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November 08, 2007 - Of Flocks and Breakfast12A • The Suffolk Times • November S, 2007 Of flocks and breakfast Come and have breakfast with us. Today it's blueberry pancakes We'll sit at our big picture window where we can see what the day brings forth. We'll share our table with the paper- work of trying to organize my journals from over the years when I was in high school, then the war years, then love and marriage along with children, then college and teaching, travel, stints at trying to save the world and writing a weekly column FOCUS in our local news- paper. So we'll O N just push aside all that work for NATURE another day and sit down with by Paul you for breakfast; Stoutenburgh "Sugar? Cream for your coffee ?" Slowly the east is brightening up, but not the way most would like it. It's overcast and there's a strong cool north wind blowing. Leaves are blowing across the lawn, only to be captured by the hedgerows that back up to our woods. "Another pancake ?" By now we can see the woods half a mile away. The birds are scurrying into the chilly wind from Canada. ­Look, there's a regular procession of them working their way into that strong north wind." Ten min- utes go by and the flight of birds keeps coming. Some fly in broken groups, others drop down and go it alone; all head directly into the wind. "Where are they coming from?" It seems as if they were scared out of their roosting place, five, 10, 20, 30 at a time. For a good 20 minutes hundreds, possibly thousands of these black silhouettes kept our attention as we speculated what kind of birds they could be and why and where they were going and why they flew into that wicked wind. These birds were so far away I could not make a positive identification even with binoculars. If I had to give them a name, I'd call them starlings be- cause we don't have the quantities of grackles, redwings or cowbirds that we were seeing. Actually I can say I don't particularly like starlings because they rob nesting sites of the woodpeckers and the crested flycatchers and others They're so persistent that our native Suffolk Times photos by "ail bh aL i n u r lh Red - winged blackbirds, like all birds, have to have a place to sleep. After all the summer duties of raising a family are over, redwings collect in flocks and roost in stands of tall phragmites. The grackle is often mistaken for a small crow, but on close examination we see it has a purplish sheen and a longish tail quite different from that of the crow. It often robs bird eggs and young from their nest. Here it enjoys one of our leftover blueberry pancakes. birds usually give up trying to protect their nest under the starling's continual pressure. "Barbara, more coffee for our guest ?" Perhaps you have seen some of these flocks of starlings roaming our countryside this past week. These masses of hundreds of birds moving as one at high speed, turning, banking and then dropping, only to rise again as a ball of moving wings, are one of the great sights the natural world has Left: Phragmites, or plume grass, is one of the worst Invasive plants we have. It offers little to wildlife and has pushed native plants and grasses out of their habitat. in the winter they stand alone and deserted but in the fall they are used by thousands of roosting starlings, grackles, cow- birds, red - winged blackbirds and others. Right: There was a time not too long ago when we didn't have starlings around. Then they were introduced into the New York area, where they multiplied and spread to every state, including Alaska. to offer. Why they don't bump into one another is one of those mysteries of the bird world. It keeps the scientists scratching their heads as they try to solve "the reason why." By the way, starlings and other blackbirds aren't the only ones that perform in "flocks," flying and maneu- vering as one. Certain shore birds do this same type of maneuvering when disturbed. It's thought it is used to con- fuse a predator, usually a hawk, that is trying to pick out one single bird. If you want to see something simi- lar to what we've just witnessed, park your car about, say, late afternoon on some less - traveled roadside and sit and wait until you see birds flying in one direction. Then follow them in the general direction they are going, and if you are lucky they'll eventually lead you to their phragmites roosting area. It's on the relatively long strong stems of the phragmites that they'll spend the night. You'll find it fascinating to watch the birds continually fly in as loose groups, both large and small. Surpris- ingly, you'll find other species of bird besides starlings; grackles, redwing blackbirds, cowbirds all seeking shelter in the tall phragnutes. Down South enormous flocks of starlings and others do great damage to crops. People have tried everything to get rid of them. Noise machines only work in the beginning; as the birds get used to the noise, they soon pay little attention to it. People have even tried to eliminate their roosts by dynamiting after they came into the roost, but that eventually failed also. It's no wonder our vineyards are draped in netting to keep the birds from robbing the grapes. One last thing about large numbers of birds. Have you noticed the grackles (the large black bird with a longish tail) rummaging through your yard or in the woods nearby? We find these groups of grackles not leaving a leaf unturned as they seek any insect, egg mass, worm, whatever is edible, as they feed to fat- ten up for their journey down South, where they will spend the winter. "It was nice having you in for break- fast and seeing the world that greets us every day. Have a goal