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June 22, 1989 - Caution, Drivers: It's Turtle Time816 The Suffolk Times • June 22, 1989 Caution, By Paul Stoutenburah As the years go by it seems my sail- boat is put in later and later each year. When we took off the canvas cover this year I was surprised to find a starling had started to build its nest under the port side. Evidently it gave up, finding it too hot under the heavy tarpaulin. It reminded me of years ago when some Focus on Nature friends had a mourning dove build on the stern of their sail boat. Doves nest early and so, working around the nest, the owner was able to get his boat ready and still have the pleasure of watching the family as it grew and eventually fledged its young. When all the work is done and the bottom has a fresh coat of paint on she's ready to be hauled from our pas- ture to the shipyard for launching. What with all the rain we've had we jumped at the one day of sunshine in between cloudbursts and got her out just in time. It's a real problem if we get caught in the wet pasture because the hauling truck gets stuck. Of course, there is al- ways the correct timing of opening the gates so the cows don't get out as the truck and boat slowly approach. Luckily the lush grass from the heavy rains kept them busy and we were able to make it with no trouble. Turtles Saved from Cars I am not sure if it's the rain we've had or if it is the "roaming time" for turtles but I've seen more box turtles crossing the roads lately than usual. Of course, I saw one in its perilous trek on our way over to the shipyard and had to stop and put it safely on the opposite side of the road. It's good to see more and more people are becoming conscious of these slow- moving creatures and doing the same. They're doomed on our roads if not caught early enough. Studies have shown that box turtles don 't leave the general area where they were born but stay in a 400- 500 -foot area most of their lives. They've also found out that box turtles live to a ripe old age of 80, 90 or 100 years. Turtles hatch from a leathery shell deposited by the female in the soft earth where the sun incubates them through the warm summer months. It's early or late fall when they hatch and crawl out of their earthly home and forage for WEST MILL FUELS INC. C.O.D. 300 gal. $389 200 gal. $399 150 gal. $.829 • Automatic scheduling. • Premium diesel fuel. • Plus tax as applicable. • Prices subject to change without notice. 298-5146 t. , :1. Drivers: It's Turtle Time Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh BOX TURTLE —This is the season to watch out for the road you might enable it to live to the reported turtles. If you see one and it's possible to help it cross ripe, old age of 70, 80 or even 100. berries, mushrooms, insects and worms so they can fatten up for their winter sleep. In the fall they return to an earthy den they dig out where they spend the cold winter months. Turtles, like most wildlife, are having a difficult time as their native woodland habitat slowly becomes homesites, shopping centers, roads, etc.; so they need every bit of help they can get from us. Swallows Under the Docks Once at the yard we left the boat to be launched the following day and, wouldn't you know it, the day turned cloudy and the wind blew at almost gale force. I was there by seven to do some last- minute rigging as we were to be launched at eight that morning. Once lowered into the water, we started set- ting the mast and tuning the rigging. As we worked barn swallows flew about us. They were disturbed by our presence for they had nested under the docks and launching platforms. They also built in some of the outbuildings and it was good to see them flying about; with the rains we've had the mosquito population needs everything it can get to keep it under control. A kingfisher had come into the boat basin and was sitting on a tree that overhung the protective water of th marina. His hopes were for a killie t show itself so it could plunge in for its early morning meal. Evidently the high winds had roughed the water so much outside it made fishing impossible for him. I know where he nests along the banks of the bay not too far from the shipyard. The tunnel of the kingfisher goes back about three feet in the bank to a nesting cavity where they raise their young well protected from predators. Once the mast was stepped and we were tidied up, I tried the little diesel. It cranked and cranked, coughed a few times and then finally started. That day luck was on my side. The lines were cast off and I crept out of the narrow passageway where boats were docked all along the side. The weather was so foul that no one was on their boat. A lonely swan moved around one of the larger power boats evidently looking for a handout. It doesn't take them long to find out that people will feed them if they beg but no one was here today. This was probably a young bird and one who had lost in the mating game. There are always those non - breeders that have to wait for another season and some- times they'll gather in groups of 30 or FIsherniads Rest. eve t&M 9d&td,& Scene &vk J104 MAIN ROAD, CUTCHOGUE • 734 -5155 Open Tuesday - Friday 3:30 - 10 pm Saturday - Sunday 11:30 am - 11:00 pm c Closed Mondays Congratulations to the class of 1989 EARLY BIRD SPECIALS Tues. - Fri. 