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March 16, 1995 - Abundant Bird Life on Sanibel Island'March 16, 1 -996 • The Suffolk Tirnes ••7A Abundant Bird Life on Sanibel Island By Paul Stoutenburgh Sanibel and Sable Islands ... they sound somewhat alike but how different they are. Sanibel is a semitropical key off the west coast of Florida lined with luxury Focus on homes Nature and con - domini- ums and is world re- nowned for its shell collecting. In contrast, Sable Island is a bleak, windswept collection of sand and dunes in the North Atlantic with only a small gov- ernment station and wild ponies on it. It was once known as the graveyard of the Atlantic for unlucky ships were blown off their course and perished on the shallow shoals that abound around the island. Barbara and I visited Sable Island many years Photo by Barbara Stoutenburgh ago when we acted as tour WHITE IBIS —Years ago, one of these white ibis showed up in Riverhead. Possibly it was blown guides aboard one of Lindblad's up from the south during a storm which is often the case when "rare" sightings occur, famous explorer cruises. Today we revisited Sanibel Island on Florida's sparkling Gulf Coast. What lured us to Sanibel again was the world - famous "Ding" Darling Wildlife Refuge. It was established primarily through the relentless efforts of the Pulitzer Prize- winning cartoonist and environmental- ist, Jay Northwood Darling, and stands today as a monu- ment to his fore- sight and endless efforts. Stretching through 5,000 acres of footpaths, canoe trails and roadways this mostly sea - grape, wax- and salt - myrtle mangrove swamp has become a Mecca for wildlife enthusiasts of all ages. There is some- thing there for everyone. Some go to fish, others go to scoop up the big Jimmy blue -claw crabs, while still others are attracted to the bird life. Of course, all are attracted to the big, seemingly lazy alligators that sleep on the banks of the canal. At one time I was a trustee of this prestigious preserve but, living so far away, I was unable to justify my staying on their board. During my tenure, how- ever, I became deeply attached to the area. There's a beautiful and informative Nature Center at the entrance that is well worth the time to stop and browse. Then it's off to the slow, five -mile drive that opens up all the way to quiet lagoons and canals where waterbirds of all sorts come to feed and rest. It's a perfect way for everyone to see the wildlife for you don't even have to get out of your car to view the endless procession. red legs and feet. Once seen, you'll never forget it. We had almost as much fun watching the people as we did watching the birds. There were little kids, laden down with dad's heavy binoculars around their necks who were interested in only one thing, "that big alli- gator sleeping over there." Others with their little Instamatic cameras were flashing away at this bird and that which, I'm sure, will only show up in their pictures of Florida as dots amongst the green- ery. Nevertheless, everyone seemed to be having a good time. All ages had gotten out of their cars at one point and went walking along one of the many canals that were dug to make the elevated pathway through the man- grove swamp. Some birds had gotten so used to people that they just walked and fed within yards of you. An anhinga The Darling Wildlife Refuge stands today as a monument to the foresight and endless efforts of Jay Northwood Darling. White This Visits L.I. The most common bird at the refuge this time of the year was the white ibis. I remember photographing this rare visitor to Long Island years ago in a wet area in Riverhead that has now been covered over with blacktop and sports a brand - new Kmart. We more often see the dark - colored glossy ibis out on the East End but the one in Riverhead.was the first white ibis I ever saw on the North Fork. It's a pure -white bird except for small, black wing tips, but what's most striking about it is the long, curved, red bill and (some call it the snake bird because of its long, thin neck that makes it look like a snake in the water) was diving and swimming within a few feet of the shore. Everyone watched it underwater, chas- ing small fish, and cheered when it came up with one it had caught. A partial list of the birds we saw fol- lows: Louisiana heron, little blue heron, great blue heron, red - breasted merganser and blue- winged teal ducks, cormorants, anhingas, ospreys (now nesting), pied - billed grebes, snowy egrets, great egrets, bvata ita:w......