April 01, 1982 - Going South Into SpringSECOND SECTION
Going South Into Spring
Some years ago Edwin Way Teale wrote
a book called North With the Spring. This
year my wife Barbara and I thought it
would be an exciting experience to reverse
the adventure and go south into spring.
March never seems to let go of winter and
so when we packed for our trip we still had
heavy jackets on. When packing we always
seem to take too much, but then we both
reason, "Why not take enough just in case"
(in case we camp... in case it rains ...in case
we have to go out to dinner ... in case I want
to photograph... in case we go to the
beach ... in case we have car trouble... in
case we want to picnic). All these "in
cases" and many more loaded our car to
capacity. Someone would be staying at the
house to take care of the animals and so at 4
a.m. one dreary morning we were off.
Traffic's Up Early, Too
The roads were relatively empty until we
hit the west end, and then we couldn't
believe it -- it was business as usual. What
were all those people doing up so early?
Were they all heading south? or did they
have to get up that early to be at work on
time? If so, something is wrong with the
system.
After paying the toll to cross the great
expanse of the Verrazanno Bridge, we
realized we were really on our way. It was
time for it to be getting light but the
powerful yellow sodium lights along the
highways of Staten Island almost kept the
dawn from breaking. The first birds we had
seen were the gulls that plied the great
waters around New York harbor for the
surplus of man's bounty.
Now we were in New Jersey. You could
smell that part of it. Here was the mass of
pipelines, tanks and infernos that give us
the things we find so necessary for our way
of life -- oil products, gasoline, paints,
plastics, and thousands of others that we
buy and use. It seems nothing good comes
without its dark side.
Soon a long string of birds crossed the
highway. We were out of the chemical area
and now open fields in the early hours of
morning found crows leaving their rookery
some place still isolated from man. They
would spread throughout the land foraging
all day and return to their secluded roost to
squabble for their favorite perch before
bedding down at night. Memories flashed
through my mind of 20 and 30 years ago
when we had our own crow roosts here on
Long Island. Most are gone now and I
wondered if we'd ever see their return
again. Many's a late cold, windy afternoon I
watched them as they headed back to their
roost.
Some Travelers Head North
Now it was light and the busy traffic of
industry and pleasure cars zoomed by us in
a steady stream. Occasionally huge flocks
of grackles and red wings could be seen
moving northward. Later the redwings will
drop out of the flock here and there,
reserving a territory for nesting which they
will defend against other blackbird
intruders.
Grackles, which nest together, drop out
of the flock in groups where they find a
grove suitable for nesting. They prefer a
condominium principle for nesting and will
stay together until the young fledge.
Outside of Baltimore, we saw our first
vulture soaring lazily overhead. Its sharp
eyes surveyed the countryside for carrion.
This was the turkey vulture for its wings
had that characteristic dihedral uplift that
separates it from the less common black
vulture whose wings spread straight out.
In Virginia we noted the buds of trees
were ready to burst and many of the fields
were being plowed and planted. Behind the
tractors moved an ever - leapfrogging mass
of white gulls. Again my mind flashed back
to the days when our fields once boasted of
gulls following the tractor at planting time.
Occasionally we see a few but nothing like I
remember them.
In North Carolina, sweaters came off and
short - sleeved shirts were the order of the
day. A snowy egret stalked in a roadside
gutter, an early bird for sure. Tent
caterpillars were at work setting up for
their assault on the newly emerging
greenery. Butterflies appeared after their
long winter sleep. The world of insects
started their maneuvers for another
season. You could tell this by the splattered
ones on our windshield as we moved south.
Spider webs brushed across our face as we
stretched our legs at a rest area, showing
that they were ready to do their part in
holding down the insect population.
On Toward the Tropics
We were surely driving into spring. We
drove until almost dark. Then we looked for
a motel and fell into bed -- only to arise
again at 5 a.m. and be off. Dogwood
blossomed and a tall bush -like plant that I
wanted to call jasmine glowed along the
highway.
In Georgia palm trees told us we were
getting into a semi - tropical area. Spring
warblers flitted about in the trees. Would
these be the same ones we'd look forward to
seeing in May?
At the rest stop forsythia blossomed and I
thought of the long dormant stems I'd cut
and brought inside that later filled the room
with their yellow glow in February. It was
now hot driving. Florida was just across the
border. Here we'd see a great array of birds
for our stay would include trips all along the
east coast down to the Keys.
We had tried to put out of our mind the
plowing under of Florida. It seemed this
state was destined to be covered by houses,
black top, manicured grass, shopping
centers and other signs of man's progress.
It was only at the parks, preserves and
sanctuaries that we were to see what
Florida once was. Perhaps that is why
those returning from Florida are anxious to
preserve what's left here on Long Island --
for once it's blacktopped and built upon it
will never again be a natural place to enjoy.
PAULSTOUTENBURGH
..a
APRIL 1, 1982
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