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August 03, 2000 - A Robins Island roundup10A • The Suffolk Times • August 3, 2000 A Robins Island roundup A few weeks ago Barbara and I were invited to join an osprey survey on Robins Island being done by a Natio- nal Audubon representative from the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary. It did- n't take us long to take them up on the invitation, and the next day we were at the landing over at New Suffolk where the boat would pick us up at the Focus designated time of 9 o'clock. ON As I walked NATURE out on the dock I couldn't help by Paul but remember Stoutenburgh the old weath- ered oyster factory that was once here. Today the only thing that gives you an inkling of where it once stood are the pilings that were left after it burned down. It was in the days when there were oyster beds all around the bay. They were marked by long white cedar poles, measuring probably five inches in diameter by 20 feet long and perfectly straight. There was a canvas flag on top designating one of the boundaries of that particular oyster bed. Every once in a while one would break loose and come ashore, only to be quickly claimed, as they made per- fect flag poles. One stood in our front yard for many years. So much has changed since those early days when New Suffolk was bristling with fishing boats. It seemed every slip in Schoolhouse Creek was taken up with a party boat. Cars lined .s 1 s Z Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh For the first time oystercatchers have nested on the beach of Robins Island. This colorful black- and -white bird with Its knife -like red bill Is a welcome addition to the shoreline of this unique Island. the streets with anxious fishermen who wanted to try their luck at catch- ing the silvery weakfish. The boats would leave early in the morning with shrimp carts loaded. The shrimp were sand or grass shrimp caught in our local creeks. Some of you will remember me telling about the "shrimp lady" from New Suffolk. I can still see her work- orcpn ic. �iroduGe• • CrackerS • C ereA (� • V ►- t;�,miV) 5 • CcoK'teS d Delicious Prepared Foods Full Grocery and Supplement Line We Deliver • Open 7 Days 130 Front Street, Greenport • 477 -8803 p nos ." ,xr�bA� . `n�. - sVx-)6N1\t4 " -?J-OD �bV,Q;Ja,�. I 411 -8485 We're still open 7 Days from 9 a.m. - 6 p.m. Foot of Monsell Place • Greenport SENIOR CITIZENS 10% OFF TUESDAY Tl cl" tD ing her net along the marsh edge, stopping every once in a while to empty it into the cart she towed behind her. Shrimp was sold by the quart to be used as chum for weak- fish. We will probably never see those plentiful weakfish days again. Yet it was good to see a comeback this year of nice -size weakfish in the bay. Let's hope the trend will continue, as weak- fish and the Peconic Bays go together. The boats would head for Roses Grove where they'd line up, one alongside the other, each one tossing over their chum to keep the fish up clos their boat. Hundreds of fish wouTdbe caught. Off to Robins Island We boarded one of the boats that provides trans- portation to Robins Island and in no time we were across the bay and on the dock. The island is private with 24- hour -a -day security. This dock is not the same one that I remember from years ago; that one was wiped out by a storm. There used to be a small building at the end of the dock just as there is now, and atop that old building was an osprey nest. A more perfect setting would be hard to find. We went around the island, survey- ing all the osprey nests plus the nest- ing birds on the beach. It was disap- pointing to see that the large group of nesting endangered least terns that had been there earlier was wiped out by a storm. Terns nest just above high water, and in one of those rare north- easters the tide came up and decimat- ed the colony. This north end of Robins Island provides the ideal place for nesting. Some of the colony moved across the water to Nassau Point on the Nature Conservancy's Meadow Beach Preserve. They did very well for a while, then I noticed they, too, had disappeared. This, however, was not due to the high tide but to predation, which I blame on raccoons. They will wipe out a colony in short order and it is almost impossible to keep them out. They'll climb over fences and barri- cades no matter what you do to pro- tect the birds. Perhaps next year the birds will do better; that's all we can hope for. We checked all the osprey nests on the island. All of the nests seemed to be doing well except the nest on the beach on the east side that failed like the tern colony when that northeast storm came up and washed it away. Perhaps in the future a very low plat- form or just a pile one or two feet high of secured sticks might be pro- vided to keep the nest from being washed away again. It's worth a try. There had been eight nests. That is three more than in previous years, which is very encouraging. Not so for the islands to the east: Fishers, Gardiners and Shelter islands. There the number of young is way down. Some believe it is the short supply of bunkers, which is their main food supply. At the nest on the west side on the offshore rock we