May 12, 1983 - Kaleidoscope of ColorMay 12,1983 The Suffolk Times Page 15
Kaleidoscope of Color
By PAULSTOUTENBURGH
A friend who was interested in seeing if
any spring migrating birds were passing
through called Saturday night to see if
Barbara and I would join her for an early
morning walk. True to our calling, we
accepted and the next morning found us
walking in one of the best wooded areas
along the Sound. If you want to see birds,
you usually look for wet areas like this
one. Ideally the best time to see anything
is in the early morning. Pick a day that's
clear and not too windy. We hit it pretty
good. The time was the first week in
May. The sky was clear. The area had
many ponds throughout the woods.
Except for the wind that was blowing,
everything else was in our favor, so we
knew we'd have good luck.
Our first bit of color was a rose -
breasted grosbeak, that handsome bird
with the jet black head and a splash of
raspberry on its chest. Those colors
contrasting with its white underparts
puts him in a color category among the
best. There were five or six immature
and female grosbeaks also foraging in
the treetops with this handsome fellow
but their drab color was nothing
compared to that male's brilliance.
Then Katy picked up the highlight of
the day -- a scarlet tanager. Now there's
a bird that even puts the flamboyant
cardinal down a peg. A scarlet red body
and black wings sitting on a bare limb in
the bright sunshine is a sight you'll
remember. This bird sometimes nests in
the area but very sparsely. You're lucky
to see one passing through in the
springtime, let alone finding its nest.
The woods we walked in were bursting
with new greenery. The forest floor was
carpeted with the low Canada lily or false
lily -of- the - valley. In another week its tiny
stalk of small creamy flowers will be out
but for now the buds were just showing.
ffoQd� o�
Here and there were remnants of the
dainty starflower that had graced the
woodland floor early along with the
dainty wood anemone. If we searched we
could find a late bloomer of these early
flowers.
True Solomon's Seal
Alongside and through the middle of
the dirt road we walked on, the wild
geranium with its lavender -pink flowers
was starting to bloom. In the roadway it
had been cut back or run over so its
height was very low, sometimes only two
or three inches above the road. If left
unmolested it will rise one to two feet and
show off its color to the world. True
Solomon's seal was also showing its buds
and will soon be out for all to see. It was a
joyously spent day. A perfect day for
Mother's Day. What nicer place to be
than on a walk with "Mother."
Sharp ears are one of the great
advantages to the birder. Sorry to say
mine have lost their edge and Barbara
and Katy became my ears. Sure enough
they came through to hear a parula
warbler singing in the treetops. Katy
would point "somewhere up there" and
after a 10- minute search of the treetops
for some movement, we saw him. That
lovely little warbler with its yellow -
orange and bluish -gray color, flitting
about busy as ever looking for insects.
This bird, like almost all of our warblers,
will move north to the cool coniferous
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Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
forests to breed and then return in the
fall to pass through on its way south
where it will spend the winter. It's then
that identification becomes almost
impossible as the young do not get the
true colors of the adult for another year.
Further on we came across a blue -
winged warbler, one of the few warblers
that do stay around and nest in our area.
Off in a thicket we heard the familiar call
of a crested flycatcher telling us that he
was setting up his nesting territory. This
large yellow- breasted flycatcher nests in
semi - cavities in trees. Broken off hollow
limbs or trees that have a large access is
their idea of a perfect homesite.
The sun was playing hide - and -seek by
now with low rolling clouds and seeing
Barbara wanted to get back and go to
church with her mother and sister on
Mother's Day, we decided we'd better
swing back toward to the car. After all
her sister and husband had made a
special trip out for Mother's Day.
Back to the Real World
We headed back, leaving the Jack -in-
the- pulpit along the roadway showing off
its fine new greenery. The dark coffee -
colored ponds that dotted the area had
one lone peeper calling for it was now
day time and their calling time had
passed. I'm sure the area echoes with
their night calls as soon as the sun goes
down.
The colors we had seen were truly a
kaleidoscope of nature's best. The
scarlet red of the tanager, the raspberry
of the rose - breasted grosbeak, the
orange of the oriole, the yellow of the
goldfinch and a handful of hues to top it
all off was a spectacle to be seen. On this
Mother's Day, `Mother' and 'Dad'
thoroughly enjoyed themselves.
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