April 24, 1986 - Summer-Like SundayPage- 8AtThe Suffolk T)mpphApril 24, 19$f-
Summer -Like Sunday
By PAUL STOUTENBURGH
What a Sunday we're having. The
fiendish wind has dropped off and the
sun is doing its best to make it seem
like summer. Barbara's flower gar-
den is bursting with daffodils and the
clumps of tulips are trying to outdo
each other. My problem is what to do
first and when I find myself in this
situation I just sit down and nothing
gets done.
Our back patio nestles in the woods
and on a sunny spring day before the
leaves are out it becomes a warm and
wonderful place to be. We had our
first lunch of the new season here
about an hour ago and it was then
that I decided I'd review the entrance
of spring from here.
The biggest change in foliage is in
the red swamp maple and the yellow -
green willows which stand by the
edge of the pond. In the woods there's
a more subtle awakening. The hic-
kories and oaks are starting to bud.
The black cherry has started its leaf-
ing, letting the tiny immature leaves
break out of their winter capsules.
The shadblow, that delicate, white
flowering tree, has also started leaf-
ing and budding out. Soon we'll see
white sprinkled along our creeks and
in our woodlands.
These flowering trees were the
signs the Indians, and later the early
settlers, looked for to tell them when
the shad fish were running in the
freshwater streams and rivers, leav-
ing the sea to lay their eggs. It also
signified when the wild asparagus
would start poking its green stalks
through the rubble of winter. How I
used to look forward to collecting wild
asparagus as a kid. It would be the
first fresh vegetable of the year and
it seemed we could never get enough
of it.
Signs of Nesting Everywhere
As we sat and ate lunch, a pair of
chickadees flitted around in the
nearby trees. They have already
paired up and I'm sure will be nest -
building in a tree cavity or bird box
within the week. Joining them were
two or three myrtle or yellow - rumped
warblers. Some of these warblers stay
with us all winter, having the ability
to eke out a living on stubble. The
ones we saw today could be some of
those that wintered here or more
likely they are new birds that have
just moved in from the south. They
are true warblers and it seems to me
these are the advance guard of the
Focus on
Nature
big waves of warblers due here in
May.
Warblers are tiny colorful birds
that have spent much of their time in
South America and move through our
area to the north where they nest.
May is the month when all those in-
terested in birds look forward to, for
the warblers' parade of colors is the
highlight of spring.
Of course, we've had other arrivals
besides the ,yellow -rump. The red-
wings have all staked out their ter-
ritories and are detending them by
fierce attacks on any and all intrud-
ing redwings. When they are not de-
fending their territory, they are sing-
ing from the treetops to lure a mate.
The big iridescent black grackles are
also back now. They are busy inves-
tigating cedar clumps and pine groves
for a likely community nesting site,
since grackles don't usually nest by
themselves. Crows, on the other
hand, roost together during the
winter, but nest by themselves. You
may have noticed that they too have
paired off already. They, like the blue
jays, are notoriously noisy birds but
when nesting time comes you'll see
them become quiet and very secre-
tive. Crows nest in tall trees, usually
away from people, while the blue jay
will build in an evergreen right by
your home. We saw one this morning
with a stick in its bill and I'm sure
it's building in the hemlock outside
our bedroom window.
The bully starling's bill has long
since changed from its dark winter
color to the yellow of spring and he
too .is busy looking for a nesting site.
Starlings build in cavities, and one
has tried every bird box on the place.
Luckily the openings are too small
and I think he's given up. He'll have
to be satisfied with building behind
the rafters in the barn. Just the oppo-
site is true for the common English
sparrows, whose size lets them in the
bird boxes I've put up for tree swal-
lows. I wish I could discourage them
but I guess my only solution is to build
enough boxes for both.
Our resident mockingbird hasn't
found a mate yet and so he sings his
heart out from the highest perch he
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HOUSE SPARROW - -Of all the birds that nest in boxes, the most
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can find. Some of you might be hear-
ing from a mockingbird on one of
these moonlit nights, as the males get
so involved they often sing during the
night. He will only stop when he finds
a mate.
Each of us enjoys our own particu-
lar sign of spring; the white egret re-
turning to our creeks, the return of
the osprey or a favorite swan building
its massive nest. No matter what it
is, its return gives us confidence that
our world will come alive once again.
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