March, 7, 1991 Home, After Seven Weeks Down UnderMarch 7, 1991 • The Suffolk Times C7
Home, After Seven Weeks Down Under
By Paul Stoutenburah
Snow covered the ground as we
headed home from our 40th anniversary
trip to Hawaii, New Zealand and
Australia. What a contrast to the 80
degree temperatures we had been used
to. We'd planned on this trip for years
and it was hard to realize that now our
seven -week camping trip was over.
Lucky for us the day after we arrived
home the weather moderated; as I
walked down by the little pond in our
pasture, male red - winged blackbirds
sounded from the treetops proclaiming
their nesting territory for the coming
season. I had seen small flocks of
redwings as we left Newark airport
where the ground was white and the
temperature shivered below freezing.
Evidently the eastern seaboard has had
its arrival of redwings.
Male redwings always come about
two or three weeks before the more drab
females arrive. It's then that the male
Puffs out his new reddish - orange
epaulets trying to impress the female
with his beauty. Once he's won over
the female and nest building starts, he
will stand guard over his territory
warding off any intruders.
Of course, you who have been here
on the East End during the winter, I'm
told, have had a rather mild one, which
the green leaves of the protruding
daffodils along our walkway vouch for.
Some have buds already and my faithful
snowdrops under the hemlocks are in
full bloom.
How gratifying to see these bits of
life coming through each year. It gives
one hope that at least some things are
normal and can be counted on year after
year.
Many Messages Received
My telephone message tape has a
long list of information on it but the
ones I enjoy most are the reports from
people who have seen something
unusual in their backyard or along the
roadside and have called it in to alert
me. A glaucous gull was seen amongst
other gulls resting on the playground
alongside Southold School. This is one
of our northern gulls that occasionally
visits us during the winter. It's one of
the all -white gulls that birders keep a
sharp eye out for. Usually we see them
off Montauk during the winter for this
is the place all sorts of unusuals can be
seen. It's why, if you are there at the
break of dawn, you'll see cars from Jer-
sey and the West End filled with bun -
dled-up birders laden down with scopes
and binoculars to check over the waters
there.
Another call told of seeing those odd
geese reported on Plum Island some
time ago called bar- headed or Tibetan
geese. They were last seen in Orient on
the North Shore, which shows how
these birds move about. I wonder where
they'll wind up. These were so unusual
that most believe they were escapees
from someone's collection or an aviary.
A report of harbor seals was gratify-
ing, particularly since they stayed in
front of the person's home for 10 days.
Harbor seals come in various colors;
one of these was whitish with a black
streak across its face and the other a dark
color. At one time seals were quite
common in our bay as suggested by the
name "Robins Island," which, I'm told,
in Dutch means Seal Island. All sight-
ings of seals, whales and porpoises, of
Focus on
Nature
course, should be reported to Okeanos
Ocean Research Foundation in Hampton
Bays (728 - 8013). It's through these ob-
servations we can start to get some indi-
cation of how our area is being used and
perhaps even whether there's an increase
or decrease in the populations.
Red - tailed Hawks Seen
Red - tailed hawks have become more
and more visible during the winter
months and people continue to call in
inquiring about the "big birds" they've
seen sitting in trees or soaring above.
The latest call came from someone who
sees them continually in the big open
areas around the end of the expressway.
I, too, have seen red tails in this area for
the openness of the countryside is what
red - tailed hawks need. It's this habitat
that invites the mice, shrews and rats
that provide most of their food.
When I was a kid one hardly ever saw
this handsome big hawk. Most
probably in those days the public
wasn't that well informed as to the
beneficial part they play in removing
the unwanted mammals from our fields.
Therefore, many were shot just for
sport. Today all hawks are protected and
a wiser public is benefiting. But
probably the most important reason for
more red - tailed hawks today is the
change in habitat.
We no longer have intensified
farming as we did years ago. Many of
the farms have now been left to grow
up into weeds and bushes which makes
a perfect hunting area for these hawks.
Of course, in the winter time with the
leaves off the trees, it is a lot easier to
see hawks sitting along the roadside and
the sharp eye of a casual observer can
usually find them sometime during their
daily travel.
March can be a difficult month some
years. It surely didn't come in like a
lion this year so we might have a few
apprehensions. Yet I've even seen some
people already on these mild days out
Photo by Jim House, Plum Island
BAR - HEADED OR TIBETAN GEESE —These unusual geese were
first spotted on Plum Island mingling with our common Canada geese.
raking in their backyard. Now that's
true optimism for what could lie ahead.
With the lengthening of daylight hours
the chickens are starting to lay more
eggs; a friend of mine has told me that
one of their hens has even started
setting. Let's hope for the chickens'
sake that when they hatch the mild
weather will still be with us. At least
most of the winter months are over and
it won't be long before spring is truly
at hand.
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