day." Patti Stourenburgh can be reached by entail atfociisnat@opronlitte.net. The Suffolk Times • November 8, 2007 Come and have breakfast with us. Today it's blueberry pancakes. We'll sit at our big picture window where we can see what the day brings forth. We'll share our table with the paper- work of trying to organize my journals from over the years when I was in high school, then the war years, then love and marriage along with children, then college and teaching, travel, stints at trying to save the world and writing a weekly column FOCUS in our local news- paper. So we'll ON just push aside all that work for NATURE another day and sit down with by Paul you for breakfast: Stoutenburgh "Sugar? Cream for your coffee ?" Slowly the east is brightening up, but not the way most would like it. It's overcast and there's a strong cool north wind blowing. Leaves are blowing across the lawn, only to be captured by the hedgerows that back up to our woods. "Another pancake ?" By now we can see the woods half a mile away. The birds are scurrying into the chilly wind from Canada. "Look, there's a regular procession of them working their way into that strong north wind." Ten min- utes go by and the flight of birds keeps coming. Some fly in broken groups, others'drop down and go it alone; all head directly into the wind. "Where are they coming from ?" It seems as if they were scared out of their roosting place, five, 10, 20, 30 at a time. For good 20 minutes hundreds, possibly thousands of these black silhouettes kept our attention as we speculated what kind of birds they could be and why and where they were going and why they flew into that wicked wind. These birds were so far away I could not make a positive identification even with binoculars. If I had to give them a name, I'd call them starlings be- cause we don't have the quantities of grackles, redwings or cowbirds that we were seeing. Actually I can say I don't particularly like starlings because they rob nesting sites of the woodpeckers and the crested flycatchers and others. Thev're so persistent that our native flocks and brea ast The grackle Is often mistaken for a small crow, but on close examination 1 see it has a purplish sheen and a longish tail quite different from that of t crow. It often robs bird eggs and young from their nest. Here it enjoys one our leftover blueberry_pancakes. usually give up trying w PLUM nest under the starling's contii ure. "Barbara, more coffee for Perhaps you have seen some of these flocks of starlings roaming our masses of hundreds of birds moving as one at high speed, turning, bankin; and then dropping, only to rise again as a ball of moving wings, are one of the Great siehts the natural world has Suffolk Times photos by Paul Stoutenburgh winged blackbirds, like all birds, have to have a place to sleep. After all summer duties of raising a family are over, redwings collect in flocks and A in stands of tall ohragmites. to offer. Why they don't bump into one another is one of those mysteries of the bird world. It keeps the scientists scratching their heads as they try to solve "the reason why." By the way, starlings and other blackbirds aren't the only ones that perform in "flocks," flying and maneu- vering as one. Certain shore birds do this same type of maneuvering when disturbed. It's thought it is used to con- fuse a predator, usually a hawk, that is trying to pick out one single bird. If you want to see something simi- lar to what we've just witnessed, park your car about, say, late afternoon on some less - traveled roadside and sit and wait until you see birds flying in one direction. Then follow them in the general direction they are going, and if you are lucky they'll eventually lead you to their phragmites roosting area. It's on the relatively long strong stems of the phragmites that they'll spend the night. You'll find it fascinating to watch the birds continually fly in as loose groups, both large and small. Surpris- ingly, you'll find other species of bird .„ A"", I UCNIUCS si,arnngs; graMes, reawmg blackbirds, cowbirds all seeking shelteY in the tall phragmites. . Down South enormous flocks of starlings and others do great damage to crops. People have tried everything to get rid of them. Noise machines only work in the beginning; as the birds get used to the noise, they soon pay little attention to it. People have even tried to eliminate their roosts by dynamiting after they carne into the roost, but that eventually failed also. It's no wonder our vineyards are draped in netting to keep the birds from robbing the grapes. One last thing about large numbers of birds. Have you noticed the grackles (the large black bird with a longish tail) rummaging through your yard or in the woods nearby? We find these groups of grackles not leaving a leaf unturned as they seek any insect, egg mass, worm, whatever is edible, as they feed to fat- ten up for their journey down South, where they will spend the winter. "It was nice having you in for break- fast and seeing the world that greets us every day. Have a good day." Paul Stoutenburgh can be reached by email at focusnat @oDtonline.net_ 4,E Dui p1 Nryi y ti H �ki� J11" ,lull b, 6� d Left: Phragmites, or plume grass, is one of the worst invasive plants we have. It offers little to wildlife and has pushed native plants and grasses out of their habitat. In the winter they stand alone and deserted but in the fall they are used by thousands of roosting starlings, grackles, cow- birds, red - winged blackbirds and others. Right: There was a time not too long ago when we didn't have starlings around. Then they were introduced into the New York area, where they multiplied and spread to every state, including Alaska.