April 15, 1982 - Killdeers and Crosslotst
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SECOND SECTION 04P NrW1,_&UirW APRIL 15,1982
Killdeers and Crosslots
Looking out over the pasture there
seems to be a hint of hope in the tint of
green that shows through winter's brown.
Yet 30- foot -long white snow drifts stand out
along the hedgerow of dark green pines to
the north. They had captured the mile -long
charging snows of last week's blizzard. It's
hard to realize 60- mile -an -hour winds and
driven snow with 10 -foot visability plagued
our island last week.
I'm writing from my study that
overlooks our small pond. The two horses
are munching away at the slightest blade
of grass that dares to show itself. Up by the
barn the chickens are scratching as if
there never was such a thing as winter.
Walking up I spotted the incredibly tiny
white flowers of draba. As early as March
these little flowers start blooming. They're
so dainty and insignificant, few ever stoop
to see them. Yet I find them to be one of
nature's most perfect flowers. It must
blossom before the tall grasses grow and
smother it out until next year when it again
will triumph.
The robins were there in the pasture
along with the killdeers, those members of
the shorebird family that we see in
pastures and uplands. Many have seen
these birds during the recent storm as they
searched for food along the edges of
cleared areas. Those were hard days for
birds that live on seeds and insects.
Most are acquainted with the robin's
nest, but few have had the pleasure of
seeing the killdeer's nest. If you were a
farmer, you'd be the exception for surely
every farmer has come across this bird
nesting in his open fields.
When Walking'Crosslots'
Years ago before the advent of school
buses, we used to walk to school and "cut
crosslots." Inevitably each spring we'd
find the killdeer nesting. They were easy to
find, for like many ground nesters they
perform the broken wing act. What this
amounts to is the bird will sneak off the
nest as you approach and then when you
get close enough to be a real threat, it will
drag its wing as if broken, calling
pathetically in a most distressing way. The
idea is that should you be a cat or fox or
other predator you would chase the
disabled bird hoping for a meal. Naturally
as you follow the bird you would be taken
further and further away from the nest.
Then when lured far enough, the bird ups
and flies away, leaving you completely
bewildered. The first picture I ever took of
a bird was a killdeer in one of John
Wickham's fields.
Another time I had an excellent
opportunity to photograph the killdeer was
when they were putting an extension on the
school I taught in. There was much dirt
moving and leveling of land and in the
interim a pair of killdeer decided to build
right in the middle of all the upheaval.
Lucky we spotted the nest early and
alerted the operator of the huge earth -
moving machine. Being a sympathetic
fellow, he left the nest undisturbed but
continued his work of leveling and
bulldozing all about.
It stayed that way until the young
hatched. Once out of the egg, they were
running about the next day. No nest -
feeding for these birds. And could they run
-- with a sharp eye you could see these little
spindly -leg bundles of fluff running along
with the mother. If it was a cold day, she
would stop every once in a while and
collect them under her wing to warm them
up. Killdeers will always have a warm
place in my heart.
The Bluebird's Return
Some weeks back I spoke about building
some bird houses. In my ramblings I
mentioned the lack of bluebirds we have
here on the island. I mentioned we hardly
ever see them any more. Well, I have a
series of events that took place that I must
tell you about concerning bluebirds. The
other day my son came in right after the
big snow and said, "Dad, what do you
think of this ?" He held out his hand with
the most beautiful bluebird laying in it.
Now I'd not seen one on our place for
over 26 years and the sight of this dead
bluebird made me very sad. Yet there was
a note of hope here for could it be bluebirds
might be coming back? The bird had
evidently flown into our bedroom window
for he had found it just below in the snow.
To see a bird firsthand makes you
appreciate the true colors that no
photograph or painting can duplicate. This
was a male bird in prime plumage of
striking blue body and rusty breast.
Perhaps some day they will nest in one of
our boxes along the old pasture fence.
our boxes along the old pasture fence
which brings me to another subject I'm
hedgerows between fields.
Years ago fences and hedgerows
separated every field. They provided
wonderful cover and food for wildlife.
Today, new ideas have replaced the old.
With bigger machines and the need to
make every inch of land productive,
hedgerows have disappeared.
Wonders like the bluebird, I am afraid,
are just a memory to some and unknown to
most. In our quest for the bigger and the
better, we've lost some of the charm of
yesteryear. My concern is that the
generation coming into the forefront now
will not have the opportunity for the good
life many of us have experienced.
PAULSTOUTENBURGH
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THE MIDDLE
MAY
MAIN ROAD S oUTtiOLD
KILLDEER - -Many of us have seen the killdeer during the recent storm
looking for food along the roadsides. Now it is looking for nesting areas
in our open fields here on Long Island. Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
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