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September 10, 1961 - Shorebirds A GROUP OF SHOREBIRDS (L to R) Semipalmated Plover, two Least Sandpipers, Black - bellied Plover, and Greater Yellowlegs. Exclusive Sunday Review Sketch by Dennis Puleston of Brookhaven (Focus on Nature } - by Paul Stoutenburgh Cutchogue This week and next, it will be my pleasure to bring to you who follow this series two outstanding articles on shore birds. Our authority is Gilbert Raynor of Manorville, one of the few people on this end of the island who could handle this very difficult subject well. I might suggest that you who are ardent birders, keep these two articles for up- to-date reference. —P. S. SHOREBIRDS By Gilbert S Raynor Little known to the bird watcher who confines his ob- servations to a back yard feed. ing station, but a source of endless interest to those who seek them out in their favored haunts, the shorebirds are a group for which Long ' Island is justly famous among knowl- edgeable ornithologists. Called by the appropriate t e r m , "Waders," in England, the shorebirds are a world -wide group most closely related to the Gulls and Terns but quite distinct in appearance and ha. bits. They are divided into -several families which include the Oys- tercatchers, Plovers, Turnstones, Woodcock, Snipe, Sandpipers, A- ocets, Stilts and.Phalaropes. One an not, however, trust in a com- mon name to indicate which fam- ily a species belongs. to. The Killdeer, for instance, is a Plover but the Upland Plover is really a Sandpiper as are the Curlew, Knots, Dowitchers and Godwits. Shorebirds range from small to moderate in size. Most species have rather long legs suitable for wading in shallow water, 1 o n g necks and long bills which they commonly use to probe the mud or sand for the small mollusks crustaceans and insects which form their principal food. Their tails are generally short but their wings are long, pointed and powerful for swift, maneuver- able flight and lengthy migrat- ions. Shorebird plumages never include bright or gaudy colors but are composed of modest and tasteful combinations of grays, browns, black and white. Many species molt into a dis- tinctive breeding plumage in the spring but by late summer this is again replaced by the often rather nondescript gray and white winter plumage in which similar species closely resemble each other to the confusion of t h e inexperienced observer. Most shorebirds spend their liv- es on the ground and except in flight are seldom seen elsewhere. A few species will occasionally Might on fence posts, the Purple Sandpiper is at home only o n rocks and the Phalaropes do most of their feeding while swimming but these are the exceptions. Shorebirds nest on the ground and commonly lay four eggs in a hollow scooped in the sand or earth, sometimes lined with bits of shells or twigs. Like chickens, the young are able to run and find food for themselves soon after hatching but remain under parental care until fully grown. Although several species nest on Long Island and a few are even more southern, most species nest in the arctic muskegs and barr- ens north of the timber line. Because summer in the Arctic lasts only a month or two, breed- ing is a hurried affair. The birds are paired by the time they reach the nesting grounds, lay immed- iately and leave again for the South as soon as the young are able to fly. Many species of shorebirds perform long migrations. The Golden Plover and several kinds of sandpipers that nest in north- ern Canada winter in southern South America, a distance of some seven thousand miles. Although most species follow the coastlines and some migrate through the interior prairie reg- ions, a number of the m ore powerful fliers often travel di- rectly from Nova Scotia to Bra- zil, an overwater flight that can be equalled only by modern, long -range aircraft. On Long Island, these species are seen in numbers only when storms at sea force flocks o f migrants to the coast. Shorebirds are most often seen on the sandbars and mud flats of our coastal waters but some species like the Killdeer, Golden Plover and Upland Plover prefer cultivated fields or pastures while the Solitary Sandpiper shuns the maritime habitats in favor of small, inland ponds and streams. Shorebirds in spring migration appear on Long Island in late April, reach a peak in late May and then dwindle in numbers through June. The fall migration begins in late July, reacaes a maximum in August and is about completed by late September. No s e a s o n, however lacks shorebirds completely. Non- breed- ing birds' are always present throughout the summer while in our latitude, the last of the spring 'migrants heading north may pass the first of the fall migrants go- ing. south. In the winter one can always find flocks of Sanderlings a n d Dunlins and usually a few Black - bellied Plovers braving the biting winds on some exposed sandbar while individuals of a few other species occasionally winter here also. One hardy species, the Purple . Sandpiper, considers Long Island the sunny South for it comes here only in the winter months and is seldor; see much further south. Next week, the varieties of shorebirds that occur on Long Island and the specific areas in which