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January 03, 1980 - Bird Count LowPage 14 BIRD COUNT LOW focus on nature -by Paul Stoutenburgh There must be something we're doing wrong, for inevitably when we schedule our Orient Christmas Bird Count the weather is against us. So it was when the 28th came around this year. The ravages of the northwest wind beat us into submission -- our eyes watered as we peered through our binoculars in search of birds, and the water was literally blown out of the bay, leaving great wet areas along our shores and in our creeks. For those who know what was going on weatherwise, it meant get out your old boots, grab a bucket and rake and head for soft clam territory. The tide had revealed its treasures. I could pick out these hearty souls with my binoculars from across the water -- a single figure bent over with rake and pail at his side and that low hummock of newly dug spoil in front. Then the hand picked up what had to be soft clams and tossed them in the bucket. Someone would have a real feast that night. All day long our party worked the marshes, fields, woods and wet areas of our territory, which ran from Orient Point to the causeway outside of East Marion. Other parties were working East Marion and Greenport to Southold, another did Southold to Peconic, while three parties worked Shelter Island, including Mashomack, and our southside party covered Sag Harbor, Noyac and the Morton Sanctuary... thirty people in all from before dawn to after dark. The great horned owl stands 18 inches tall and, like the lion in the animal kingdom, is king. Every other bind fears his presence. Rare Great Horned Owl Found The pre -dawn time is most important for it's then we try to locate owls by sound. This was made almost impossible by the howling wind in the treetops. Yet we did have an exciting find -- my son Peter and John Brush flushed out a great horned owl in the Peconic area. We often find them on Shelter Island, but it's rare here on the North Fork. This owl stands 18 inches tall and, like the lion in the animal kingdom, is king. Every other bird fears his presence. My first experience with this giant night- time marauder was years ago when a duck farmer on the south side reported he was losing a duck a night from his breeding stock. Just an ordinary duck would not have been missed in the maze of ducks on a duck farm, but select breeding stock was some- thing special and watched carefully. All sorts of ideas came forth. Raccoons. Cats. Dogs. Perhaps even man. Nothing seemed to fit. High fences, no trace of a kill and a watchdog outside the pen ... it had to be something else. The 6uffolk Time% Then an oldtimer suggested a great horned owl. A trap was set and sure enough the very next night a huge, fierce, great horned owl was caught. After all you couldn't blame him, those fat juicy ducks were mighty tasty. Not wanting to kill the bird ( which is quite unusual) the owner called me and asked for help. Sure, I'd take him and make sure he was set free far enough away so he'd do no harm -- and I did; but in the meantime I got to know intimately how handsome and majestic this bird can be. Whenever the bird got excited it would fluff out its feathers, making it double its size, then it would click its bill rapidly, giving it the look of some ferocious beast. No wonder it ruled the air at night! Searchers Take No Chances On another occasion the nest of a great horned owl was found in the big north woods between Bridgehampton and Southampton. It was high in the crotch of a black, oak. The woods were still in the grip of winter which made the nest stand out. Owls usually use an old hawk's or crow's nest. They start incubation any time be- tween late February through April. There have been reports of finding owls incubating eggs on their nests completely covered with snow. I had come to photograph, while the others in the group had come to observe this seldom -seen bandit of the night. We'd all read tales of how these owls had attacked intruders and we were taking no chances. From the ground we could see the large fluffy young tan birds sitting on the nest edge. They were well along in growth. Those of us who were to climb had brought along special