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. • Sat. & Sun. 11:30 to 5:00 p.m. A family restaurant with complete menu available for take out e 40. Probably sulking over their lost a loves. I could feel the fury of the wind as I left the shelter of the canal and headed out into the bay. Rain started spitting and the water took on an ominous dark hue. On I went almost triumphantly rolling with the sea that was now run- ning outside. Even the gulls were miss- ing. They were probably at the dump, or as we say today, the landfill. What they'll do when these landfills are all closed in the very near future I do not know. I passed the point where the horseshoe crabs had come up to spawn just a month ago. Barbara and I had marked the calendar for the next full moon and had visited the shores to see how the spawning was coming. We dug down three or four inches in the loose sand along the high -tide mark and sure enough there they were almost invisible in their BB -sized plastic covering. We collected a few and later with a hand lens at home we could see little curled up crabs inside their clear, hard - shelled cas- ings. If we looked long enough we could actually see their tiny feelers moving as they stretched and tried to break loose. This would come later as they would develop and work out of their shell and then up through the sand at high tide to drift away by the thou- sands. Here they would live on the plankton of our rich creeks and bays, shedding and growing, shedding and growing, some being eaten by predators, others learning the ways to survive. In the end only a few would reach maturity and come back to the shores again to spawn. Over in the cove I tied the SeaWind to her mooring. Here she'd stay tethered, swinging in the wind until we'd set her free for a trip somewhere. I rode the dinghy in, content with the day's work. Two ospreys hung in the thermals over the high bluffs taking advantage of the strong winds that blew out of the southwest. They too were predators and their hungry young were waiting on their nesting platform for their fair share ..'a " atwo's- bounties. .... .. WA H � L 1 IN IN �9 x 'v Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh BOX TURTLE —This is the season to watch out for the road you might enable it to live to the reported turtles. If you see one and it's possible to help it cross ripe, old age of 70, 80 or even 100. berries, mushrooms, insects and worms so they can fatten up for their winter sleep. In the fall they return to an earthy den they dig out where they spend the cold winter months. Turtles, like most wildlife, are having a difficult time as their native woodland habitat slowly becomes homesites, shopping centers, roads, etc.; so they need every bit of help they can get from us. Swallows Under the Docks Once at the yard we left the boat to be launched the following day and, wouldn't you know it, the day turned cloudy and the wind blew at almost gale force. I was there by seven to do some last- minute rigging as we were to be launched at eight that morning. Once lowered into the water, we started set- ting the mast and tuning the rigging. As we worked barn swallows flew about us. They were disturbed by our presence for they had nested under the docks and launching platforms. They also built in some of the outbuildings and it was good to see them flying about; with the rains we've had the mosquito population needs everything it can get to keep it under control. A kingfisher had come into the boat basin and was sitting on a tree that overhung the protective water of th marina. His hopes were for a killie t show itself so it could plunge in for its early morning meal. Evidently the high winds had roughed the water so much outside it made fishing impossible for him. I know where he nests along the banks of the bay not too far from the shipyard. The tunnel of the kingfisher goes back about three feet in the bank to a nesting cavity where they raise their young well protected from predators. Once the mast was stepped and we were tidied up, I tried the little diesel. It cranked and cranked, coughed a few times and then finally started. That day luck was on my side. The lines were cast off and I crept out of the narrow passageway where boats were docked all along the side. The weather was so foul that no one was on their boat. A lonely swan moved around one of the larger power boats evidently looking for a handout. It doesn't take them long to find out that people will feed them if they beg but no one was here today. This was probably a young bird and one who had lost in the mating game. There are always those non - breeders that have to wait for another season and some- times they'll gather in groups of 30 or FIsherniads Rest. eve t&M 9d&td,& Scene &vk J104 MAIN ROAD, CUTCHOGUE • 734 -5155 Open Tuesday - Friday 3:30 - 10 pm Saturday - Sunday 11:30 am - 11:00 pm c Closed Mondays Congratulations to the class of 1989 EARLY BIRD SPECIALS Tues. - Fri. 3:30 to 5:00 p.m. • Sat. & Sun. 11:30 to 5:00 p.m. A family restaurant with complete menu available for take out e 40. Probably sulking over their lost a loves. I could feel the fury of the wind as I left the shelter of the canal and headed out into the bay. Rain started spitting and the water took on an ominous dark hue. On I went almost triumphantly rolling with the sea that was now run- ning outside. Even the gulls were miss- ing. They were probably at the dump, or as we say today, the landfill. What they'll do when these landfills are all closed in the very near future I do not know. I passed the point where the horseshoe crabs had come up to spawn just a month ago. Barbara and I had marked the calendar for the next full moon and had visited the shores to see how the spawning was coming. We dug down three or four inches in the loose sand along the high -tide mark and sure enough there they were almost invisible in their BB -sized plastic covering. We collected a few and later with a hand lens at home we could see little curled up crabs inside their clear, hard - shelled cas- ings. If we looked long enough we could actually see their tiny feelers moving as they stretched and tried to break loose. This would come later as they would develop and work out of their shell and then up through the sand at high tide to drift away by the thou- sands. Here they would live on the plankton of our rich creeks and bays, shedding and growing, shedding and growing, some being eaten by predators, others learning the ways to survive. In the end only a few would reach maturity and come back to the shores again to spawn. Over in the cove I tied the SeaWind to her mooring. Here she'd stay tethered, swinging in the wind until we'd set her free for a trip somewhere. I rode the dinghy in, content with the day's work. Two ospreys hung in the thermals over the high bluffs taking advantage of the strong winds that blew out of the southwest. They too were predators and their hungry young were waiting on their nesting platform for their fair share ..'a " atwo's- bounties. ....