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August 23, 1990 - A Farewell to the Birds of SummerC12 The Suffolk Times • August 23, 1990 A Farewell to the Birds of Summer By Paul Stoutenburgh At this time of year a group of us al- ways make a pilgrimage to the flats in Moriches Bay to witness the shorebird migration. These areas, like others along our south shore, are vital to the birds on their long and difficult flight south. Here they rest and renew their en- Focus on Nature ergy supply. Four of us would gather with scopes, tripods and binoculars and a light lunch and drive to the foot of one of the many roads that lead to the bay; we'd launch our trailered boat for the trip across. Past the Coast Guard station with its well -kept grounds and efficient - looking rescue boats lay our destination just in- side the inlet. Moriches and Shinnecock inlets are the lifeblood that feeds the productive bays behind the barrier beach all along the south shore to Fire Island Inlet. As we sped across the now -calm wa- ters we could see long strings of cor- morants flying above, heading on their southward journey. These formations to some might seem like geese but a close examination of their flight pattern and silhouette soon reveals the difference. An occasional tree swallow was also seen heading along the same path that parallels the shore. Later, as the summer season closes down, the steady stream of tree, barn and rough - winged swallows will be seen. Often these migrations build up in some localities where there'll be thousands of swallows congregating in one spot. These masses of birds weigh the limbs of trees and bushes down with their weight and rest on telephone and electric wires so tightly that it seems impossible to fit another bird on them. Birds Greet Us Our landing spot would be on a sandy beach half -way in the inlet on the east side. It didn't take us long to set up our scopes. Within a stone's throw a beauti- ful black -bellied plover stood along the edge of the water. Had he filled his en- ergy requirements and was now just resting? He typified all the shorebirds we'd be seeing for he had just returned from the near Arctic where he and others had performed their annual cycle of renewal that has been going on for eons. In that treeless tundra area each r„utu uy raw oiuukCnuu,yu OYSTERCATCHERS —These large and noisy shorebirds with distinctive black- and -white markings and colorful orange bills nest in ever - increasing numbers along the south shore. spring there is an abundance of insect life that feeds the hungry mouths of a newborn generation. It's the rich protein diet that builds the young to the strength they need for their long migration south. No sooner are the young fledged than it is time to move on. Right behind the black - bellied plover was a smaller shorebird, just a bit larger than a sparrow — the semi - palmated sandpiper. The yellowlegs and black band around the throat easily identified this run- and -stop migrant. A shorebird that looks somewhat similar is our own endangered piping plover that nests along our beaches in the early spring and is having a difficult time existing with man and his paraphernalia taking over his nesting sites. Everywhere we looked there were common terns and gulls flying and rest- ing on the shores and, of course, we'd have to look them over just in case there was something special in amongst them. Heron or Egret? As we moved along the beach, stop- ping more than moving, we realized what a wide variety of bird life was be- fore us. From the largest great blue heron and great white egrets to the smallest "peeps" (shorebirds smaller than a sparrow) we were to examine them through our magnified eyes of scopes and binoculars. One small white bird we checked and rechecked proved to be an immature little blue heron. This bird could easily be mistaken for the more common snowy egret with yellow feet but now we could see the different - colored bill and black legs and feet that put it in another category. The sharp ears of one of our group picked up the call of a roseate tern now on the endangered list. Ninety -nine per- cent of the terns we would see would be common terns along with this year's young so this roseate tern with its al- most pure -white body and long tail was a nice find. Terns like the piping plover nest on our beaches and are having the same problems sharing their nesting sites with man. The wild cry of the oystercatcher was continually in our ears. This big, bold, black - and -white shorebird with its long, bright- orange, knife -like bill is a bird that is making a good comeback; I can remember when they were a rare sight here on Long Island. Today they nest all along our South Shore and offshore is- lands. By now we'd moved to a more advan- tageous position for viewing where the light was behind us. Noisy willets were everywhere. Turnstones, least sand- pipers, yellow -legs, a lone spotted sand- piper, knots, dowitchers — our list was growing. We were having a good day. Then an unusual black tern was spotted. All glasses focused in on this wanderer from the freshwater areas of central and northern New York. Seldom do we see this freshwater visitor along our coast. Checking over a flock of gulls preen- ing themselves on the flats to the south we picked out five or six royal terns. These are not common to our area but lately we've been finding more and more of these southern visitors spending the summer in our East End waters. They are gull -size terns with bright- orange bills. Monarchs Start Migration Now and then a lazy Monarch butter- fly would glide past us on its flight westward. September and October would see this now - casual flight turn into an urgent and deliberate flight south by thousands of black- and - orange butter- flies. Their migration along the south shore is one everyone looks forward to. What an amazing trip for such a deli- cate, seemingly windblown traveler. Our feet and pants were wet from passing through the small bodies of wa- ter out on the flats. The heat of the sun had tried to dry up some of our energy and the greenheads kept us company but nevertheless we persisted and were en- joying every minute of our shorebird sa- fari. I'm sure the boaters and fishermen who were continually passing by scratched their heads and wondered what we were doing, but the four birders on the flats of Moriches on a bright sum- mer's day were having a ball. •• ••••••••••••••••• Catch Southold : on the Upbeat The Suffolk Times : `Zile Tirdwafdw"s Companion '&0044 for 1w 'Birder" • Bird Feeders • Field Guides • Bird Baths • Carvings • Bird Houses • Seed /Suet • Binoculars • Gifts • Bird Tapes • Bird Jewelry • Bird T -Shirts • Bird Artwork North Road, (County Road 48), Southold 765 -5872 OPEN OPEN 7 DAYS YEAR ROUND