�...a.:ai�. � -• - - ,e.e.��.. wood storks, laughing gulls, herring gulls and a nice flock of over 50 black- bellied plover and a smattering of short - billed dowitchers. These shorebirds will soon be heading for their nesting grounds in the tundra far to the north of us. It was a sparkling day in the middle of the week and we were surprised to see so many people out. We estimated at least twice as many as the last time we were here, which was nice to see. It seems more people are waking up to the joys of the world around them. Back at our campsite alongside the ■ .90. ■ M�i1= 75 Years Ago March 12, 1920 Lillian Townsend Accepts: To my friends and fellow citizens: The many requests that have come to me from my friends and neighbors that I should accept the office of Village Trustee has caused me to consider the mat- ter. I fully appreciate, as any citizen would, that there is a sense of duty involved which is one of service. To serve in any public office means sacrifice, for one must give of themselves, in order to get results. My Greenport friends and neighbors have known me from birth and trusting their judgment, I accept their offer as candidate for Village Trustee and will appreciate a vote from every citizen who believes in me, and is willing to support me if elected to the office of Village Trustee. Signed, Lillian C. Townsend 50 Years Ago March 16, 1945 Twins Abound in Greenport: There are nine sets of twins in the Greenport school at present — four less than in 1941. They are by no means identical, but answer to the same names: George and Jean Mulhall, Roger and Richard Gardner, John and Arthur Tasker, Robert and Robina Burt, Robert and Helen Nugent, James and Harold Mellas, Mary Caloosahatchee River in south - central Florida, we hooked up our water and electricity to the camper and set up for dinner. To the west a glorious sun- set brought most people in the park out to see and enjoy. As we sat outside in the warmth, a pair of night herons flew by — the first I'd seen down here. My mind drifted back to those early years back home when we'd go weakfishing down at the creek on a spring evening and see those "shadows" of the evening, the night herons along the shore. It was the time when the horse- shoe crabs would come ashore piggybacking and lay their eggs along the high tide mark, then dis- appear and be gone until the next year. I always thought that ancient ritu- al, that has gone on for the past 200 mil- lion years, was something special and almost reverent. Dwindling Numbers Today, the horseshoe crabs still make an appearance on our shores. Their only threats are pollution and the occasional lobster- or eel -man who collects them for bait for their traps. They return but not in the numbers I remember as a kid. As for the weakfish, that's another story. I haven't seen weakfsun WJ4 MA J9r - 7oara. ovmv fenny F'Ot 7 catches a few but they can't be counted on like the old runs of weakfish that many of us remember. Something has gone wrong in their cycle of abundance. We're often pacified by the stories of a returning cycle of fish or crabs, etc. In some cases these cycles do happen. I hope this is true in the case of the weakfish for one of the things I'm looking forward to when I get back home this spring is a try for weakfish down in the creek just as the sun goes See Focus, next page and Irene Snead, and Douglas and Donald Jacobs. OHS Gets Title to Vail House: The Oyster - ponds Historical Society, incorporated in December of last year, has, after considerable delay due to legal: technicali- ties, acquired title to the Jeremiah Vail homestead, formerly called The Village House and once the home of Augustus Griffin, author of Griffin's Journal. 25 Years Ago March 20, 1970 First Narcotic Meeting Held: "What we are looking for is the prevention of hard -core addiction," began Dr. John Hansen at the first of a series of three open meet- ings of the Southold Town Narcotics Guidance Council held at the Southold High School last Tuesday, March 17. The meetings are designed to enlist the support of the public in fighting what has become a serious problem in Southold Town, that of narcotics use among high school students. After asking the rhetorical question, "Is the problem of drugs in Southold Town serious ?" Police Chief Carl Catal- do said, "It is serious if one junior high school student has experimented with marijuana." Dr. Hansen said the method chosen to combat narcotics was one in which the youth will not be reported to police, but be given counseling to help prevent addiction.