January 08, 1981 - Winter and Its ProblemsSECTION TWO The *u f f o th T I tie $ JANUARY 8, 1981
Winter and Its Problems
Writing for me becomes increasingly
difficult when it snows as it has in the past
few days. It puts me into some sort of a
trance and I'm good for nothing but put-
tering around the house and keeping the
homefires burning. The crackling of the
woodstove and the delicious odors coming
from the kitchen are the final act of
complete submission to a snowy day. Our
first taste was just a gentle dusting of snow
but the latest this week was some
different. Wet and heavy, it hung on the
tree limbs and made shoveling difficult.
The temperature was another story.
When the temperature hangs around
zero here on Long Island, that's really
cold. Couple this with a Long Island"west' -
wind and you have a situation few enjoy.
This applies to wildlife as well for it means
they have to consume more food to
overcome their heat loss due to the
extreme cold. I can tell this by the added
activity at our feeders during these cold
snaps.
Blue Heron Used Bad Judgment
Especially hurt are the big great blue
herons who gambled that we'd have a mild
winter and therefore stayed up north while
their counterparts enjoy the warmth of the
south. Up here when the temperature
plummets our creeks freeze up and
therefore their food supply is cut off.
Just now as I walked down for the mail I
looked up our creek and saw three of the
great blue herons huddled along the lee
shore under some phragmites. Here they
hoped to thaw out with the warmth of the
winter's sun.
A few years ago I photographed the
tragic death of one of these beautiful big
birds in just such a freeze up as we're
experiencing. It was a pitiful thing to
-watch and there was nothing I could do to
prevent it from happening. The bird had
made the mistake of staying up here in the
north and had paid for it with its life.
Sounds cruel in our world but in the
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natural world it's just one way to keep the
system going for with that death a bad
judgment died. The better judgment of the
birds that went south will live on and pass
to its next generation the proper choice.
On our bird count in Moriches last week
we found two other fatalities of the cold.
One was a clapper rail, a bird of the marsh
the other a bob white, a bird of the scrubby
fields. The rail had just succumbed for the
body was still limp but the quail had died
some time before. Usually quail can stand
pretty cold temperatures and we wonder-
ed why this one had died. Perhaps it had
been shot and died later from an invisible
wound. We'll never know. The rail we feel
just starved to death for the marsh he was
found in had long given up its supply of
food and was now in a deep freeze under
ice and snow.
I continually receive calls and letters
from people who are concerned about the
swans during these bitter cold spells.
Shallow, open water is what they need.
Shallow enough so they can lower their
heads to the bottom and reap the plant
material that grows there. Like so many
others they're in deep trouble when
everything freezes up. Supplementary
feeding can help and often does bring them
through but should one become sick there
is little we can do. Swans are domesticated
birds that have escaped into our wild
where they are not equipped in this
latitude to function when it freezes up.
Birds that can make it in these harsh
conditions are the birds from the north
SNOW BUNTING - -These hardy little birds visit us from the north. They
love open spaces where wind and snow seem to do little to discourage
them. Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
that visit us during the winter. Around the
woods and hedgerows we'll find the juncos.
This tidy gray and white bird doesn't seem
to mind the cold a bit. Usually we see it in
small groups on the ground feeding and it'
often comes to our feeders provided we put
the feed on the ground. Clear off the snow
from the ground and spread some seed
down and if there are any juncos in the
area you'll soon have them.
There are two more northern birds that
visit us and are ground feeders. These like
open fields and seldom if ever venture
close enough to man to take advantage of
his free offerings. The snow bunting is
probably the most noticeable bird in flight
particularly if it's flying in a flock for its
black and white flashings area sight you'll
not soon forget. Being ground feeders they
are sometimes overlooked in the dry
stubble of winter feeding but when flushed
that sudden flash of black and white
startles you and leaves you breathless.
Our windblown beaches often have these
truly winter birds feeding amongst the
grasses. So look for them on your winter
walks.
Probably more common and yet un-
known to many are the horned larks and
occasionally long spurs. Often I've spotted
these tough little birds crouched down in
the field with the winter winds trying to
blow them from their grip of the land. Like
miniature weathervanes they face into the
wind and hunt out the seeds. How they can
eke out a living in what appears to be
barren and harsh land is hard to say.
Through binoculars you can pick up little
yellow face markings and little black
feathers that suggest horns laying flat
against their head. It's a miracle how
nature has equipped these tiny birds to
survive. Through eons of time they have
evolved a system that works for them.
Man too has worked out a system that
seems to work for him. -luring these
difficult winter times; war clothes on his
back, insulated homes, and`h`ot stoves for
his comfort. Up to now they have worked
well. But with the energy problem facing
the world today I sometimes wonder -- will
we some day be like the great blue heron --
out of step with reality?
PAUL. STOUTENBURGH