January 01, 1981 - Tale of Two Bird CountsJanuary 1, 1981 ouff o[h Timeg
Tale of Two Bird Counts
Around Christmastime throughout the
country over 34,000 people from all walks
of life participate in the Annual Audubon
Christmas Bird Count. Of the 1360 counts
throughout the country many are taken
right here on Long Island. I usually par-
ticipate in three of them. I thought it might
be fun to take you along and see just what
we do on these counts.
Each 15 -mile area is broken up into
sections and each section has its leader
who coordinates the group of five or six
participants. Some of the bigger counts
have participants numbering up to 250
people.
December 20 was the day set for the
Montauk Count and our group, as always,
was assigned to the east side of Gardiners
Island. Plans were for us to take the work
boat to the island at dawn but because the
winds were blowing so strong the captain
said, "No way!" We could see why - -the
waves were breaking over the breakwater
at the entrance to Three Mile Harbor. To
some it was a disappointment, but others
gave a sigh of relief; Gardiners Bay looked
mighty ugly at that time of the morning.
We had two alternatives: one, we could
work with the people on the mainland
around Montauk; two, we could charter a
plane out of East Hampton and fly to the
island. This was received with mixed
emotions some were for it, while others
were a bit skeptical of a light plane in high
winds over icy waters. In the true spirit of
the day, our comrades came through and
we found ourselves getting into what
seemed to be an awfully light plane at East
Hampton. As we bounced along the run-
way in that eight degree temperature with
strong northwest winds, we all became a
bit apprehensive.
Off the ground and heading east, we
could see mysterious Gardiners Island
lying dead ahead. We made a pass over the
whole island so we could get an idea of
what conditions were below and the story
was all too Dlain.
The Deep Freeze
Everything was frozen. Fresh -water
ponds and creeks would have few ducks for
us to record. Swinging back, we bounced
along the grass strip that during the
summertime would have had nesting gulls
along its edge. It surely was a grand view
from the air. Familiar places such as
Cherry Hill, Bostwick Point, Tobaccolot,
Home and Great Ponds took on new
meaning in their frozen solitude.
As we stepped from the plane we could
feel even more the fury of that wind. In no
time it seemed the plane was off and we
were left alone. We were anxious to get
going and standing around compounded
the chill factor that was now well below
zero.
Peter, my son, John Brush and Peter
Liss would work the center of the island
and Bob Gerdts and -I would work along the
east shore and the immediate uplands to
Whale Hill. Temperature wise and wind
wise we had the best area for the great
clay cliffs that rise out of the sea along the
east shore would protect us. Cormorants,
Canada geese, black duck, widgeon,
scoters, mergansers and others had taken
shelter in the lee of these great cliffs and
our check list was building up.
We even spotted three harbor seals with
their football - shaped heads and ridiculous
looking large white whiskers bobbing
DOWNY WOODPECKER - -Downy
and hairy woodpeckers look the
same, but the hairy is much
larger. Both stay year round in
our area.
Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
q @ CF (e?W
mg2iflTq
along in the water along the shore.
Through our binoculars we could see
their big eyes peering at us and we won-
dered what they were thinking in their
warm, insulated bodies. They were
probably feeding on the rich mussel beds
that are along this east side, but whatever
it was they seemed to be content with the
world.
Probably the most exciting was the
spotting of a great snowy owl on Tobac-
colot beach. Unknowingly, we had walked
along the beach and had not noticed this
owl sitting on a log. There was so much
silver drift wood that the owl blended in
beautifully with the surroundings. Before
(continued on page 15)
Open Mon. - Sat. 10 a.m. - 5 p.m
Page 11
Linen, Bath & Closet Shop's
STOREWIDE JANUARY
WHITE SALE
20% OFF
All Items From Our Regular Stock Only
S
eF �FO�
O
FpR - Spy SpgFGgOU
R� �N Z °OFF qOS p
NuR GREP �i�
tile
Back in 1972, Statement
Savings Accounts were °1M1 e.z
introduced at The North Fork
Bank, offering certain
advantages to our depositors
which had not been available
In spite of these advantages, many of our
customers have, for personal reasons, continued
to express their preference for the Passbook
Savings Account which had been replaced by
Statement Savings.
