November 15, 1984 - The Old Kettle HoleNovember 15,1984
The Old
Kettle Hole
By PAUL STOUTENBURGH
Our pasture out in back is the re-
mnant of an old kettle hole. Kettle holes
are depressions in the earth created
long ago by great glaciers when huge
chunks of ice were pushed deep into the
soil. Later they melted, leaving a depre-
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ssion. These depressions can be dry,
boggy or filled with water. Examples of
the latter would be Marratooka Lake,
Laurel Lake, Lake Ronkonkoma and
Lake Success.
Our kettle hole is much, much smal-
ler, and through the years had been
filled by eroding soil from the farm once
worked on its steep sides. When we
came here 30 years ago, it was practi-
cally dry, but old timers told us they
remembered when there used to be
water down there. With that in mind,
we decided to bring back our kettle hole
to its original state. We hired a local
contractor, who spent a day and a half
digging it out. Sure enough, we were
down into the water table, and we have
had water there ever since.
Through the years trees have grown
up around it. It makes a good place for
the cows to get a drink, and of course,
a real fine oversized bird bath. To keep
the mosquitoes from breeding we put
in some gold fish and they really work.
They've multiplied to such an extent
that we can see masses of them on warm
days when they come to the surface.
They became so numerous that they
have attracted a whole series of unique
birds that feed on them.
The kingfisher can occasionally be
seen sitting on a dead branch that over-
looks the pond, waiting for one of the
fish to move into just the right spot
where he can drop on it. I've often seen
one plummet into the water, come up
with a fish in its mouth, flip it around
so it goes down head first and then sit
contentedly waiting for another. Occa-
sionally he'll misjudge, but usually he's
successful.
Dependable Green Heron
Another bird that visits our pond is
the small green heron who for the past
five or six years has built its nest about
a half -mile up the lane. Once feeding
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GREAT BLUE HERON -- Although we see this three -foot heron in our
creeks and marshes, none nest on Long Island. Like all herons, they
are master stalkers.
starts, it makes a beeline between the
pond and the nest in the endless feeding
of its young. This is a bird that can tuck
away a quantity of gold fish in its jowls
so when it arrives at the nest site it's
ready for serving. This is an aggressive
action by the young, for they drive their
bills into the open mouth of the parent
bird, grasping the food in a frenzy of
feeding.
Seen along with the green heron, on
a less frequent basis, is the black -
crowned night heron. This is a non-
breeding bird in our area, but like all
herons, a skillful hunter. Patience and
slow and deliberate moves is the ap-
proach they take. Then with a quick
jab, they seize their prey. It can be any-
thing from gold fish to killies to frogs
and even a mouse. Whatever moves, the
heron will snatch up.
But of all the herons there is none
quite like the tall and stately great blue
heron. Standing three feet tall and a
master of the art, he performs like some
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great ballerina in slow motion. Stalking
one foot at a time then patiently lower-
ing it, without making a ripple or move-
ment in the water, he approaches his
victim. Because of his great bulk, he
requires more food and has been given
the added advantage of a long neck.
This he uses with the skill of an expert
dueler, but once again in slow motion.
Once the stage is set for the catch, like
a coiled spring, the long bill darts out
and the unsuspecting fish becomes a
meal.
An Expert Fisherman
I once saw a great blue heron catch
a small flounder, like the ones we catch
in the spring in our creeks. His next job
was to get the wide flat fish down a
relatively small opening. He turned it
around and around, tried it once, shook
it free and tried it again. He bashed it
in the water, held his head up high,
worked feverishly for probably over five
minutes before finally getting it into a
Page 19
position and condition to slide down.
Slowly, ever so slowly, it worked its way
past the jaw and into the long narrow
section of the neck. You could see the
big bulge slowly moving down. The
neck went up and down continually. I
never did see it get all the way down
the 16 -inch throat. It seemed impossible
that it would move at all.
Another time outside of Greenport I
saw a great blue having a similar prob-
lem with a big eel. I had stalked this
bird with my camera for a long time.
Each time he went down I would move
up. What he was doing was trying to
stun an eel he had caught by bashing
it up and down in the water. Finally I
got close enough to get a picture. By
then he had gotten the eel started down
the long throat but my presence
frightened him and off he flew, the eel
(continued on next page)
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