December 17, 1961 - The Old Squaw Duckr,
o+
U
'CLl
A
W
W
F
Old `qu.a►r Oh►rlcx. ►►►ale (loit 1 and Fna....►n
Exclusive Sunday Review Sketch by Dennis Fuleston of Brookhaven
(Focus
� *_ :
Dennis Puleston, who does
our sketches for us each week,
is writing today on one of
our truly. winter ducks, the
Old - Squaw. His additions have
done much to make our col-
umn inWresting and authorit-
ative. -ps
OLD —SQUAW DUCK
By Dennis Puleston
I can recall vividly my first
Visit to Montauk Point, to study
the winter bird life for which it is
famous: It was a bitter morning
in early January; the biting nor'
wester was hurling heavy seas
against the exposed shoreline,
where every boulder was encased
in a smooth coat of frozen spray.
Offshore, long lines of scoters,
their black bodies showing up
sharply against the clear skies,
were moving restlessly to less
exposed feeding grounds on the
southern side of the Point. As I
atched them, the wind carried
to :me a series of faint musical
notes, a gay, harmonious chatter-
ing that seemed strangely incon-
gruous for those rugged condi-
tions.
Through my binoculars I finally
caught a glimpse of the source of
these curious sounds. Lifting on
the crest of a large breaker about
• hundred yards from shore was
• small group of black and white
birds, some of them with long,
spiky tails, all rising and falling
contentedly with the swells. Sud-
denly they were gone beneath the
surface, to bob up agains some
forty seconds later, to renew
their happy music.
This was my first encounter
with the Old- squaw, the beautiful
little sea duck that is noted for
its hardiness and cheerful garrul-
ity. Undoubtedly the early sett-
lers named it thus for its contin-
uous conversational attributes,
but for those who resent this llm-
Lceptable. ur an the fairer sex, the
names 'organ duck' or
'singing duck' will be more ac-
rthern Europe its official
is Long- tailed Duck, al-
many wildfowlers there
atu re•
know it as the 'sea pheasant,'
because of the long, attenuated
tail of the :Hale bird. The Latin
name, Clangula Hyemalis, can be
translated literally as 'noisy win-
ter duck'.
But whatever name it goes by,
this bird is a delightfully attrac-
tive creature, unbelievably hardy
and apparently always filled with
the joy of living.
It is a thrilling sight when a
flock of these ducks rises easily
from the raging sea to wheel
and twist in the air like a group
of sandpipers, the white under -
bodies and heads contrasting
sharply with the black wings and
breast patches. With breath -tak-
ing swiftness the flock 'circles
close over the wave tops, then
drops back onto the tossing wat-
ers.
Apparently these short execur-
sions are made in the sheer en-
joyment of flight, or as a release
for excess energy. There are few
birds that better embody the in-
herent; carefree gaiety of wild
nature than the Old- squaw; re-
gradless of howling winter gales
and below -zero temperatures, it is
as happy as an. oriole on a blos-
som- laden apple bough in mid -
May.
This bird is not only thoroughly
at home in the air and on the
sea, it is equally in its element
under water. Most of its food,
consisting of molluscs, crustac-
eans, small fish, and marine veg-
etation, is taken from the bottom,
and it is so quick at submerging
it can disappear at the flash of
a gun, before the pellets reach
it.
There are many authoritative
records of this duck being trap-
ped in the gill -nets of the Great
Lakes fishermen during its pro-
longed dives. These nets, set at
depths of 50 to 180 feet, some-
times cause the death of thou-
sands of Old- squaws. In one such
disaster 'in 1917, a naturalist
found 12 tons of these ducks
being shipped to a plant to be
ground up for use as fertilizer.
This represents the loss of some
18,000 individuals in a single
haul.
Yet the Old -squaw will probably
not be seriously depleted in num-
bers for some time to come. Be-
cause of its largely oceanic habi-
tat, and swift and erratic flight.
it is a very difficult bird to shoot;
in fact, gunners do not hunt it
extensively, since its, tough aqd
fishy flesh render it an indiffer-
ent table bird.
Its rain enemies are the Artie
foxes, jaegers, and gulls which
hunt it in its summer home in
the sub- Art'ic tundras where it
breeds. Here, in the remote coast-
al regions of Iceland, Greenland,
Alaska, and northern Canada, it
conceals its nest in a depression
in the ground, the mother pluck-
ing down from her own breast
as a warm blanket for the eggs.
This down, which is sometimes
collected by the Eskimos, is con-
sidered equal in quality to that of
the Eider-duck, from which the
old - fashioned eiderdowns were
made.
As soon as the young are hatch-
ed, the mother leads them to the
nearest body of water, where
they are able to dive expertly at
the approach of danger.
Even in the height of the sum-
mer months in its breeding
grounds, the Old -squaw is never
far from ice and snow. Conse-
quently, it is able to regard its
wintering grounds off our local
coasts as pleasantly balmy. In
fact, there is nothing in the way
of weather that seems to be able
to daunt it, or plane a damper
on its ebullient spirits.
Thus, whsle the bitter storms
are curdling air human blood,
we can watch the little Old -
squaw disporting itself with :Huth
merry music in the wintry seas
that are its home and playground.
FIELD OBSERVATIONS
The following group of birds
were observed Saturday, Decem-
ber 9th when I accompanied an
interested birding group to Mon-
tauk. On the way home we ob-
served at Book Pond in East
Hampton a blue goose amongst
hundreds of Canada Geese, and
a European widgeon amongst
hundreds of widgeon.
by Paul Stoutenburgh
American deider (6)
King eider (13)
Old -squaw (20)
Golden -eye (6)
Red - breasted Mergansers (30)
Common loons (12)
Red- throated loon (1)
Holboell's grebe (3)
Horned grebe (6)
Pied - billed grebe,M
Double crested cormorant (1)
Bonaparte's gull (20)
Ring - billed gull (25)
Herring gull (50)
Black - backed gull (15)
Kingfisher (1)
Killdeer (3)
Bluebird (2)
Siskin (2)
Sparrow hawk (3)
Meadowlark (4)
Palm warbler (2)
Yellow warbler (2)
Myrtle warbler (30)
Towhee (1)
Fox sparrow (2)
Savannah sparrow (2)
Swamp sparrow (3)
Song sparrow (10)
Tree sparrow (8)
Chickadee (12)
Red - breasted nuthatch (3)
White - breasted nuthatch (2)
Robin (1)
Crow (6)
Mourning dove (3)
Goldfinch (5)
White - winged Scoter (50)
Surf scoter (20)
American scoter (6)
Judd Bennett reports:
East Marion — December 13
Cow birds at feeder
Pine grosbeaks still in area
of Lighthouse Rd, East Marion
Roy Latham (reports:
Orient — December 9
Lapland Longspur (3)
L R Ernest reports:
Nature's Trail East Hampton
December 11
Florida gailinule