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January 15, 1987 - Good Weather For the DucksPagel OA/The Suffolk Times /January 15, 1987 Good Weather For the Ducks By PAUL STOUTENBURGH Our Christmas bird counts are over and the results mailed back to Audubon headquarters where they'll be tabulated into a publication under the name American Birds. It will be an inch -thick volume of all the vari- ous Christmas Counts in the country. This week we were involved in the federal government duck count that Focus on Nature helps get a handle on the duck popu- lation so that hunting quotas and other important decisions can be made for the future. Our territory ran from Horton's Point east to Orient along the sound and bays. The date coincided with Nature Conser- vancy's long - awaited winter walk at Orient State Park, so I thought it would be good to combine them, starting the count at 7:30 and meet- ing for the walk at 10. At each spot we stopped at along the bay, our glasses swept the area to find what ducks could be added to our list. Bufflehead or butterballs, as the local gunners call them, were sprinkled out in both our creeks and bays, but oddly enough we never did find them in the sound. Red - breasted mergansers -- those long - billed div- ing ducks -- on the other hand, were found both in the sound and bays and even in some of our creeks. If you listened hard enough, you could hear the oldsquaws talking even before you could see them. They seemed to enjoy themselves even though the weather was getting nasty and a few sprinkles had started. Swans in Every Creek Each creek had its pair of swans or more. Sometimes we'd see remnants of a family with their brownish MUTE SWAN - -So far swans have had easy feed- ply will be cut off and they will be seen congregating ing this winter, but should it freeze up their food sup- in large groups where there is still some open water. young now almost the size of the par- ents. By spring they had better be on their own for the• adults will drive them out, keeping "their creek" ex- clusively for themselves. In another creek we found eight or nine Canada geese resting. They'd probably been feeding in some up- land rye field or sod farm, for they only eat vegetable matter which, of course, includes grain if there is a farmer's corn field around. We have hardly had any ice so far this year so the great blue herons and kingfishers still have a good chance of getting food. We see one of the great blues flying over our pas- ture when it goes from one creek to the other and the kingfisher sits on a wire that straddles our creek just waiting for a careless moment by a killie below. Creeks and estuaries all have a good flow of underground fresh water that's about 50 degrees, which keeps the salt water open and provides a place for killies to congre- gate and feed. This is where you'll see the great blues and the kingfishers. Probably the nicest part of our duck count was when we stopped at Sterling Harbor in Greenport to count the 40 or more oldsquaws cavorting there. They swam within 50 feet of the car and dazzled us with their elegant winter plumage. In the dark water a group of six males seemed to be showing off in front of a lone female. Their long thin tails were raised high as they splashed about chasing each other. A Meeting in the Rain We met the Nature Conservancy group at 10, but by then the rain had turned from sprinkling to a fine driz- zle. This had discouraged many, I'm sure, but a hardy group was raring to go. After all, many had come from the west end and were anxious to stretch their legs. It was a good group and all seemed excited about seeing this loon or QUALITY-HOMES AT AFFORDABLE PRICES' • From 555,800 on your land which includes: • Full Basement • European -Style Kitchen • Front & Rear Deck • Oak Flooring • Fireplace with Five Appliances • Cedar Siding Throughout • Local Builder Born on The East End • Many Styles Available • Models Open Monday - Sunday 9 -5 LYNCH HOMES 1 321 COUNTY RD. 39A, SOUTHAMPTON (Just West Of The Hampton Jitney) (516) 283 -0009 those white - winged scoters or a div- ing grebe. Some of us were over this area a week or 10 days ago when we did our Christmas Count and were anxious to see if the sanderlings and turnstones, those small shorebirds, were still around. We headed west along the shore to the sandspits where they usually congregate. By then the wind and rain were really giving us a hard time. There's no- thing more distressing than water on your binoculars when you are trying to see. We counted loons, scoters, mergan- sers, a big flock of geese and then we saw a nice flock of what couldn't be anything but goldeneyes, even though they were far away. These goldeneyes are called whistlers loc- ally, as their wings make a whistling sound that can be heard on a quiet day. I could tell they were whistlers because of their fluttering flight that sets them apart from all other ducks. Later we could see the gaudy male in his winter plumage with the charac- teristic white patch on his cheek. I always associate icy bays and cold weather with this handsome winter duck. The females are smaller and much less gaudy- looking, having only a brownish head and a dark body which makes them much less conspicuous than the male. We did see the sanderlings and turnstones that should have gone south a long time ago, but we couldn't stay long for the rain was soaking everyone. We took a vote and it was unanimous -- "we'd head back." We crossed over to the bay side out of the wind and in doing so found a group of tiny kinglets flitting before us in the weathered cedars. My, how difficult it was trying to pin- point those through foggy wet glas- ses. Back at the cars we looked as if we'd just walked out of the bay, for the rain had soaked most of us pretty well. Handshakes and warm good- byes soon left our original party alone in the parking lot. We'd do a bit more counting on the way home before we called it a day. Again, it was good to be out with good friends and new acquaintances. All it takes is a bit of "get up and go."