March 25, 1962 - Skunk Cabbage
Skunk Cabbage
Exclusive Sunday Review Sketch by Dennis Puleston of Brookhaven
Focus on Nature by Paul Stoutenburghi
On- a rare pre- spring day about
three weeks ago, a group of bird-
ers from the south shore came
over to our neck of the woods,
namely the north shore, to see
what was about.
Our general. direction was
Orient Point, but before this we
stopped at Moore's woods in
Greenport. This tract of land, by
the way, is one of the few re-
maining wetlands and woodlands
east of Riverhead that has been
set aside by some very future -
minded people in Greenport for
the preservation of our precious
water table.
Nature Conserves Water
As most of us know or should
know, land that is barren such
as farm land does not retain near-
ly as much water as land left in
its native state. Here with its
heavy humus and protective can-
opy of leaves, Nature has proven
her ability to conserve our pre-
cious water. It's too bad that
conservation, like the stop sign
and red fight, is thought of only
after the tragedy has struck. All
too often these warnings are mis-
ing until a disaster strikes - then
public pressure forces the action.
This procedure often happens
with reference to our natural re-
sources such as forests, wild life,
scenic spots and a host of others.
The problem here is that once
depleted .these resources cannot
be replenished readily and so the
future must suffer. However, up
to now, Greenport and a few
other places have had the fore-
sight to preserve these areas and
now this conserving of .water has
become a county concern. Yet
without immediate danger, far
too few people are concerned.
Cover For Owls
But back to our trip. One spot
that has been replanted in pines
for cover was our main point of
interest. This type of cover should
always be checked closely for
owls as this makes the type of
cover they prefer for their sleepy
part of the day. We had found owl
pellets there some time ago, but
no owls, and so when we found
fresh pellets our hopes were high.
Everyone spread out and a close
search ensued.
Dennis was the first to give the
alarm that brought the whole
groap running. Sure enough, a
long -eared owl was spotted flying
away through the low branches
of the pines, and right beneath
where he had been was a still
moist pellet. This and others were
gathered up for later examination.
It is these regurgitated pellets
that give us a , key to what
the owls have been eating.
As Dennis and Peter were the
only ones to see the owl, we now
concentrated in the direction it
had flown. Sure enough, out he
went again. This time though he
flew off to the right into.the deep
swamp. While the others "searched
another section for more clues of
these night rovers, I went in
search of the owl to get a better
look for I had missed him each
time.
Cardinal's Call
This particular Saturday was
our last snow fall and as I eased
my way through the quickly melt-
ing snow I heard the familiar
call of a cardinal. The sun now
out bright and strong, I could
feel the wet snow seeping through
my old over- worked shoes as I
headed towards the call..
There it happened. Almost as
if it were just for me. At the very
top of an old oak was the most
scarlet of cardinals I had ever
seen. Never had I seen one so
vivid. Perhaps it was the white
snow reflecting on the bird that
made the color so brilliant,. or
perhaps it was the song that
turned my senses on edge. But
whatever it was, I just stood
there and gazed. Bird watching –
call it what you will but I was
entranced. I stood there a full
five mihutes absorbing the whole
mood when, perhaps because of a
reply to his song, he left.
Spring Flower
Needless to say, I didn't find
the owl, but perhaps I was more
rewarded, . for while walking
._.through this swampy area, I was
reacquainted with the cardinal as
well as our first true flower of
spring - the skunk cabbage. Now
to some of you those two words
do not make for poetic reading.
Spring, yes, but not skunk cab-
bage.
Yet to those of you who know
this early riser, there is a certain
something that fascinates you. I
know I often wonder what myster-
ious power it possesses that can
actually melt its way through the
frozen snow and flower when
everything else -is dead. I've been
told that chemical reaction inside
the plant actually produces the
heat that melts away the winter's
frozen wall. Think on this for a
minute and your opinion of the
lowly skunk cabbage will start to
change.
Skunk Cabbage Blossoms
Explore further and you shall
see that in February and March
this rank smelling plant actually
blossoms. It will be shrouded in
a mottled purple -brown and yel-
low cowl that resembles the lick
of a be- deviled flame. Because of
its unpleasant smell, it will draw
the carrion fly within its folds
to work the magic of pollination.
And so we see that without this
unpleasant magnetic smell, the
skunk cabbage could not exist.
It also seems strange that a
plant which usually falls low on
so many people's Iist, should be
related to our jack -in- the - pulpit
and sweet - scented, spotlese calla.
Yet, this it does. It has been sug-
gested this old world plant, like
so many other plants and animals,
came to America via the Aleutian
chain and only later did the Ice
Age move it down to our more
temperate regions.
Today skunk cabbage and
swamp lands go hand in hand
and the beautiful apple green
cover they lend to the cool shaded
stretch of our favorite swamps is
taken for granted. From their
early flowering to their huge two
to three foot plants of summer,
they are a study indeed of Na-
ture's growth and reproduction.
Outside of the somewhat objec-
tionable'smell, nothing more could
be asked of a plant. Yet, I think
we must all agree with Thoreau
when he said of the bee, "Luck
but this flower does not flavor
his honey."
FIELD OBSERVATIONS
Mrs Joan Jaschob reports:
Cutchogue — March 18
Purple Finch
L R Ernest reports:
Southampton — March 14
Mickingbird
Southampton — March 17
Ring- necked Duck (8)
Shinnecock — March 18
Black - bellied Plover (6)
Mecox — March 19
Green - winged Teal (2)
Goldfinch
Dennis Puleston reports:
Brookhaven — March 13
Brown Creeper
Rusty Blackbird (2)
Brookhaven — March 14
Woodcock (5)
Southampton — March 17
Horned Owl (nesting)
Shinnecock — March 17
Brant (100)
Water Mill — March, 17
Red - tailed Hawk
Brookhaven — March 18
Red - tailed Hawk
Quogue — March 17
Green Heron
Green- Heron
Please send all observations
and comments to Paul Stouten-
burgh, RD No 1, Box 105, Bay
Avenue, Cutchogue.
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