MAIN STREET, SOUTHOLD - 765 -5655
001
Bank and Trust Co.
Each type of savings account offers its own
particular benefits, depending on your personal
needs. So why not stop in at any of our 12 offices
and discuss the choice that's right for you.
BANK & RUST CO
Main Office: Mattituck 2988366
Southold Cutchogue Jamesport Shelter Island Ouopue
Speonk Remsenburg East Moriches Mastic Beach Shirley Member FDIC
In direct response to those
�
requests, we are very pleased
to announce that, as of January
1, 1981, both Passbook Savings
and Statement Savings
Accounts will be available at
every office of The North Fork
Bank and Trust Co.
Each type of savings account offers its own
particular benefits, depending on your personal
needs. So why not stop in at any of our 12 offices
and discuss the choice that's right for you.
BANK & RUST CO
Main Office: Mattituck 2988366
Southold Cutchogue Jamesport Shelter Island Ouopue
Speonk Remsenburg East Moriches Mastic Beach Shirley Member FDIC
January 1, 1981 Tbt Ouffolk Unto Page 15
Focus
(continued from page 11)
we knew it, it took off in front of us only to
light again up the beach. Now we could
observe it beautifully. Its swivel head and
yellow eyes watched us as we approached.
It flew out over the water and back to its
original perch. Two or three gulls dove on
it just to let it know strangers were not
welcome.
Whenever we'd go inland we'd see
marsh hawks and red - tailed hawks. Once
we even thought we saw the rare en-
dangered peregrine falcon. It was not a
positive identification and so we couldn't
put it down but the long - pointed wings and
that direct pumping flight were true
characteristics. Because we could not
make sure, however, we would have to
leave it off our list. It would have been a
nice one to have. Time went too fast and
soon we foundourselves gathering at the
air strip as the sun touched the horizon in
the west. A hunting party had flown in and
so we hopped aboard the plane and headed
back toward the mainland. Dreary eyes
and sleepy heads vouched for the
strenuous day.
Central Suffolk Count
The second count I participated in was
Central Suffolk on December 26. Here my
son Peter, John Brush, Bob Gerdts, Ralph
Tuthill and I took the area around Eastport
and Speonk. I've worked this area for 28
years on this very count and have seen
many, many changes take place. Beautiful
creeks have been dug out and lush mar-
shes filled and houses now line their
bulkheaded banks. Lush farm fields
where we'd often find snow buntings and
horned larks, are now tidy ticky -tack
houses and blacktop roads. There's hardly
an area left where man has not left his
mark on the land.
One area relatively untouched is the
land down by the Coast Guard Station
opposite Moriches Inlet. Here we found
thousands of broad -bill or scaup milling
and diving in the shallow waters of the
bay. Flocks of brant by the hundreds flew
back and forth as they sought out some
grassy beds to feed on. We even saw a
flock of 110 shore birds that should have
been down in South America by now but
for some strange reason were caught in
the cold and were eking out a living along
the unfrozen sands of the beach. How they
could find anything to eat in such a harsh
environment was hard to say but they
were busy prodding along and seemingly
quite content.
Having two cars we could cover our area
more thoroughly, which helped with our
total list - -in back of duck farms, in grassy
areas, along running water we covered
just about every place. One thing to be said
about frozen areas: there always seems to
be one or two spots that remain open
because of the warm ground water coming
out. Here we found a Virginia rail and
black- crowned night herons, along with
the mighty blue heron that stalked in slow
motion, the unwary killie in the shallows.
Our list grew and grew until we finally
hit 80 species of birds; by that time
darkness was taking over. Our last good
bird was the black- bellied plover that
seemed somewhat out of place in that
stark cold evening glow. We were lucky to
have found two barn owls in a clump of
cedar trees just before What, which made
us feel our job was well done.
P.S. - Check next week's Suffolk Times
for the totals on the Orient Bird Count now
in progress.
PAULSTOUTENBURGH
GOLDENEYE DUCKS - -The hunters know these as whistlers because
their wings give off a whistling sound as they fly. Our bays are the best
place to find them. Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh