May 15, 1986 - Color on the WingPap 1't?4'ffg�Tbiliii1+�89N i
Color on the Wing
By PAUL STOUTENBURGH
Spring is an exciting time. The
mere thought of warmer days and the
world greening up for summer seems
to stimulate every form of life from
the smallest insect to the colorful
migration of new bird arrivals.
Barbara and I, just this week, wit-
Focus on
Nature
nessed this influx from down south
as it burst into our area. We saw
brightly - colored male scarlet tana-
gers -- three at one time. Of course,
there was the drab olive - colored
female joining in the festivities of in-
sect gathering but the males, with
their Chinese red bodies and black
wings, stole the show.
We used our binoculars to bring
them right up to us and what a sight
they were. Never had I seen so many
darting tanagers at one time. This
bird nests sparsely here on Long Is-
land and only once have I ever found
its nest here.
May is the month that we see the
big migration of birds passing
through our area. Some, like the cat-
bird, thrasher, towhee and a few
warblers, stay, but the vast majority
keep right on going to nest to the
north.
As we watched the tanagers mov-
ing about, my eye caught another
flash of color. This time it was the
rose - breasted grosbeak. Contrasting
black and white body colors created
a frame for the brilliant rosy -red
breast. This is a rare nester here that
I've found only in the south shore
woods around North Sea. That woods,
by the way, has been cleared and
grassed over for a golf course. I won-
der where the birds that nested there
will go.
Leaf Buds Supply Food
The grosbeaks were feeding on the
newly - opened leaf buds of the black
cherry. Their big heavy bills made
short work of the tender buds. If
you've ever heard the song ofthe gros-
beak, you'll never forget it, for it's a
joy to hear. When the male is calling
for a mate his song dominates the
woods. Nearby in some low brush was
a group of yellow warblers flitting
about for insects. These birds must
have just arrived the night before for
there were eight or nine of them to-
gether in one thicket. Some sort of
insect must have been hatching out
to keep them in such a tight group.
Moving about with them were yellow -
rumped warblers in prime plumage,
as most birds are now at courting
time.
Though some yellow warblers move
on with the wave going north, there
are those who stay. They build a beau-
tiful nest, usually low and made up
of plant fiber. Look for this all- yellow
warbler with faint rusty markings on
its breast.
Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
YELLOW WARBLER - -In the spring migration, most warblers pass
through our area to nest further north. One of the exceptions is the
yellow warbler, shown in this photo taken at nesting time.
Along with these warblers we also
saw black and white warblers, parula
warblers, golden - crowned kinglets,
chipping sparrows, and white -
crowned sparrows. The list goes on
and on. These arrivals are indicators
that the insect world is alive and well.
The problem for some specialized .
birds is when the temperature drops
they cannot feed on their usual diet
of insects. Hardest hit are the birds
that rely on flying insects, like the
swallows. We saw bank, tree and barn
swallows and wondered how they
were making out in the cool weather
we were having.
I can remember years ago when
martins (a large swallow) that lived
in our apartment bird house out back
literally starved to death. One morn-
ing I found them dead below the box.
A cold snap had eliminated the flying
insects they were feeding on and the
birds perished. How different birds
are in adapting. Take the starling for
example. It can shift from one food
supply to another without any
trouble. That's one of the reasons the
starling is so successful and we have
so many of them.
Orioles Are Back
To add to the colorful bird migra-
tion, we hit a spot where there were
at least a dozen orioles. That's the
bird we see here in the summer that
builds its hanging nest out on the end
of branches. The orange body and
black wings flashing in the sun, with
the new green of spring as a back-
ground, were truly something to see.
What makes all these observations
so interesting to me is that each
seemed to have its local group, almost
as if they had traveled up here and
were awaiting the movement north.
Some of the orioles might stay while
others move on to Connecticut, Rhode
Island, Massachusetts, Maine and
even up to Canada. We'll be hearing
the cheerful but monotonous call of
the oriole soon when the male sets up
his territory in our neighborhood and
starts calling for a mate.
Our list went on and on but what
we'll remember most are the bright
colored feathers of spring. It was good
to be out looking for those elusive
migrants that come to us each year
from their winter homes as far away
as South America. It will be a sad day
indeed should they stop coming our
way but the stories we hear about the
loss of habitat in the developing coun-
tries worry many of us. Whether it is
the golf course area in North Sea or
the rain forests of the Amazon, all
areas are under the pressure of de-
velopment and with it could go the
small bird population so many of us
1 ook forward to and take for granted.
1VIE1 LIN
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