December 06, 1984 - The Birds of WinterPage 18 The Suffolk Times December 6, 1984
Lunch 12 - 3 • Dinner 3 -10
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9
SS
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between Youngs Avenue & Hortons Lane
The Food, Wine, and Warmth
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DINNER 5 - 9
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Sat. 11:30 - 3:00
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DINNER CHOICES INCLUDE:
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The Birds Winter
By PAUL STOUTENBURGH
As winter approaches, a whole new
group of birds moves into our end of the
island. They are divided into two main
groups: water birds and land birds.
Being surrounded by water, this new
movement of birds is most obvious to
those who live along the shores of the
Sound, the bays or the creeks.
Oddsquaw ducks, those colorful bun-
dles of energy that typify winter, are
already well established in their win-
tering grounds around here. Of all the
wintering ducks, these are my favorite,
for not only are they handsome and rug-
ged but they have that haunting yodel-
ing that gives them a special quality.
Those who live along the bay waters
and who visit these once -again unoc-
cupied beaches on quiet days, know all
too well their yodeling that carries with
it that wild and free spirit of the old -
squaw.
They'll also notice that these ducks
are on an endless energy spree, diving
or flying low over the water and then
dropping in with a splash to thrash
about in what seems to be joyous play.
On winter days when storms and winds
blow, these ducks still cavort amongst
the white caps. Their life depends on
feeding below, so no matter what the
weather be -- calm or wild -- they probe
the bottom in quietness where they seek
out small crustaceans, worms, small
clams and other tidbits that might be
found there.
What must it be like down there?
Their wings folded alongside their
bodies, occasionally being used to
propel them along where extra spurts
of energy are needed, their pinkish bills
probing continually until their air re-
serve is gone, they finally paddle wildly
to the top. Nothing would give me more
pleasure than to don a wetsuit and dive
below to see their feeding.
- Three Species of Scoters
Along with the oldsquaw in the bay
come the scoters and mergansers. There
are three species of scoters: the white -
winged, surf and common. These are
big, dark black - colored birds with small
(continued on next page)
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e J is
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I
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December 6, 1984 The Suffolk Times Page I19
Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
BUFFLEHEAD OR BUTTERBALL- -These chunky little black and
white ducks are found mostly in our bays and creeks. Their lives are
spent diving for food, which they search out on the bottom.
Focus...
(continued from previous page)
patches of white on the wings of the
white - winged and a patch of white in
the back of the head of the surf scoter.
The common scoter is completely dark.
The white color is seen only on the male
as the female and immature seem gen-
erally dark.
For those who have seen these birds
up close, the most striking characteris-
tic is the orange and white of their large
and gawky bills. The colors seem almost
out of place on a winter duck. We find
them in the Sound, the bay and ocean,
and I can remember many years ago
seeing them by the thousands off
Riverhead's high bluffs. In those days
there must have been something that
lured them there -- mussels or some
other food that has since disappeared,
for we only see small groups of them
now.
You can still see them by the
thousands on certain days off Montauk
Point, but even this has become less fre-
quent in recent years. The scoters and
oldsquaws are the sea ducks that the
duck hunter shoots in the bay and the
Sound. Here, in the early morning
hours before the sun is up, boats will
string out in a line usually perpendicu-
lar to the shore about a gun shot apart
(continued on next page)
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1 mileEastofthe
TrafcCircleRt.25
Owner Bob Green port 477 -2242 O
p Owner: Bo Heaney
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Page 20 The Suffolk Times December 6, 1984
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Potato, Vegetable, Soup or Salad
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Shrimps, Scallops, Chicken, Clams over Rice
Focus,.,
(continued from previous page)
and wait for the morning flight. This
is when the birds fly to their feeding
grounds. Usually they fly low over the
water and in small groups.
They are a tough bird to bring down
as their thick feathers act as a shield
against the hunter's pellets. It's a cold
and wild ride "coot shooting," as it's
called locally. Actually, the true coot is
a small freshwater bird that is never
found in the bay or Sound, but for some
reason scoters have always been refer-
red to as coots by the hunters.
Red-Breasted Mergansers
Another winter diving duck we see is
the red- breasted merganser with its
long pointed bill. We usually see the
relatively small females and imma-
tures which are mottled brownish -grey.
The male is a handsome bird with an
iridescent black -green head and crest
and striking black and white body. In
all ducks, the females are subdued in
color while the males are given the color
for their later courtly display to win
over the females for mating. The long -
pointed bill of the merganser is equip-
ped with a saw -like structure that ena-
bles it to capture fish and other slippery
morsels in the deep. Perhaps that is why
the hunter says it tastes more like fish
than duck.
It is hard to believe that any of these
ducks can keep warm in the frigid wat-
ers of winter, yet their feather and
down - insulated bodies with a coating
of oil extracted from a gland on the rear
of their backs keeps out the cold and
lets them function perfectly no matter
how low the temperature. Their only
concern is when things freeze up, for
when the waters freeze over, their feed-
ing grounds are closed off and they have
to move into open water to survive. Like
all ducks, each has its own special name
to the hunter and baymen. The red -
breasted merganser is called the shel-
drake.
Another diving duck of winter found
more in our bays and creeks than in the
Sound and ocean is the little bufflehead
or butterball. This small, black and
white chunky duck can best be seen in
our creeks feeding in small groups.
They are fast flyers and are continually
in the process of diving and bobbing up,
diving and bobbing up. It seems like
they spend more time under water than
above. The handsome male with his
iridescent black and white head and
body is easily spotted among the
females with their drab brownish -black
color. We see them occasionally in
freshwater ponds and lakes, but this is
not the general rule, for here on Long
Island, the bays and creeks are their
calling.
By now you've probably noticed black
and white and various shades of black
and brown are the prominent colors of
most winter ducks. So it is with the
golden -eye or whistler. This rather
large duck with a big white eye patch
is found mostly in the outer waters to
the east, but as winter moves on, we'll
see it more and more up bay. On calm
days listen for the "whistling" wings of
the golden -eye. It's another winter
sound you'll never forget.
All the so- called sea ducks nest to
the north of us. Some go as far as the
Arctic. Their winter visit to our shores
is a welcome addition to the waters that
seem so bleak and cold. At almost any
time of the day, if you drive down to
the end of one of our roads at the bay,
creek or Sound and sweep the horizon
with a pair of binoculars, you'll find one
of these winter diving ducks. They be-
come an important part of the East
End's winter tourists.
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