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October 19, 1995 - Taking to Wing as Nature Demands10A • The Suffolk Times • October 19, 1995 Taking to Wing as Nature Demands By Paul Stoutenburgh How long this wonderful fall weather will last is anyone's guess. I'm sitting on the little porch that faces the bay here at the cottage and the water is like glass. There's not a breath of wind. I've been watching the ripples of a school of bunkers off shore Focus on in hopes I'd see some hefty swirls Nature from below telling me there were blue fish dining on bunkers. But no such action stirred the quiet water. The only movement is a dancing monarch butterfly that flutters and glides from goldenrod to goldenrod. Years ago when I was working over at the Fire Island National Seashore as a ranger - naturalist, we'd watch these deli- cate bits of orange and black move west- ward along the barrier beach on their annual migration south. One morning I rose early before the dew had dried and found a whole cedar tree covered with sleeping monarch butterflies. Evidently they had congregated there to spend the night. As I photographed them the warmth of the rising sun heated their cold bodies and the tree became alive with slow- moving wings. Then, one by one, they started drifting off, their wings and bodies again ready to take them on the next leg of their, journey. We had hoped to again capture this annual event of migration just the other day when we traveled over to Smith Point at the south end of the William Floyd Parkway. There at the ocean's edge you can not only see the monarch butterflies in migration at this time of the year but also the famous hawk mi- gration. For any of you who have not become acquainted with this huge coun- ty park and the endless ocean beaches of the Fire Island National Seashore to the west, I suggest you explore this fascinat- ing ocean dune area. It is so easy to get to. Any one of the east -west arteries will soon pass the William Floyd Parkway. Once on it heading south you just keep going until you reach the ocean. It's as simple as that. Hawks and Butterflies Migrate We had hoped to catch not only the butterfly migration but also the hawks because when we started there was the much - needed northwest wind blowing that is essential for hawk migration. Friends from Brookhaven had called and they, too, thought the conditions were right. Yet it all goes to show you that Photo uy Paul Stoutenburgh MONARCH BUTTERFLY —This beautiful, orange and black butterfly can be seen moving westward almost any day on its migration south, where it spends the winter in the sun. even the best -laid plans often don't work out, for no sooner had we gotten there the wind died out. No matter, we would assemble with them on the high platform of the seashore's building to the west of the big, 10 -acre parking lot. Off shore as far as the eye could see were breaking fish. I assumed bluefish, for men were patiently waiting for them to move closer to the beach. Poles and lines were ready but the fish never came in. The sun was behind the breaking fish and the splashing, silvery silhouette of their ravenous activity was clearly visi- ble to the naked eye. The only hawks we saw for our short stay there were seven ospreys. They were lazily drifting along the inland wa- terway, seemingly in no hurry to get anywhere. I think they were waiting for that brisk northwest wind to speed them along. It was probably true of the other hawks, also. Sharp- shinned, Coopers, kestrels, merlins, harriers, etc., were probably hunting inland all along our eastern seaboard to build up their stami- na for the long journey ahead. Then, Fall is the time for planting SOD LAWNS We offer financing with no service charges at 0% INTEREST H O M E & G A R D E N S H CDO,WPIA►CEW 765 -3600 North Road and Ackerly Pond Lane, SOUTHOLD when conditions are right, they'll be off. The one bird we did see in great num- bers migrating westward was the cor- morant or, as the locals call them, shags. We see this duck -like bird diving in our sound, bays and creeks and when sitting on the water they seem half sub- merged. Often they're seen sitting on fish nets, buoys, rocks and occasionally on points of land, where they seem to congregate to rest and dry off. Here, moving out of the east, strings by the hundreds went by. It seemed as if there wasn't a time you couldn't see cor- morants in the sky. With our binoculars we could see,their long lines steadily push- ing westward miles down the beach. Some of these birds will stay around through the win- ter months and we look forward each year to adding them to our Christmas bird count. We have two species, the great cormorant that we see more often in winter and that nests in the far north, and the double- crested cormorant that can be found all along our eastern seaboard, where it also nests. The nearest colonies are on Fishers Island and Gardiners Island. On Gardiners, a huge colony on the west side just south of the windmill can be seen from off shore because of the white wash (excrement) these birds have made on everything surrounding their tree nests. Some Remain Behind Besides these migrating travelers we saw yellow- shafted flickers (big wood- peckers) that were working the low shrubbery of the barrier beach during this lull in migration. They, too, head south, yet some will stay through the winter months just as some hawks do. Bushes along the walkway had jittering flocks of yellowrumps, migrating. Some of these will stay through the winter here on our East End. This little warbler is well named, for its yellow rump is easily seen, especially when it flies. We even saw horned larks, other mi- grants that can often spend their winter months eking out a living here on our East End. You'll often see them flying low, skimming over the open, bare ground of some potato field or wind- swept beach. Their sharp eyes and point- ed bills enable them to seek out tiny seeds amongst the grains of sand and dirt that let them somehow survive through the winter. Why some birds migrate to warmer places and yet others of the same species will stay around through the winter is one of the puz- zles still unsolved. Take the tiny golden - crowned kinglet that we saw; it nests mostly in the woods of the far north and migrates south each year. Why do some of these birds stay with us through the winter when pickings would be so much more plentiful and easier down south where it's warmer? Our day had fizzled out as far as mi- grating hawks went yet we had seen enough to make the trip worthwhile. We even saw a red fox sneaking through the dunes. Once it went up and looked out on the unsuspecting fishermen. Could it have been contemplating a return later that night when, under cover of dark- ness, he'd sniff out bits of leftover sand- wiches or perhaps the remains of a fish freshly cleaned on the beach? One never knows what's out there un- less you make the effort, so pick one of our great fall days and visit Smith Point and its great ocean beaches that reach as far as you can walk. After all, they are all ours and we should take advantage of them. `One morning I rose early and found a whole cedar tree covered with sleeping monarch butterflies.'