they may be found will be discussed in more detail. H (L to R) Setnipalmated Plover, two Least Sandpipers, Black - bellied Plover, and Greater Yellowlegs. IM Exclusive Sunday Review Sketch by Dennis Puleston of Brookhaven (Focus on Nature } - by Paul Stoutenburgh Cutchogue This week and next, it will be my pleasure to bring to you who follow this series two outstanding articles on shore birds. Our authority is Gilbert Raynor of Manorville, one of the few people on this end of the island who could handle this very difficult subject well. I might suggest that you who are ardent birders, keep these two articles for up- to•date reference. —P. S. SHOREBIRDS By Gilbert S Raynor Little known to the bird watcher who confines his ob- servations to a back yard feed. ing station, but a source of endless interest to those who seek them out in their favored haunts, the shorebirds are a group for which Long ' Island is justly famous among knowl- edgeable ornithologists. Called by the appropriate t e r m , "Waders," in England, the shorebirds are a world -wide group most closely related to the Gulls and Terns but quite distinct in appearance and ha. bits. They are divided into -several families which include the Oys- tercatchers, Plovers, Turnstones, Woodcock, Snipe, Sandpipers, A- ocets, Stilts and.Phalaropes. One an not, however, trust in a com- mon name to indicate which fam- ily a species belongs. to. The Killdeer, for instance, is a Plover but the Upland Plover is really a Sandpiper as are the Curlew, Knots, Dowitchers and Godwits. Shorebirds range from small to moderate in size. Most species have rather long legs suitable for wading in shallow water, 1 o n g necks and long bills which they commonly use to probe the mud or sand for the small mollusks crustaceans and insects which form their principal food. Their tails are generally short but their wings are long, pointed and powerful for swift, maneuver- able flight and lengthy migrat- ions. Shorebird plumages never include bright or gaudy colors but are composed of modest and tasteful combinations of grays, browns, black and white. Many species molt into a dis- tinctive breeding plumage in the spring but by late summer this is again replaced by the often rather nondescript gray and white winter plumage in which similar species closely resemble each other to the confusion of t h e inexperienced observer. Most shorebirds spend their liv- es on the ground and except in flight are seldom seen elsewhere. A few species will occasionally Might on fence posts, the Purple Sandpiper is at home only o n rocks and the Phalaropes do most of their feeding while swimming but these are the exceptions. Shorebirds nest on the ground and commonly lay four eggs in a hollow scooped in the sand or earth, sometimes lined with bits of shells or twigs. Like chickens, the young are able to run and find food for themselves soon after hatching but remain under parental care until fully grown. Although several species nest on Long Island and a few are even more southern, most species nest in the arctic muskegs and barr- ens north of the timber line. Because summer in the Arctic lasts only a month or two, breed- ing is a hurried affair. The birds are paired by the time they reach the nesting grounds, lay immed- iately and leave again for the South as soon as the young are able to fly. Many species of shorebirds perform long migrations. The Golden Plover and several kinds of sandpipers that nest in north- ern Canada winter in southern South America, a distance of some seven thousand miles. Although most species follow the coastlines and some migrate through the interior prairie reg- ions, a number of the m ore powerful fliers often travel di- rectly from Nova Scotia to Bra- zil, an overwater flight that can be equalled only by modern, long -range aircraft. On Long Island, these species are seen in numbers only when storms at sea force flocks o f migrants to the coast. Shorebirds are most often seen on the sandbars and mud flats of our coastal waters but some species like the Killdeer, Golden Plover and Upland Plover prefer cultivated fields or pastures while the Solitary Sandpiper shuns the maritime habitats in favor of small, inland ponds and streams. Shorebirds in spring migration appear on Long Island in late April, reach a peak in late May and then dwindle in numbers through June. The fall migration begins in late July, reacaes a maximum in August and is about completed by late September. No s e a s o n, however lacks shorebirds completely. Non- breed- ing birds' are always present throughout the summer while in our latitude, the last of the spring 'migrants heading north may pass the first of the fall migrants go- ing. south. In the winter one can always find flocks of Sanderlings a n d Dunlins and usually a few Black - bellied Plovers braving the biting winds on some exposed sandbar while individuals of a few other species occasionally winter here also. One hardy species, the Purple . Sandpiper, considers Long Island the sunny South for it comes here only in the winter months and is seldor; see much further south. Next week, the varieties of shorebirds that occur on Long Island and the specific areas in which they may be found will be discussed in more detail.