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June 20, 1996 - Summer Scenes in the Morning MistJune 20, 1996 a The Suffolk Times a 7A Summer Scenes in the Mornin g Mist By Paul Stoutenburgh blackbirds. I knew something had to be It's one of those Long Island mornings when the sun is hiding itself in a haze and dampness is settling in, there's no wind and I'll bet the gnats and mosqui- toes are out. I'll soon find out for I'm going to walk down our long driveway through the woods and across the road to the creek where I have an old dock. It needs some repair and I want to see what needs to be done. I no � sooner open the door than the chickens are running over to greet me. I'm sure it's not their affection for me but they know I'm the one who feeds them. So I'm off to the barn first with my six overfed chick- ens waddling along behind — me. When they're not around and I want to feed them all I have to do is tap on the feed box with the metal scoop and they come running from out of nowhere. They know what it means. Back at the house I head for the drive- way where I pass the garage. On its front I've put a bird box that's been taken over by a pair of house sparrows (English sparrows). It's the one place the raccoon can't seem to get. He's such a predator that all my bird boxes have been vandal- ized by him. Birds' eggs, baby birds, adults — whatever it is, he's taken them all. I can tell by all the nesting material on the ground when he's been on a rampage. Yet even with the security of the garage front, the sparrows are never truly safe. Just the other day I saw a blue jay cling- ing to the front of the sparrows' box try- ing to get into the interior. Luck was on the sparrows' side for the hole was too small or the eggs and babies were tucked too deep inside so that the jay couldn't get at them and he finally gave up and flew away. Of course, all this time the parent birds were flying about, scolding and crying out for help in desperation. More Bad Guys While I'm on the subject of the bad guys in the bird world, let me tell you of my latest crow incident. The other day we heard this awful commotion in our woods, mainly by blue jays, robins and going on so I carefully walked up to where all the noise was coming from. As I looked up my eye caught a crow flying out from a tree on my left. When I brought my binoculars up I could see what all the commotion was about. The crow had been at a bird's nest. They're clever fellows and are always on the lookout for a free meal. Crows, grackles, starlings and blue jays are some of the main predators to nesting birds during this time of the year. Luckily many birds will renest. Back to our walk to the creek. We have a long dri- veway down through the woods and halfway down is a large bird bath or pond. It was built years ago ex- pressly for birds, but mosquitoes, too, have found it and lay their eggs in it. To thwart this budding inferno of mosquitoes each year I buy "feeder fish" from the pet store. Actually, they are used as food for larger carnivorous fish and because of their small size they are relatively cheap. 1 buy 20 or so and distribute them in my fish ponds and bird baths where they real- ly do a job on the mosquito larvae. Some live over the winter, some don't, so each spring I replenish them. Of course the pond/bird bath attracts all kinds of birds and as I pass by I see a catbird slip away into the woods. It sits on a tree limb shaking and preening it- self. Catbirds are one of the great birds to have around. They like people and I see them scurrying around the lawn picking up inchworms and bugs of all sorts. Recycling: `Remarkable' I see a dead tree has fallen since I was last down the driveway. I try to leave some dead trees standing for woodpeck- ers and other birds to dig out the worms and beetles that take up residence there. Now that it's down a whole new group of invaders will take over; rot, fungus, worms and all kinds of insects will attack the now- downed tree until it will, like everything else on the forest floor, be recycled into nutrients that will in turn feed the trees and plants that make up our woods. Pretty remarkable cycle, I call it. Focus on Nature by Paul Stoutenburgh ■_esydft 9 ditAML ndit .16 75 Years Ago June 17, 1921 Orient News: A clever business sign, the like of which has never before been used in this section, or possi- bly in any other, has just been put down in concrete in the sidewalk in front of the Wigwam at Orient. It is made entirely of Buffalo five -cent pieces with all the Indian heads facing upward with their profiles turned to the north. We wonder why they are turned to the north. It has always been the custom among many races to bury the dead with their faces turned toward the east. Town Topics: Fireworks! Just received a large supply of fireworks at Joe Schiavoni's in Greenport. Show your patriotism and celebrate the 4th. (Advertisement) 50 Years Ago July 21, 1946 Air Service from NYC to SI: Ed Wynn, famous radio comedian, flew to Shelter Island on Sunday to arrange for a regular air service from Wall Street, New York City, to Shelter Island for seven passengers in his plane. The pas- sengers who have already made reservations for the new air service are Mrs. Mary Kelly, LaVerne Hench, James Roe, Waldo Kraemer, William Becker and Mr. Goldsmith. Mr. Wynn was the guest of Carletto Franzoni at the Chequit Inn. Two New Roads: The Town of Shelter Island has Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh RED - WINGED BLACKBIRD —Here the nondescript female redwing feeds her young in the woven reed and grass nest she built deep in the marsh. As I walk along I am enclosed in a tun- nel of green; how lush spring makes everything look. At the end of the drive- way I cross the road and into the marsh. There's not a breath of air moving and as predicted the gnats and mosquitoes are out. Tree swallows move up and down feeding on the things that fly over the salt marsh: greenheads, mosquitoes, wood flies and a host of others that we hardly even know about. No wonder birds nest at this time of the year when food is so plentiful. One tree swallow, proba- bly with a full stomach, rests on a nearby pole and preens itself. I can see its "brood patch," telling me it's been sitting on eggs. This brood patch is an opening in the feathers so that when a bird strad- dles the eggs in its nest, the eggs come in contact with the bird's skin and are warmed to the bird's temperature. It's like a part in your hair. Red - winged blackbirds scold me from the nearby reeds. The female in particular is concerned as she flutters back and forth over the area of her nest. A series of alarm calls go out: "Chick chick chick." Her nest below will be made up of some reeds brought together and held in place by grasses to make a beautiful cup. When she sits on her precious eggs her bland brown -black color will blend in perfectly with the surroundings. I see we have our usual crop of cab- bage growing in our creek waters. This green paper -like seaweed grows to such an extent that it becomes a problem in some areas. You can hardly get through it in a boat. Luckily wind and tide will move a lot of it out but much of it will stay. It's a product of our shallow, warm, nutrient -rich creeks and there's lit- tle we can do to stop its growth. The tide is half out, which gives the green heron a good place to stalk for kil- lies along the bank. They, like all herons, are opportunists and often sneak into your backyard fish pond and clean you out if you are not looking. Someone just recently told me he had a large three -foot white heron eating his prize goldfish. It's the first time I've heard of that bird get- ting into the goldfish business; usually it's our smaller herons or the kingfisher that are the problem. At any rate, the mosquitoes are getting the best of me and I've seen what has to be done to the dock. I'm glad to see the natural world is doing fine even though the sun isn't out and there's no breeze to blow away the mosquitoes and gnats. `Catbirds are one of the great birds to have around.' recently acquired land for two new highways. The land for a highway connecting St. Mary's Road with Thomas Street was the gift of Mrs. Charles Reeve and land for a highway extending from Thomas Street to Midway Road was given by Mr. and Mrs. Nathan Dickerson. These highways will be of real benefit to Shelter Island and the public spirit shown by these gifts is much appreciated. 25 Years Ago June 17, 1971 Austerity Could Be Costly: Taxpayers who voted down the Southold school budget last week are going to discover that sometimes it can be expensive to save money. The $2,239,035 package rejected by district resi- dents would have brought the tax rate up from $5.11 per $100 of assessed valuation to $6.51. But a new "near -aus- terity" budget totaling $2,022,935 to be voted on July 1 will mean a tax rate of $6.89 per hundred. Not much opposition was expressed at the budget hearing, but there was some sharp questioning of teachers' salaries and benefits at the annual meeting. In the coming year the starting salary for teachers is $8,200 compared to Greenport's starting salary of $8,250 and Mattituck's $8,350. At a special meeting Monday night the school board voted unanimously to resubmit the original budget with mandated expenses for voter approval.