September 25, 1986 - September at SeaSeptember at Sea
By PAUL STOUTENBURGH
Fall is usually a good time for a
vacation, so Barbara and I decided to
sneak off and see some of our
maritime neighbors out east. We
knew it was fall for many reasons, as
we charged down the bay in our sail-
boat.
New arrivals from up north were
continually reminding us that the
annual migration of water birds was
starting. Previously the shorebirds
had moved through our area, leaving
only a few stragglers among our open
fields and shorefronts. Now we were
starting to see the scoters, those
large sea ducks that move into our
area for the winter.
These scoters or "coots" as the loc-
als call them, are diving ducks that
seemingly spend more time under
water than above. Their foraging
area is in the dim to almost -black
reaches of the sound and bay where
their probing bill picks up mollusks,
crabs, small fish and in reality, al-
most anything that's alive and can
be snatched off the bottom. Cold and
stormy weather effects these hardy
birds little, for deep below the sur-
face, they are in a perpetual twilight
zone that is much less harsh than
above. And when the thermometer
drops and icy winds blow above, their
thick down and feathered coats pro-
tect them most adequately. We saw
strings of scoters that were mostly
white - winged on our trip east along
with a few common or American scot-
ers that are all black in appearance.
Loons in Single Flight
Another big water bird we saw
heading west, but usually in single
flight, was the common loon. Besides'
picking up an ever - increasing
amount of pollution along the sea
bottom when feeding, it is losing its
vital nesting habitat in the inland
lakes throughout the north country.
There was a time when inland
lakes were inaccessible and remote.
Because of this they proved to be
ideal nesting sites for the loon but
now because of off -road vehicles, sea
planes, and the general pressures for
more and more development, these
remote spots are continually being
invaded. The results have been stag-
gering on the nesting populations of
loons. It's a difficult situation and
one that does not look good for this
handsome diver. Like the scoters, the
loon, too, lives by diving and probing
the deep waters of our bays and
sound during the winter months.
The loon is a big bird, often mista-
ken for a Canada goose because of its
size, but then that's where the like-
ness tops. When it flies, there's no
comparison, for the loon's neck is
straight out and its wings are longer
and narrower than the goose., Also,
its body is not as chunky as the goose
and, of course, the call is entirely dif-
ferent.
We have all heard the phrase
"crazy as a loon." Well, it comes from
the call, a real wild and sometimes
eerie call. Whenever I think of loons,
I remember as a boy listening to
their call on a cold quiet day from
across the bay. I was and always will
be fascinated by them whenever I
hear or see one of these splendid
winter visitors.
Focus on
Nature
Hawk Migration in Progress
Added to the sea ducks, we had a
strong hawk migration moving west-
ward through the area. You can see
hawks much better from a boat
where you are not surrounded by
trees and houses, and this made for
good hawking. Most were the small
accipiters, the sharp- shinned, and
Cooper's with a few falcons mixed in,
namely the merlin and kestrel. Then
there was the one display of three
marsh hawks flying high above in an
aerial display I. have never seen be-
fore. It was quite a sight. You usually
see these swooping low over the land
looking for mice.
The accipiters or wood hawks are
the small hawks we see swooping in
occasionally over our bird feeders in
hopes of snatching up a sleepy spar-
row or finch. That's one reason, by
the way, to try whenever possible to
put your bird feeders near some
shrubbery for the birds to escape to
when these marauders come
through.
Our own trip was highlighted by
strong winds and rough seas. We
often sailed with a double reef in the
main and when it got too bad we
stayed in port. At Montauk we laid
over with two anchors set, while the
wind howled in the rigging all day
and all night. Then in Newport, that
famous yachting center of world re-
nown, we clung to a thrashing buoy
as the wind tore at the most elabo-
rate display of sailing vessels one can
imagine. By dawn there was a 30-
foot boat overturned, and one on the
rocks that lined the harbor. Other
boats washed ashore, including a
The Suffolk Times /September 25, 1986 /Page 9A
Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
LAUGHING GULLS -- Whenever we ate topside we were always ac-
companied by laughing gulls that seemed to be more common than the
native herring gull. They are good aerialists and would almost always
catch tidbits thrown to them in midair.
power fishing boat that luckily chose
the one sandy beach in the harbor to
rest upon.
The big wind was a result of a cold
front moving rapidly down from the
north and it carried cool weather
that made us sleep in our long johns
and sail with gloves and double
sweaters under our foul weather
gear.
As we neared Block Island, we
were greeted by the Off Soundings
Race that included well over 100
boats. The beautiful part was they
were coming downwind and each
flew its own unique brightly colored
spinnaker. It was a glorious sight to
see.
One of the nice parts of our trip
was when our son and a friend flew
to Fishers Island to join us and sail
the last leg of the trip home. We even
caught a few bluefish on the way.
One Joanne was bringing in literally
jumped out of the water and landed
in our trailing dinghy. It then
promptly threw the hook out of its
mouth and she continued her fishing.
It was a good vacation and one
we'll remember for sure, for it added
much to our knowledge and respect
for that ever - changing sea and the
way it treats those who sail upon it.
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