time out. There are two hawks drifting overhead. My binoculars tell me they are ospreys. A bit late for them but not unusual.) Back to the ocean. The wind had shifted and was blowing a gale out of the north and sand stung our legs as it blew across the bare parking lot. Through a break in the dune, we could see the fury of the ocean. The tops of the break- ing waves were thrown back over the churning columns of water, creating great plumes of sparkling spray. We had to see this spectacle first hand so we walked, or should I say we were blown, to the edge of the churning surf. What a scene of Nature's untamed madness, all brought about by the days and nights of buildup from hurricane Floyd. On our way back we pulled off at the area just southeast of the bridge where part of the old bridge has been converted by the town into a fishing pier. The tide was very low and with the strong winds out of the north there ..F cn.vi Uan ezposecU -n66Fe our binoculars COUld pick up groups of gulls, and cor- morants, all nestled low on the sand bars heading into the wind like weath- er vanes. There were 20 or more noisy oystercatchers busy scrambling for worms and small crustaceans under the rocks and shells they easily overturned with their long red bills. There shore birds also but we uld only identify the big - ;er yellowlegs and black - bellied plovers with our binoculars; the others were too far away. How I wished I had brought my scope along. It was nice to see a flock of 16 or more black skimmers working in the lee of one of the and bars. As they pumped mselves along just at the s edge, we could see their long, specially designed black - and- orange bills dip down into the water as they "skimmed" along hoping to pick up an afternoon meal. (Another time out. There goes a sin- gle hawk. Looks like a red -tail — no, my binoculars make it out to be a red - shouldered hawk on its migration west. Monarchs are still passing through.) Back on the north shore the wind had shifted to the north at gale force and when this happens at the peak of low tide we get super -low tides, ex- posing areas of our bays and creeks that are not normally exposed. We get the blowout days more during the win- ter months when a sudden change in temperature takes place and the wind howls from across the Sound. It's then we get out the soft clam rake and look size of my fist and in some cases two or three fists. Sponges are actually animals and exist by drawing nutrient -laden water through their tiny pores like coral does. Usually they are not seen because they exist only below the water, but today things were different. The wind had blown most of the water out of the creek. Not only did we see them on the rocks and pilings of the bridge, but they were also scattered to the north on the exposed creek bottom. It was a sight to see and added just one more Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh This time of year not only do birds migrate but monarch butterflies join in on their southerly migration. Here we see monarchs congregating in the evening to spend the night before commencing the next leg of their journey south. TICK $PRAYING Lyme Disease, Babesiosis, Ehrlichiosis Prevention 824 -9700 • 287 -9700 ORGANIC Free Estimates SOLUTIONS www tickcontrol.com EAST END TICK CONTROL SAND PRODU� The Sensible Solution Inc. for a spot where these tasty delights hide, but not this time. My aon elerted us to an unusual sight brought about by this extreme low tide. He had spotted a hundred or more bright red beard sponges along with a few yellow ones in a creek just west of New Suffolk. He had never seen anything like it before and encouraged us to take a look. Once in a while you will dig up individual speci- mens of these sponges while clamming but never in any such number. (Time out. A hummingbird [female] buzzed in no more than four feet away from me and proceeded to test the but- terfly bush blossoms for nectar. I could hear her wings buzzing and see her tiny feet grasp onto the long blossom as she steadied herself while probing for nectar. What a sight! I'll have to get my hummingbird feeder out again.) Back to the sponges. We'd have to see this garden of red sponges and so we were off to check the West Creek Bridge in New Suffolk. It didn't take any hunting around to see them. Right from the car we could spot 25 or more. With the tide so low rocks and shells normally under water were now exposed. Attached to many were the scarlet clumps of red beard sponge the event that "made our day." P.S. Later that evening as the sun set we watched the monarchs drift into our hickory trees at the edge of the garden where they'd spend the night and resume flight the next day. We also received telephone calls from people in Southold who had clusters of monarchs sleeping overnight in their maple trees and reports from Bailie Beach in Mattituck of thousands migrating along the shorefront. Neuter clinic slated Bring male cats for free shots and neutering to a clinic spon- sored by SAVES at Greenport Methodist Church on First Street in Greenport on Saturday, Oct. 9. Cats must be at least 4 months old, have proper identification, be accompanied by an adult and be secured, one cat per carrier or trap, not constructed of card- board. Dropoff is betwee, 8 and 10 a.m. and pickup between 4:30 and 5:30 p.m. Call 477 -1426 or 477 -2046. WILDLIFE RESOURCES COMPLETE LINE OF QUALITY BIRD SEED OUR QUALITY, PRICES, and SERVICE SEA T EVERY OTHER SOURCE!! STOP BY and SEE FOR YOURSELF. h` �4 Cox La. 6 Oregon Rd., Cutchogue 734 -2096 Hours are Sat. 6 sun. 10 - 4���,