May 12, 1988 - Beach Nesters vs. Wheels of ProgressPage .40Afrhe- Suffolk• times /May 112, 1988'
Beach Nesters vs. Wheels of progress
By Paul Stoutenburgh
This week the terns are back from
their winter vacation which means we
have to start planning for their protec-
tion once again. They are the little
white birds, smaller than a gull and
much more dainty, we see feeding al-
most anywhere there are small bait fish.
Man has invaded the land where terns
have nested since time began, just as he
did the land of the Indians. Now we are
trying to rectify our mistakes by a con-
Focus on
Nature
certed effort spearheaded by Cornell's
Seatuck Research Laboratory in
cooperation with the Department of En-
vironmental Conservation and the Na-
ture Conservancy. Once the individual
nesting sites of piping plovers and terns
are located, a program will be set up for
their protection.
We have two basic terns on the East
End. They are the common tern, a larger
bird than its cousin, the least tern. Both
nest in colonies on our beaches. These
lovely, sleek, black- and -white birds can
be seen in our creeks, bays, sound and
ocean', they are no stranger to man and
are an intricate part of the web of life.
The common tern is now listed as
"threatened" not only by the state but by
the federal government as well. These
listings give them a powerful hand of
protection.
Locating the Sites
One problem is to locate the sites and
set up a network of people who will
oversee the last remaining bits of beach
habitat so essential for the survival of
these birds. Nature Conservancy has
hired an exciting group of young
professionals to monitor these sites and
I spent a morning just this week show-
ing two of them around our area.
I'm always impressed when working
with young people involved in the out -
dam world by their enthusiasm and
defficatiom 'I7> = seems to be an job too
big or too small for them to tile.
fish
Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
YOUNG PIPING PLOVER - -Once fledged from its beach nest, this tiny
plover with its perfect camouflage seems to disappear into the sand. But
there is little protection from its greatest threat: man.
Whether it's checking a site a mile
down the beach in hopes of seeing a
possible nesting plover or jotting down
a person's name who might be willing
to help, they perform their job with
vigor.
Barbara and I slipped off last week for
a few hours to check on one location
where we knew plovers nested. If you
remember, we had some pretty rotten
weather. Yet, as we walked the beach
with heavy jackets on and collars turned
up, we found a lone piping plover just
back from the south. It, too, seemed to
resent the dreary cold and moved only
when we approached. Its plaintive
"peep -lo" sounded so forlorn and yet it
rang with a tone of survival. It almost
seemed to say, "Just give me a chance
and I'll settle down here to raise my
family on this beach where my ances-
tors nested for centuries." Piping
plovers are early nesters and often have
started incubating their four large eggs
in the sand before the terns come back.
Help from Nature Conservancy
Plovers are birds of the water's edge
and it's between the high- and low -water
marks they make their living. Terns, on
the other hand, earn their living by div-
ing for small fish in our local waters.
The terns nest in colonies, as I said, and
like the piping plovers need an undis-
turbed beach or spoil area.
We had made our start by finding a
lone plover. Now I was about to take
two young Nature Conservancy people
around to locate other sites. Armed with
binoculars and maps we started off.
The first three sites we hit had no
birds at all. There were lots of tire tracks
from four -wheel vehicles but no birds.
We were particularly interested in find-
ing least terns and plovers since they are
both considered endangered. They nest
on the beaches above the high -tide
mark. Sorry to say, many of the sites
were lined with vehicle tracks.
There is a definite problem here that
needs to be addressed. By educating not
We're fresh...
not frozen'.
iMe-
LIIIII[ &I " -
407 i�
all In / Takeout 477 -2828
8 Main Street, Greenport
We bread 'em fresh, we cook 'em fresh - just for you.. Not everyone does.
Taste the difference fresh -to -order makes!
IF OUR FISH WERE ANY FRESHER, THEY'D STILL BE IN THE BAY.
only the drivers of vehicles but the
public as well as to when and where
these threatened and endangered species
nest, we hope the public.will keep away
during nesting time. Once fledging is
over, the area can be opened to the pub-
lic. Through pamphlets, signs, fencing,
the arm of the law and cooperation of
many volunteers, the tide might change
for these wonderful creatures that make
our lives richer.
Nature's Code
Many of the wheel tracks made in
these nesting areas are done unknow-
ingly. Surely, fishermen appreciate the
tern, whether it be a common or least
tern, for they are the fisherman's friend.
Ask any one of them what a flock of
these birds working over the water
means and they'll reply, "There's fish
below." It's true. The tern lives on
small fish, most of them swimming
below the surface, out of reach, but
when a predator fish like a bluefish or
weakfish attacks the school they are
driven in a frenzy to the surface. It's
here we often see fish breaking the water
in their mad dash of feeding and it's here
the terns will move in to reap the re-
ward. Sometimes they catch the whole
fish when it leaps out of the way of the
predator. Other times they merely get
scraps left from thrashing jaws. This
fantastic activity is all part of the natu-
ral world's code of eat or be eaten.
After our first disappointments,
things started to improve. We located
piping plovers at three sites and at one a
nest with four eggs. We were rewarded
also with new arrivals of least and
common terns. They were resting after
their long flight from the south and
were already starting their courting ritu-
als. It wouldn't be long now before
they, too, would be nesting.
We hope terns and plovers will be
with us forever. Without some sort of
protection, however, in a time when our
natural world is being depleted more and
more, the picture looks rather grim.
We're only asking that these sites be off
limits during the brief nesting period
between the middle of May and the end
of July. It's not much to ask. Most of
the areas are quite small but it is
important that they be left alone. -
�1r��, >f.• ??:; {.yti,}.r;�.C:O:,•%'. ?rR }:;.x:v:?.:: ?:: ? ?:4i:3i: � ?:v is {:::G::i` }'v'vi:•rrn
{ti"'4vr %•:.S?n�''" \'4+i}'rC•:.r} •:. •i �•
} t
l
i
•.y} ' , { ?i.6�PC�{�LiYfNNritM.
Sometimes
We're
Down
In The
Dumps
NORTH FORK SANITATION SERVICE
Garbage & Rubbish Removal
Roy A. Schelin, Prop. 765 -2868