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June 14, 2007 - Handling the hatchlingsSuffolk Times photos by Paul Staalenbwgh Above: The nest of a Canada goose is well insulated against the cold, as the Inner part of the nest is made from down the female has plucked from her breast. Right: Because of loss of habitat animals and birds large and small have had to adapt to man's way of life. Here a Canada goose has made her nest atop a muskrat lodge well away from predators. t >c y ,,i The Suffolk Times • June 14, 2007 . I I A r �r �wI Handling the hatchlings We all know the saying "The early bird catches the worm'; well, there should be a saying for the osprey: "The early osprey catches the bun- ker." The reason for this interpre- tation is that Barbara and I FOGUS are watching an osprey on our windmill eating NATURE a freshly caught bunker and it's by pawl 5:30 in the mom - Stoutenburgh ing. I can tell it's a bunker for I can see the sil- very body and the sharp V of the tail. Ospreys always eat the head first and then work their way down to- ward the tail_ We have one that often stays perched on the windmill all night. I know this because I have my 20 -power scope set up in the living room and I check the osprey's posi- tion through the night. If it's windy, it will leave to find a more protected spot amongst the trees. By now many of our geese and ducks have had their young hatch and have left the nest. To stay around would surely spell disaster from raccoons, opossums, roaming dogs, cats, hawks and others always on the lookout for a meal. To make sure the eggs all hatch out at the same time the female does not start to incubate her eggs until all are deposited in her down -lined nest. Then if all goes well, after 21 days plus or minus, depend- ing on how well the parent bird was able to regulate the temperature in the nest, all will hatch out within a day or so. Then it's time to move. With the parent bird leading the way, the young ducks or geese head for water, often a good distance away. It's here the young also find their nourishment in bugs, worms, and insect eggs, along with the tender shoots of waterborne plants. It's also the time that disaster can strike in the form of hungry snapping turtles that have no problem attacking from below. I'm sure many of you have had your own special family of ducks or geese or even swans that you've been watching, when you suddenly real- ize the group is getting smaller and smaller. Nine times out of 10 it's the snapping turtle that picks off one of the group. The young are easy targets for these killers from below. Of course, there are other preda- tors lurking about. Our red - tailed hawk is always on the lookout for an easy catch of young ducklings and, of course, there is a wide assortment of man's machinery that takes its toll in a variety of ways. A lady called me the other day about a baby duck in her basement window well. Evidently the parent was moving its newly hatched duck- lings when one fell into the window well and couldn't get out. What to do? To be honest, the well -being of the group came into play and the mother had to leave her young for the good of the rest of the family. Luckily, the lady was able to find a way of solving the predicament. My first encounter with a goose nest was one time years ago when I was photographing that beauti- ful orchid Arethusa bulbosa in the Riverhead Cranberry Bog. I almost stepped on this incredibly fearless goose as she reluctantly flew off her nest of eggs that were already start- ing to hatch. Looking closely, I could see the special tip on the bill of one of the young as it was cutting through its shell. Since that early experience in the Cranberry Bog in Riverhead, I've seen many other goose nests Most were on Gardiners Island, where they nest amongst the detritus of the upper marsh. One of the most unusual nests Hen: a proud mother leads her young gosiings to a more rewarding place to feed. Reese are vegetarians, eating mainly green grass. This is why we see them In the farmers' fields, on the playgrounds of our schools and Just about anywhere there's a good crop of grass. was in a wetland area of Greenport where the goose built its nest on top of a muskrat lodge. Here there was no thought of hiding the nest, for the goose had put her faith in the water around the muskrat lodge as being enough to keep her precious nest from harm. Another odd place for a goose to nest was on the roof of a build- ing outside my son's office. I guess it wasn't such a bad idea after all, for all the eggs hatched out and the proud parents took their newly hatched family over the side, and with literally a bounce when they hit the ground; then all took off to the nearest water some distance away. It's hard to reason why some birds do as they do. Some years back some of you might remember when I wrote abut a female mallard duck that built her nest in a sidewalk flower bed at the foot of a tree in busy downtown Riverhead. Pedestrians by the hun- dreds passed every day within a cou- ple of feet from her, yet she stayed on her nest, leaving it briefly to take care of the bare necessities of life. After her successful incubation period, all the eggs proved fertile, and a proud and wiser mother duck walked her brood through traffic and predators to the Peconic River, where they went to feed along the river's edge. Mallard ducks should probably get the prize for location of a nest. I've had reports of mallards nesting in flower boxes, under docks, and even in a boat — and that location held up the launching of that particular boat until hatching time, when the whole shipyard watched as the mother mal- lard escorted her newly hatched, fluffy young to the water. Perhaps what we're seeing in these odd nesting sites is nature fighting back as man takes over the habitat