heavy clothing, head gear and gloves. The ultimate in protection which I remember was a fencing mask that one of our party wore. He was taking no chances of being ripped by those sharp talons. After all people had lost eyes, been knocked out of trees and in general been pretty badly roughed up by these great owls. We were lucky the adult birds stayed away as we laboriously climbed the nearby trees to get a closer look. I was amazed how large the young were and how they could swivel their heads almost completely around. How their big eyes followed us! All went well and I got my good shots of the young until I made the wrong move and lost my camera. Down it went, bouncing from limb to limb and half burying itself in the leaves below. Needless to say that ended that day's photographing. Day Proves Disappointing After owling in the early morning our parties spread out to scout and record any bird seen. It was disappointing as the day went on, for birds were in short supply. Previous counts found good supplies of both sea ducks and shore birds, but today we were counting in the ones and twos. Land birds, such as the sparrows, were almost non- existent. The wind had something to do with it, but not everything. Was it the warm weather? Were the birds spread out because of it or what? 727-6300 January 3, 1980 GREAT HORNED OWL - -This night -time bandit is a rare find on our North Shore. One was seen in Peconic on December 28 by two of the Orient Christmas Bird Count observers. Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh All day long we walked, searching and looking. Toward late afternoon we knew the count would be down this year. One more try for a night heron where we'd always found one. No. And so in the fading light we headed home. Others would be meeting at our place for the tallying and warm drink and food my wife had prepared. Refreshed there, we all got out our lists and started tallying the total. Some of the Birds seen on the count this year were: 17 Starling Com. Loon to Red - tailed Hawk 13 Horned Grebe 52 Rough - legged Hawk 1 Great Cormorant 1 Marsh Hawk 8 Dbl. -cr. Cormorant 10 Merlin 3 Great Blue Heron 48 Am. Kestrel 23 Mute Swan 34 Bobwhite 10 Canada Goose 1108 Ring - necked Pheasant 13 Mallard 468 American Coot 1 Black Duck 652 Black - bellied Plover 3 Gadwall 50 Ruddy Turnstone 2 Canvasback 36 Am. Woodcock 1 Greater Scaup 949 Dunlin 2 Com. Goldeneye 524 Gr. Bl.- backed Gull 105 Bufflehead 509 Herring Gull 4479 Oldsquaw 368 Ring - billed Gull 55 Wh.- winged Scoter 642 Bonaparte's Gull 7 Surf Scoter 107 Rock Dove 519 Black Scoter 157 Mourning Dove 834 Hooded Merganser 1 Barn Owl I Com. Merganser 1 Screech Owl 3 Red -br. Merganser 250 Great Horned Owl 2 Sharp- shinned Hawk 5 Short -eared Owl I most common birds were missing. There were a few highlights; our great horned owl and a red - headed woodpecker on Shelter Island, a red - bellied woodpecker, and so on. Our total came to 88 species -- lowest count in 10 years and far short of our high 112 in 1976. But then that's part of the game -- you win a few and of course you lose some also. The main thing is never to stop playing the game. Belted Kingfisher 17 Starling 2944 Com. Flicker 39 Orange- crown. Warbler 1 Red -head. Woodpecker 1 Yel. -rump. Warbler 513 Red - bellied Woodpecker 2 House Sparrow 197 Hairy Woodpecker 6 E. Meadowlark 73 Downy Woodpecker 38 Red- winged Blackbird 45 Horned Lark 10 Rusty Blackbird 3 Blue Jay 139 Com. Grackle 2 Com. Crow 130 Cardinal 138 Chickadee 305 House Finch 535 Tufted Titmouse 14 Am. Goldfinch 9 Wh.- breasted Nuthatch 34 Rufous -sided Towhee 4 Brown Creeper 1 Savannah Sparrow 3 Winter Wren 2 Sharp - tailed Sparrow 3 Carolina Wren 9 Dark -eyed Junco 58 Mockingbird 68 Tree Sparrow 28 Gray Catbird 11 Field Sparrow 74 Brown Thrasher 2 Wh: throated Sparrow 384 Am. Robin 178 Fox Sparrow 2 Hermit Thrush 3 Swamp Sparrow 5 Golden - crown. Kinglet 1 Song Sparrow 193 Ruby- crown. Kinglet 7 Snow Bunting 78 Individuals seen 18,454 20% OFF ALL FALL AND WINTER MERCHANDISE INCLUDING SUITS, SPORT JACKETS, SLACKS, SWEATERS, OUTERWEAR, AND MUCH MORE � I �I I II I' We Want You To Look Good Major Credit Cards Accepted 103 E. Main St., Riverhead 727 -1919 24 Main St., Southampton 283 -2668