February 03, 1983 - A Day at Montauk Pt.February 3, 1983 The 'Web g aebiew
A Day at Montauk Pt.
A good friend of mine and I had been
talking about going to Montauk for some
time, so when the weatherman predicted a
sunny day in between winter's grey, we set
plans in motion to spend the day there. We
go out to the point in hopes of seeing some
of the rare northern water birds that are
occasionally there. Long Island, with its
long forks sticks pretty much out into the
ocean, making this spot a mecca for those
interested in the uncommon. The point
also has a charm of its own that sooner or
later seems to attract everyone.
Six o'clock in the morning is not the
usual time for most to be up and out, but it
was essential if we wanted to get an early
start. A quick breakfast and I was off to
meet Ralph in Mattituck. The cheerful
light in his place meant he'd be ready, and
sure enough as I pulled in and got out of the
car there he was, binoculars around his
neck, some goodies to keep him going and
we were ready to go.
Soon we were speeding along the almost -
deserted roads, heading for Riverhead.
Outside of Riverhead we swung south on
the new bypass. As we went over the
Peconic River, a raft of ducks caught our
eye and, of course, we had to pull off and
check them out. The handsome rusty red
heads and white bodies told us they were
canvasbacks. This duck seems to be
making a comeback after years and years
of low numbers.
Along with them were greater scaup or
broadbill, as the gunners call them. They
have yet to come up in numbers in our
bays of Peconic, where my dad told of
years ago when there were rafts of them
throughout our estuary. We've been told
that when the eelgrass left the bays, the
ducks left. Well, we still don't have the
eelgrass and we still don't have the ducks.
On we went again and soon were outside
of Southampton. Always looking for the
backroads we headed north so that we'd
travel along the bay towards Sag Harbor
where we'd pick up another passenger,
Larry. In North Sea we passed the little
stream that flows from Great Fresh Pond
and then into the bay. It's this stream the
alewives will soon be pushing up in their
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annual migration from the saltwater to the
fresh to spawn. It's almost like a miniature
salmon run. The sight is unbelievable.
Silvery fish 10 to 12 inc' es long, pushing
their way upstream, many dying along the
way.
East by Northwest
After picking Larry up, he took us
through the backroads of East Hampton
called Northwest. In some areas the scrub
pine were so tall and straight they gave
you the feeling you were in the deep south.
And then as we traveled further along we
ran out of the scrub area into a white pine
forest. There's nothing like the sound of
the wind in the pines and the soft needles
underfoot. Here they were right on Long
Island.
What a place this must have been when
the early settlers arrived. Some of our old
buildings still vouch for the huge wide
white pine planks in their floors and siding.
Today we forget there was once large
stands of white pine throughout L. I.
As we drove along, Larry explained that
much of this area was in two acre zoning
and it seemed to make the area more
compatible with the surroundings. The
houses had few lawns and they nestled in
among the trees so that one hardly noticed
them. I must say I was quite impressed. Of
course, this two acre zoning is due to their
limited water supply that seems to be
characteristic of both the north and south
forks.
We came into East Hampton the back
way and by now the town was busy with
activity. As we rode by the plush stores,
they almost oozed with dollars. Back on
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KITTIWAKE
Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
the highway to Montauk we could see new
developments popping up. This area sure-
ly is going to change in the future,
At Montauk the overcast skies of the
morning broke up into blue sky and the sun
poured through, taking the nip off our
fingers and toes. We had parked in the big
parking lot just west of the lighthouse and
made a pitstop at the heated john that the
park system always keeps neat and warm.
It surely makes a long trip easier with that
kind of facility available.
Down on the beach, the surf charged in
even though its wind power of days before
had vanished. I've often seen this kind of
surf that seemingly comes from nowhere.
It reminded me of an old physics principle
I learned years ago: a body in motion
tends to keep moving.
Under the great Montauk light we
walked along the rocks hanging onto the
fence. Spray and mist filled the air so
much that we tucked our binoculars under
our coats to keep them from fogging.
Tremendous flocks of red - breasted mer-
gansers swung around the point. I'd never
Page 11
seen such quantities of mergansers before.
I've seen scoters by the thousands but
never quite like this mass of moving ducks
now before me. It reminded me of the
reports of days gone by when the sky was
black with birds. It was nothing quite like
that but it did give you the feeling that
those times must have been real and quite
awesome.
Where Are the Birds?
Our hopes were to see some of the ocean
birds from the north; perhaps razorbills,
dovekies, or harlequins but scan as we
would none showed up in our glasses so
back we went now moving along the shore
to the north. No matter; it was now a
sparkling day, warm and clear. Who could
complain? We watched the common gulls
foraging along the edge, some eating
thrown up starfish, a pretty rugged meal.
Others were finding broken parts of crabs.
An hour and a half later, after much
walking and scanning, we went back to the
car and off toward Fort Pond Bay and
then to Montauk Harbor. One stop at Fort
Pond Bay revealed 12 beautiful redheads.
No, not females -- but redhead ducks.
Rather rare ones to come across.
At the mouth of the harbor we found a
lone birder from New Jersey who sounded
excited about the kittiwakes, gull -like
offshore birds working in the harbor en-
trance. Here they were drifting back and
forth a mere 100 feet overhead, their white
and black markings easily recognized
even without binoculars. It reminded me
of Iceland where they were as common as
the herring gull and seemingly every-
where.
I could have stayed right there the rest
of the day but all of us had things to do at
home and so we headed back. A quick stop
at Larry's for a cup of hot herb tea and we
were off again. Our day couldn't have been
better. Winter opened its door to an almost
spring -like day and as I said goodbye to
Ralph in Mattituck he shouted back to me,
"Let's do it again whenever the weather
breaks." "Good idea," I replied.
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