May 19, 1988 - Time to Watch Our Winged WarblersPaige,SA'/The'Suffolk Times /M'a'y 19, 1988
Time to Watch Our Winged Warblers
By Paul Stoutenburgh
Sunday afternoon is usually the time
to write but, oh, how I hate to sit down
today. It's much too beautiful outside.
The sun is shining, the air is warm and
clear and, most of all, there is so much
to see and do. If ever there was a time of
the year to be out, it's now. Trees are
glowing in their new greenery. Wild-
Focus on
Mature
flowers are everywhere and the great
spring migration of birds has been go-
ing on since early May.
Barbara and I just returned from an
outing with a friend who took us from
the deep woods and swamps to the bays
and beaches of the East End. What a va-
riety of new and wonderful birds we saw
as they stopped off to rest and feed on
their migration north. Throughout the
country this spring migration is taking
place. One of its highlights is the wave
of warblers. Often they are here today
and gone tomorrow. It all depends on
the highs and lows of the weather and
the accompanying winds that help them
along their way.
Never was this migration more dra-
matic and deadly than on a hazy spring
evening in the '50s. Westhampton Air
Base was a strategic arm of our air de-
fense and during that night migrating
birds were drawn into the high - powered
search light shining skyward. The birds
got confused and crashed into the blind-
ing light and buildings nearby. The next
day their tiny, colorful bodies were
strewn about the base of the light. The
late Roy Wilcox and I collected a
bushel -basket of dead birds while inves-
tigating the disaster.
Wide Range of Birds Killed
Most of them were migrating war-
blers, with a sprinkling of everything
from rails from our marshes to whip -
poor -wills that once called in our
woods. I mention this disastrous ac-
counting because it showed the lay per-
son, who is seldom aware of these
fis
Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
RUBY - THROATED HUMMINGBIRD - -Along with the waves of color-
ful warblers that migrate through our area each May, there are other
birds such as this tiny hummingbird. This one stunned itself when it ran
into a picture window but luckily soon recovered and flew away.
waves of birds, that these movements
occur. I know several people who are
disconnected from their families during
these warbler days. They are out birding.
It is the only time we see these bits of
joy.
It's quite a challenge to see them for
they seem never to stop moving.
They're either in the top of a tree or in
the heavy underbrush. Just as you get
your binoculars in focus, they'll move
behind the tree or a leaf and you've lost
them. To add to the challenge, there is a
wide variety of these tiny warblers.
Even within the species their color is
different from male to female and from
adult to juvenile. Nevertheless, this is
the time of the year, if you are lucky, to
see these wonderful little warblers.
You never know what you might see.
At one spot we were looking at a beau-
tiful yellow warbler with a blackcap (a
hooded warbler) that decided to sing in
the sun for us and a hummingbird
buzzed into our vision. He lit on a
branch in front of us. For a moment the
iridescent green and brilliant red throat
patch flashed its colors and then he was
off. He, too, was heading north.
As we walked the oriole, sang in the
treetops along with scarlet tanagers. In
one tree we had four brilliant black -and-
red tanagers. What a vibrant red, espe-
cially when viewed against the blue sky
in a tree whose buds and greenery were
just opening. You would think we were
in the tropics.
Sitting and Watching
Another place, where it was wet, I sat
and watched the woodland scene. Far too
few people just sit and watch. It's the
best way to see birds. Of course, stand-
ing is just as well but being a bit on the
lazy side, I enjoy sitting. A northern
water thrush, like the one we had seen
last week at our pond, busied itself
along the edge of the still water, hunt-
ing for worms and insects. Then an
ovenbird -- the one that calls "teacher,
teacher, teacher" -- came into view,
scratching like a chicken on the forest
floor.
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IF OUR FISH WERE ANY FRESHER, THEY'D STILL BE IN THE BAY.
Two male orioles flitted and cavorted
in the treetops nearby trying to impress
the less gaudy female who was not in-
terested at all but was more concerned
with finding something to eat. There
was even a lone yellow- rumper warbler
that should have gone north by now but
we were glad to see it and add it to our
list. A black- and -white warbler climbed
the trunk and branches of a big swamp
maple, sometimes right side up and
sometimes upside down.
High in the blossoming treetops a
parula warbler was spotted. This is al-
ways a nice bird to find. Its yellow, rust
and bluish -grey makes it a handsome
bird and like most warblers it is a small
and active fellow. On occasion we
would hear the liquid call of a thrush,
both the wood and veery were around us,
and their voices added to the songs
coming from the woods. My friend,
Paul Bernath, has exceptionally good
ears and can pick up the warblers much
better than I. Sorry to say I miss the
high notes and therefore miss many of
their lovely songs.
Wide Variety of Birds Seen
Later we'd see the black- throated
green, the yellow - throated magnolia, the
rare Kentucky and the common redstart
that stays with us to nest in our woods.
Then there was the male rose - breasted
grosbeak that has a large splash of rasp-
berry on its breast. The color can only
be appreciated when it's seen. The fe-
male we saw was a drab brown and
creamy streaked bird, well camouflaged
for her job of sitting on the nest.
There were others but the ones I've
mentioned give you an idea of what is
out there. They'll only be here for a
short time and then will be off to their
northern nesting grounds.
Once again we see the splendor and
variety of our natural world. Once again
we see how important the woods,
marshes, lakes and streams are to the
birds' survival. Without the habitat of
the northern forests to nest in and the
wintering grounds in the tropics and the
stopover areas we provide on their mi-
gration, we'd soon lose these feathered
jewels we look forward to each spring.
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