July 30, 1981 - Shore Birds Head SouthSECOND SECTION Tbr *Uffiolh Tvtmr5 JULY 30, 1981
Shore Birds Head South
It's migration time for shore birds again
no matter where you are. If you're near
the bay or the ocean, you're going to start
to see these speedy little migrants from
now through September. All their energies
will be directed toward their flight south -
ward.
Although a few nest locally, the great
majority of shore birds in the spring head
north and pass us by for the lonely barren
lands of the tundra. Here the summer
pauses but a few months and it's during
this short explosion of life that the shore
birds raise their young. After they pass
through in the spring, it seems no time at
a)] when they are heading back south
again.
The greatest concentrations from now
on will be found along the south shore,
particularly around Mecox, Shinnecock,
Moriches and Fire Island, where large
expanses of sand and muddy flats prevail.
We see glimpses of their passing in the
bays of Peconic at such areas as the sandy
beaches along Orient State Park, Cedar
Beach, Jessups and Nassau Point along
with the isolated areas of Robins Island.
These are the favorite spots for stopovers
to feed and rest.
How fortunate we are that there are still
places left here on Long Island where they
can replenish themselves before their
strenuous trip ahead of them. Some will
to
go south as so many people do,
spending the winter months along our
armer shores. Others will press still
further south, crossing great bodies of
waters to Central and South America.
Some actually wind up on the great plains
of Argentina. All have a programmed
destination inherited through eons of time.
Most shore birds are relatively small.
Some are even smaller than our common
sparrow. All have powerful pointed wings
that are necessary for these long, tedious
migrations. None are bright colored, but
instead are the hues of browns, blacks and
whites. To most they are a nightmare of
identification, yet to those who follow them
they are exquisite in flight and shape. To
see a tight group of 50 -100 of these flashing
shore birds twist and turn in unison is a
sight never to be forgotten.
Air Ballet
To this day man has no explanation as to
how they can maneuver in unison and not
collide. It appears as if each were wired to
a single computer that gave the com-
mands to a)) with the computer precisely
monitoring cause and effect, wind, speed,
etc. on each bird. It is these thrilling air
shows that make your day when these
shore birds are passing through.
One resident shore bird that is found on
both the north and south shore is our
sand - colored piping plover. Usually a
solitary nester that lays its eggs in a mere
depression in the sand, this little plover
builds high above the water's edge on most
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of our beaches. Often we can see it running
about the edge of the water picking up bits
of life and giving its plaintive "piping ". Its
chicks are smaller than the smallest
mouse and being sand colored blend in
with the sand so perfectly that man seldom
sees them as he passes by. Piping plovers
are never in flocks or groups; they live a
solitary and lonely life.
The birds you will usually see in tight
formation flying low over the water are the
least sandpipers and semi - palmated sand-
pipers or `peeps', as the old time gunners
once called them. They are the ones that
are probably most common along our
shores. Each enjoys a different habitat.
The least sandpiper is found more in
muddy, grassy areas while the slightly
larger "semi" prefer a more sandy shore.
A larger and equally common shorebird
that is often seen in small groups flying
just over the wave edge is our sanderling.
This shore bird is most noted for its
running up and down behind the wave edge
on our ocean and bay beaches. Although it
migrates like most other shore birds, a few
individuals sometimes stay around into
the winter months. Why a few persist to
shiver and shake and look so out of place
on a cold winter's beach, we'll never know,
but we do pick them up almost every year
on our Christmas bird count.
Bird in a Hurry
Knots and dowitchers, those cigar-shap-
ed flyers, are medium -sized shore birds.
I'd say they're a bit smaller than our
common robin. Occasionally in the fall
they're found on the north and always on
the south shore. They have a deliberate
flight and like all shore birds alight quickly
and immediately start feeding. It seems as
if they are always in a hurry. A good bird
guide is almost essential if you ever expect
to identify them.
A feature of all shore birds is their long
legs; they are classified in the general
term waders. They spend most of their day
in and out of the water's edge and
evolution has given them longer legs. A
bird that shows this particularly well is the
yellow legs. This handsome, yellow, long -
legged fellow has the curious habii of
bobbing or pumping its tail up and down. It
also has an alarm call that let's the whole
area know someone is coming. It's one of
the true sounds of the wild. They're usually
seen singularly or in twos or threes, but
never in great flocks. They are typical of
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SHORE BIRDS - -It seems incredible that these tiny migrants have
already flown up to the tundra in the far north, had their young and are
now on their southward migration through our area.
Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
the shore bird decoy silhouette we see so
often in our antique shops. It has a long bill
and graceful body that typifies shore
birds. As we go up in size, we have the
rarer birds like the Hudsonian and mar-
bled godwits and the Hudsonian curlew
with its long down curved bill.
All these shore birds, including the very
smallest, were once targets for market
gunners of years ago. The south shore in
particular, with its great flat bars and
open shallow waters, saw thousands and
thousands of these sleek migrating shore
birds shot by a blast from a market
gunner's 10 or 8 -gauge shotgun. Many of
the birds that I have mentioned flew in
tight flocks and a double blast from the
market gunner's gun literally devastated
them almost to the point of extinction.
Gunning laws and education stepped in at
the nick of time. Not soon enough to bring
back the great waves of birds of olden
times, but soon enough to preserve the
ones we see migrating southward today.
These are not all the shore birds by far,
but more or less the ones that you would
see along our bays and beachfronts.
Perhaps this year you might only be able
to identify the gaudy turnstone that
frequents our more rocky and shelly
beaches, or perhaps maybe you'll see the
piping plover and hear its plaintive call.
Each time you identify a new bird it
becomes a new friend. Once this spark has
been lit, you too, will look forward to the
annual migration of our shore birds.
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