that once provided wildlife with food and shelter. _l d in • The Suffolk Times • June 14, 2007 the hatchlings We all know the saying "The early bird catches the worm "; well, there should be a saying for the osprey: "The early osprey catches the bun - ker. " The reason for this interpre- tation is that Barbara and I FOCUS are watching an osprey on our 0 N windmill eating N A T U R E a freshly caught bunker and it's by Paul 5:30 in the morn Stoutenburgh ing. I can tell it's a bunker for I can see the sil- very body and the sharp V of the tail. Ospreys always eat the head first and then work their way down to- ward the tail. We have one that often stays perched on the windmill all night. I know this because I have my 20 -power scope set up in the living room and I check the osprey's posi- tion through the night. If it's windy, it will leave to find a more protected spot amongst the trees. By now many of our geese and ducks have had their young hatch and have left the nest. To stay around would surely spell disaster from raccoons, opossums, roaming dogs, cats, hawks and others always on the lookout for a meal. To make sure the eggs all hatch out at the same time the female does not start to incubate her eggs until all are deposited in her down -lined nest. Then if all goes well, after 21 days plus or minus, depend- ing on how well the parent bird was, able to regulate the temperature in the nest, all will hatch out within a day or so. Then it's time to move. With the parent bird leading the way, the young ducks or geese head for water, often a good distance away. It's here the young also find their nourishment in bugs, worms, and insect eggs, along with the tender shoots of waterborne plants. It's also "k ;2 Suffolk Times photos by Paul Stouten urg Above: The nest of a Canada goose is well insulated against the cold, as the inner part of the nest is made from down the female has plucked from her breast. Right: Because of loss of habitat animals and birds large and small have had to adapt to man's way of life. Here a Canada goose has made her nest atop a muskrat lodge well away from predators. the time that disaster can strike in the form of hungry snapping turtles that have no problem attacking from below. I'm sure many of you have had your own special family of ducks or geese or even swans that you've been watching, when you suddenly real- ize the group is getting smaller and smaller. Nine times out of 10 it's the snapping turtle that picks off one of the group. The young are easy targets for these killers from below. Of course, there are other preda- tors lurking about. Our red - tailed hawk is always on the lookout for an easy catch of young ducklings and, of course, there is a wide assortment of man's machinery that takes its toll in A lady called me the other day about a baby duck in her basement window well. Evidently the parent was moving its newly hatched duck- lings when one fell into the window well and couldn't get out. What to do To be honest, the well -being of the group came into play and the mother . had to leave her young for the good of the rest of the family. Luckily, the lady was able to find a way of solving the predicament. My first encounter with a goose nest was one time years ago when was photographing that beauti- ful orchid Arethusa bulbosa in the Riverhead Cranberry Bog. I almost tepped on this incredibly fearless oose as she reluctantly flew off her est of emms that were alreadv start- It's hard to reason why some birds do as they do. Some years back some of you might remember when I wrote abut a female mallard duck that built her nest in a sidewalk flower bed at the foot of a tree in busy downtown Riverhead. Pedestrians by the hun- dreds passed every day within a cou- ple of feet from her, yet she stayed on her nest, leaving it briefly to take care of the bare necessities of life. After her successful incubation period, all the eggs proved fertile, and a proud and wiser mother duck walked her brood through traffic and predators to the Peconic River, where they went to feed along the river's edge. Mallard ducks should probably get the prize for location of a nest. I've had reports of mallards nesting in flower boxes, under docks, and even in a boat — and that location held up the launching of that particular boat until hatching time, when the whole shipyard watched as the mother mal- lard escorted her newly hatched, fluffy young to the water. Perhaps what we're seeing in these odd nesting sites is nature fighting back as man takes over the habitat that once provided wildlife with food andshelter.. -. .___-- ...----- -____. _. _._ ing to hatch. Looking closely, I could see the special tip on the bill of one of the young as it was cutting through its shell. Since that early experience in the Cranberry Bog in Riverhead, I've seen many other goose nests. Most were on Gardiners Island, where they nest amongst the detritus of the upper marsh. One of the most unusual nests was in a wetland area of Greenport where the goose built its nest on top of a muskrat lodge. Here there was no thought of hiding the nest, for the goose had put her faith in the water around the muskrat lodge as being enough to keep her precious nest Another odd place for a goose to nest was on the roof of a build - ing outside my son's office. I guess it wasn't such a bad idea after all, for all the eggs hatched out and the proud parents took their newly hatched family over the side, and with literally ere a proud mother leads her young goslings to a more rewarding place to a bounce when they hit the ground; eed. Geese are vegetarians, eating mainly green grass. This is why we see then all took off to the nearest water hem in the farmers' fields, on the playgrounds of our schools and just about some distance away- anywhere there's a good crop of grass.