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April 04, 1991 - Build a Nest, Presto: Instant TenantC8 The'Suffolk Times • April 4, 1991 Build a Nest., Presto: Instant Tenant By Paul Stoutenburgh As you recall, I recently wrote about how to build an osprey platform. Dur- ing the last two weeks a group of us has been putting up new platforms and repairing old ones and I thought it ap- propriate to tell of our last exploit in this field. For years I've been wanting to get a nesting osprey in the big open West Creek in New Suffolk but for some rea- son or another we just never got around to it. This year we mustered the needed effort and put a nest on the marsh, using the old standby of 4" Flex -O -Seal irrigation pipe for the main support. The day Tim and I put it up was a windy one and most of the water had blown out of the creek, so walking out on the marsh was no real problem. Both of us think the marshes of our East End are special and being out on them in the late afternoon as the sun was setting low over the trees to the west made the effort worthwhile. We could tell by the various textures of the grasses where the wet and soggy spots were and where the firm, drier walking areas would be. Water level on the marsh can be easily recognized by the different vegetation that grows on it. Where the tide comes and goes each day will support the taller thatch grass, Spartina Alterniflora. Where the tide only passes over it occasionally on storm tides and the two monthly spring tides you'll find the low salt hay, or Spartina Patens. Then there are the higher elevations where man has dis- turbed the marsh, such as along mosquito drains. Here we find the high - tide bush growing that stands out bush- like in appearance. 15, 315-Hi Focus on Nature We lugged the heavy galvanized pipe, the prebuilt platform, post -hole digger, extra wood for the braces, and hammer and nails out to the site we'd selected by Larry Tuthill's instructions: "Go ahead put it up anywhere around the duck blind." That was no problem and so we selected a solid place just to the south of the blind and far enough away from man's summer activities to make it a perfect location. As Tim went back for more gear I started digging with the two - handled post -hole digger. It was tough going at the beginning for the six -inch round plug of bog was solid roots, testifying to the bulwark the marsh in general pro- duces against erosion. As I labored to get through this tough upper layer, I only wished people who live on the creeks would start to appreciate the good job the salt marsh does as a protector of the uplands. Some persist on having a white sandy beach that will only erode away their property in time. Education about the good of a marsh is most im- portant here. Once through the first 10 inches or so, the going got easier and my six -inch hole went deeper and deeper into the ooze below. About three feet down, the post -hole digger could no longer hold its load of soft mud and decayed roots. Yet the bottom was still soft, which meant that the pole would probably slide down into it two feet more. Actually, a marsh's age can be calcu- lated by the depth of the bog. This par- mil alasay Sod & Seed Lawns • Shrubs - Shade Trees Stone Driveways Mattituck, N.Y. 11952 298 -4863 Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh OSPREY —One recently installed osprey platform lured a tenant in less than 24 hours. Through the years building materials have been anything from sticks, old pieces of plastic, corn stalks, reeds, old rope, seaweed and even the deadly monofilament fishing line. ticular bog goes back centuries when the ocean was much lower and our bays and creeks were mere drainage basins for the wild runoff of the land. Then, gradually, as the glaciers melted and the sea rose in the drainage basins of our bays and creeks, the marshes started to grow. Slowly, ever so slowly, the silt from the upland was filtered and trapped by the marsh, building the height of the marsh a trifle each year. Marshes Grow Today This process of filtering out and hold- ing on to sediment is stilt going on as the seas still rise but at a much slower rate. The marsh I was cutting through was like the rings of a ti,,e that tells its age. Some bogs on Long Island have been reported to be 10 to 20 feet in depth. With the hole dug, the preassem- bled platform was put into the end and nailed through the pipe. With much ef- fort and just plain guts, mostly by Tim, the platform and pole were raised up and dropped into the hole. It must have gone down at least two feet deeper into the ancient ooze below the bottom of my hole. To secure the four -inch pipe in the Great lawn & garden specials are springing up all over. WATCH FOR OUR CIRCULAR IN YOUR POST OFFICE BOX. HUNDREDS OF ITEMS ON SALE. H O M E & G A R D E N North Road and S H 7AVWPIACE � 765 -3600 Ackerly Pond Lane, %0 v� Southold FOW� six -inch hole, I went and got some sand from a nearby sand bar and worked it around the pole as we squared it up to a true position. Once packed by the sand and a few small boards around the bot- tom, it became steady and solid. We'd taken the precaution of putting some old dead limbs and sticks on the platform with a few handfuls of dried grasses to help give it the appearance of a deserted nest. The job done, we re- treated just as the sun set, leaving the creek to the wind and a few gulls that were still hoping for a last- minute meal before nightfall. The next day I couldn't help wonder- ing if our osprey platform had made it through the night's strong winds and, if possible, had attracted a tenant. Whether it was that curiosity or my just wanting to get out of the house, I don't know. But shortly after, Barbara and I headed down New Suffolk Lane to check. As we rounded the bend my eyes searched the marsh and at first couldn't find the platform because it was engulfed in the black background of trees across the marsh. Then I saw it. Was that a bird on it? I wouldn't let my hopes go too high for seagulls often perch on abandoned nests and this could be just that. We drove closer and got the binoculars out. Slowly I found the post and worked my way up to the platform, focusing as I went along. Sure enough, an osprey was sitting on it as if it had been used for years. Would he stay? Or was it one of the young birds that just play house and then leave? The next day we checked again. This time the bird had added material to the nest as we could see a long dangling piece of nesting material hanging from the platform. In less than 24 hours we'd lured an osprey to a well - located plat- form. Our efforts had paid off and we were satisfied. Recycling Lecture CUTCHOGUE —The North Fork Audubon Society will present David Newton with a lecture on recycling Wednesday, April 17, at 8 p.m. The program will be presented at the Cutchogue Presbyterian Church, Main Road. Mr. Newton is recycling coordinator of Suffolk County. A question- and -an- swer period will follow his lecture.