June 05, 1980 - The Oriole Is One of Nature's Greatest WeaversSECOND SECTION
JUNE 5, 1980
The Oriole Is One of Nature's Greatest Weavers
Asparagus, rhubarb, strawberries and
weakfish... they all tell us we are living in
the right place and at the right time of the
year. So it has been through the years.
When times were hard my Dad taught
me the fine art of finding wild asparagus
along our creek edges and hedgerows.
Rhubarb was handy and turned up in pies
and sauces that were always on our table.
How it would make your mouth pucker up
when you ate it raw! We'd always counter
that by dipping it in sugar first and then it
became a treat.
Thank goodness for the farmer's cash
crop of strawberries. Remember the four
quarts for a dollar? Whole meals would be
made around strawberry shortcake with
real cream that was scooped from the top
of the bottle. My mother had a special little
gadget that was lowered into the cream,
then closed and brought out the cream.
And the weakfish - - those early days
were the time when I was just an observer.
My Dad's fishing equipment consisted
wholly of a tarred line with a hunk of lead
at the end and hooks baited with squid.
"Stand back son," he'd say as he wound
the line round and round and then heaved
it off into the night. There'd be a pause and
then the familiar "plunk" as the line
landed out in mid channel.
Those Were Exciting Times
Those were the days of kerosene lan-
terns that lined the beach as each
fisherman worked his territory. It was the
time of the tiderunners. I can see now their
great silvery bodies thrashing on the
beach in the glow of the lantern. Those
were exciting times for a boy and it left an
imprint on me that still carries on today.
There are so many things that go on year
after year that we never tire of. Gardens
are planted each year, boats readied for
the season and the familiar birds return
year after year. Perhaps not as many or as
varied as they used to be, but enough to
give us hope that there's still a better
world ahead.
Just the other day, after finishing a
morning's work in our garden, we sat
down to have some lunch outside and found
a familiar nester right above us. The
Baltimore oriole is one of the birds I can
always count on nesting on our place. How
I look forward to seeing his bright orange
and black plumage darting through the
tree tops. This is his territory and it is here
he continually works on the myriads of
insects that attact and tatter our hickory
and oak leave. The female is much more
subdued in color. Like most birds the call
in the spring is to woo a mate and once that
is accomplished he merely chatters on
occasion in his delight for life.
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The nest of the oriole is a work of art. It's
a woven nest usually placed out on the end
of a limb. Many times you'll see it hanging
right over our highways. It seems the bird
enjoys the swaying of these delicate limb
ends. These nests are best seen after the
leaves fall, for they stand out like an old
A good house must have
a good foundation. So it
is with those who are
fortunate enough to
have had the advantage
and good experiences
of growing up here
on the Island.
gray sock hanging in a tree.
Both the male and female build the nest
and love string and strips of cloth to weave
into it. Sometimes we put out old yarn and
cut up string for them. Often, if they can't
get these easy handouts, they'll work on a
piece of twine we've left in the garden or a
fragment of cloth caught on the
clothesline. How they work trying to get it
untied and free.
One year we had sheep in our pasture
and the oriole built its entire nest out of
remnants of sheep wool. I wonder if it
shrunk when it rained! This year's nest in
our back yard is within thirty feet of where
they built last year. No other oriole can
enter this area without a hot pursuit and
chase, for these birds are very jealous of
their territory. Other birds can enter, but
not other orioles. It's quiet around the nest
now, which means the female is probably
incubating. Soon the young will hatch and
the hungry mouths will be fed from dawn
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A NOTE FROM THE ARTIST
"My credo from the beginning has been
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and to display it in all its glory." �� •
BABY BALTIMORE ORIOLES - -The colorful orange and black parent
orioles that are found mostly in the treetops will soon be down to feed
these hungry mouths. These young have just left their hanging nest to
venture forth into the world. Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
to dark.
A few years ago I photographed some
fluffy young that already had started to
lose their pin feathers and gain their gaudy
colors. Like children of our own they
always seem to be ready to eat, and
whenever the adults approached their
mouths were wide open, triggering the
instinct to feed.
We have another oriole that visits us on
�S
mushr000
P.O. BOX 550 • MAIN RD.
AQUEBOGUE, N.Y. 11 93 1
(516) 722 -3338
occasion. It's not as vividly colored as the
Baltimore and seldom nests here on the
island. Its color is more rusty and the bird
itself seems more evasive. If you spot one
of these orchard orioles you can count
yourself quite lucky, for it's considered a
rare visitor here.
As summer moves on many of us will
recall past days of joy and events. Guess
that's one of the advantages of growing
older. Past experiences and events are
what we build on and, as the old adage
goes, a good house must have a good
foundation. So it is with those who are
fortunate to have had the advantage and
good experiences of growing up here on the
Island.
PAULSTOUTENBURGH
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