May 11, 1995 - Bountiful Birding With a Bloke From Britain10A • The Suffolk Times • May 11, 1995
Bountiful Birding With a Bloke From Britain
By Paul Stoutenburgh
It's funny how things turn out. A few
years ago a reader in Mattituck sent some
of my articles to a relative in England
because of his interest in birds. The rela-
tive wrote me a letter telling of his inter-
est and hoping to come here some day to
do some birding.
Focus on Last week I got a
telephone call
Nature from the "chap"
saying he was here
and wondering if
we could get together. His name is
Kenny Mac.
Needless to say, it wasn't long before
we were together and off birding. My
hearing isn't as good as it used to be but
this time it wasn't my hearing I was hav-
ing difficulty with. It was Kenny's
accent. Coming from the outskirts of
Liverpool, he rolled out the most won-
derful dialect that kept me on my toes
continually trying to untangle it. What I
liked especially about him was his en-
thusiasm that kept him in high gear all
the time. Every bird was new to him. He
was amazed to see how prolific the star-
lings are here. Of course, they have them
in the UK; after all, they originated in
Europe but over there they seem fewer
compared to here. A perfect example of
an introduced species gone wild.
When he wasn't out with a group of us
seeing the sights he walked or drove and
birded on his own. I was amazed to see
how quickly he became acquainted with
our East End: Mattituck Inlet,
Goldsmith's Inlet, Cedar Beach, Orient,
Greenport. He'd hit them all and at each
one he'd tell of an exciting find. Today it
was white- winged scoters out over the
Sound, the day before it was at Montauk
where he saw gannets — those huge,
white seabirds that he was well familiar
with for they roam the oceans wide.
May Is Warbler Time
The first week or two in May is the
time when the warblers (small, colorful
birds) pass through our area on their
migration north and I wanted to take
Kenny where we'd see some of these
jewels from the tropics. Fresh water, es-
pecially running water, attracts birds,
Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
BLACK - AND -WHITE WARBLER— Around the first of May one can usually count on warblers arriving in our area
from South America. This one was stunned for a moment after it ran into our picture window.
and seeing we have very little of that on
our North Fork I took him to Yaphank
where there is an abundance of fresh
water and I knew warblers congreglted.
Here we saw palm warblers, black -and-
white warblers, towhees, catbirds and a
long list of other firsts that made Ken-
ny's day a great success. We'd also trav-
el to Hunter's Garden, that spot in the
pine barrens where water seeps out of
the side of a hill, making it a favorite
mecca for thirsty birds.
Huutcr's Garden is owned by a casual
group of people from way back and has
continually been kept alive through their
annual meetings at that historical spot. I
remember once I was birding there in the
spring when itwas inundated by cars. It
was their annual get- together on a beauti-
ful spring day. I came to find out that a
highlight of their year was the eel chow-
der dinner that is prepared every year over
an open fire at the site. People from all
walks of life and from all parts of the
island meet for this once -a -year get -
together with old friends. It's a grand idea.
*_.%69m. ■ ....L uI....L
75 Years Ago
May 7, 1920
What Prohibition Costs: The cost of prohibition
has been estimated at $80,000,000 a year. They say that
there are more illicit stills now than ever before, and the
bulk of the Anti - Saloon League funds are used to hire spe-
cial agents to locate the stills. These statements were made
in the House recently.
The Illinois Prohibition Commission has been notified
that the bellboys in Chicago hotels have agreed that the
price of whiskey for 30 guests during the convention in
June will be $41 a pint. Investigations are now being made
to discover where the boys are planning to get their supply.
50 Years Ago
May 11, 1945
Servicemen's Column: This week we received a
V -mail letter from Cpl. Bernard Van Popering, son of Mr.
and Mrs. B. Van Popering. Cpl. Van Popering writes that
he has been busy night and day in the Ruhr Valley pocket in
Germany but that the work has paid dividends as many
German soldiers have been taken prisoners. Long lines of
the so- called supermen are being marched to the rear. He
also writes that many of the industrial centers of Germany
are but masses of ruins. He closes his letter by saying that
It was sad to drive into this wonderful
area for all along the dirt road was junk
dumped by insensitive people. One of
the down sides of charging for debris
brought to the town's landfill is that
some try to beat the cost and throw their
old TV sets, refrigerators, mattresses,
building materials, etc., in these back -
road areas. Such is the case with the road
that leads to Hunter's Garden.
One year a monument was erected by
a member with an inscription on it
telling about the beauty of the area and
the memories that lingered about it. The
next year the granite block had been
blasted, its inscription blurred by gun-
fire. It seems some people take joy out
of destroying things. A sad commentary
of our time.
Birds Never Fail
But Kenny wasn't turned off by the
unpleasantness he'd seen along the road-
side. He merely said it was a problem
wherever you went, whether it was here,
England, France, Spain, or wherever.
What he was interested in was the parula
he hopes that the Japanese will not be too tough a job after
the Germans are finished.
25 Years Ago
May 8, 1970
Protests Close College: Southampton College
voted Wednesday to condemn the Cambodian actions of
President Nixon and the needless violent deaths of the four
students at Kent State University. The faculty voted to
accept a proposal offered by the Student Government Asso-
ciation calling for the official closing of the college to
protest these actions and deeds.
The proposal specifies that all those wishing to continue
classes may do so, while those students who wish to go out
and take an active stand in protesting the issues on hand
may do so immediately without penalty. The decision was
reached with no violence on campus or in the Village of
Southampton, where students had marched yesterday.
Shelter Island News: Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Sher-
man Sr, left on Saturday for Japan, going by way of Alaska,
where they stopped briefly to visit the area where Mr. Sher-
man worked during World War II. In Japan, they will visit
their son and daughter -in -law, Lt. and Mrs. Huson Sherman,
and their two grandsons, one of whom was born in Japan.
Lt. Sherman is stationed at the Atsugi Air Force Base.
warbler, the Tennessee warbler, the
black - throated blue warbler, the thrasher
with its yellow eye, the pair of red - tailed
hawks that circled above — the list went
on and on. He was enjoying himself and
adding to his life list of birds.
One day we traveled with friends to the
Quogue Wildlife Refuge where we lis-
tened to the state coordinator of the tern
and plover effort that was again being set
into motion throughout
Long Island. With the
cooperation of The Na-
ture Conservancy and a Was
dedicated group of vol-
unteers, the beaches enjoying
along the Sound, bay himself
and ocean will be sur-
veyed for these endan- and
gered nesting birds and,
when found appropriate, adding to
protective devices will his life
be put into place in
hopes of helping these list of
ground nesters bring off birds.'
their young.
The piping plovers
have already arrived and are nesting. The
terns have just started to move in after
spending their winter in South America
and the' Caribbean. Hopefully, with the
public's cooperation, they will be able to
raise their young unmolested throughout
the breeding season. Most people are
more than willing to help and keep away
from the designated areas. Slowly the tide
is turning for last year we saw a slight im-
provement in Long Island's reproduction
rate for both terns and plovers. It's
encouraging news but it will take ev-
eryone's effort to keep this trend going.
Kenny leaves this Tuesday. It's been
good to have this overseas visitor here to
see and enjoy our East End. It just goes
to show what a letter will do. And who
knows? Perhaps someday I'll visit the
UK and look Kenny up.
On Lyme Disease
A support group for adolescents,
ages 12 to 18, with Lyme disease
meets on the second and fourth Fri-
days of the month at Central Suffolk
Hospital. Meetings run from 8 to 10
p.m. Call 736 -4550.