watched a mother feeding her young. I was also happy to see nests on the beach. That's the way many of the nests are on Gardiners Island. Bank swallows doing well We could see a very active colony of bank swallows on the west side. These birds nest at the end of a tunnel that they excavate into the bank. They work the edges of the island and catch flying insects such as mosquitoes and greenheads. Also there are occasional large holes in the bank where kingfish- ers live. I remember years ago pho- tographing a kingfisher just outside its hole on the west side of the island. As we drove along the narrow dirt roads, we noticed how well the under - story was coming back. Today, with good management, the woods are com- ing back to their natural cover which invites more land birds such as the thrashers, catbirds, towhees and others. It is remarkable how nature, with a little help, can bounce right back to its pro- ductive self. My hat's off to Mr. Bacon, the owner of the island, who has done just that. If we had more people who thought about preserv- ing and working with nature Lather than against it, our world would be a better place. On our way back we passed the out- buildings that I remember from years ago and, of course, the Manor House, all of which had been left in very poor condition but today have been re- stored to their original charm. There were no new structures on the island, just the original buildings. The one thing I look forward to each time I go back to the island is to see whether or not the heron rookery has returned. As yet, it hasn't, but like the increase in ospreys, nesting terns, land birds, and the addition this year of the oystercatchers nesting on the beach, I have hopes that in the future we will once again see night herons, snowy egrets, ibis and others nesting on the island. CAUTION: Subliminal message to follow SUBSCRIBE 1 I,OA • The Suffolk Times • August 3, 2000 A Robins Island roundu AA f� ago Barbara and I were invited to join an osprey survey on Robins Island being done by a Natio- nal Audubon representative from the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary. It did- n't take us long to take them up on the invitation, and the next day we were at the landing over at New Suffolk where the boat would pick us up at the FOCUS designated time of 9 o'clock. ON As I walked NATURE out on the dock by pawl I couldn't help but remember Stoutenburgh the old weath- ered oyster factory that was once here. Today the only thing that gives you an inkling of where it once stood are the pilings that were left after it burned down. It was in the days when there were oyster beds all around the bay. They were marked by long white cedar poles, measuring probably five inches in diameter by 20 feet long and perfectly straight. There was a canvas flag on top designating one of the boundaries of that particular oyster bed. Every once in a while one would break loose and come ashore, only to be quickly claimed, as they made per- fect flag poles. One stood in our front yard for many years. So much has changed since those early days when New Suffolk was bristling with fishing boats. It seemed every slip in Schoolhouse Creek was taken up with a party boat. Cars lined Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh For the first time oystercatchers have nested on the beach of Robins Island. This colorful black- and -white bird with its knife -like red bill is a welcome addition to the shoreline of this unique island. will wipe; out a ' AM colon y'o he streets with anxious fishermen who wanted to try their luck at catch- ing the silvery weakfish. The boats would leave early in the morning with shrimp carts loaded. The shrimp were sand or grass shrimp caught in our local creeks. Some of you will remember me telling about the "shrimp lady" from New Suffolk. I can still see her work- ing her net along the marsh edge, stopping every once in a while to empty it into the cart she towed behind her. Shrimp was sold by the quart to be used as chum for weak- fish. We will probably never see those plentiful weakfish days again. Yet it was good to see a comeback this year of nice -size weakfish in the bay. Let's hope the trend will continue, as weak- fish and the Peconic Bays go together. The boats would head for Roses Grove where they'd line up, one alongside the other, each one tossing over their chum to keep the fish up close to their boat. Hundreds of fish would be caught. Off to Robins Island We boarded one of the boats that provides trans- portation to Robins Island and in no time we were across the bay and on the dock. The island is private with 24- hour -a -day security. This dock is not the same one that I remember from years ago; that one was wiped out by a storm. There used to be a small building at the end of the dock just as there is now, and atop that old building was an osprey nest. A more perfect setting would be hard to find. We went around the island, survey- ing all the osprey nests plus the nest- ing birds on the beach. It was disap- pointing to see that the large group of nesting endangered least terns that had been there earlier was wiped out by a storm. Terns nest just above high water, and in one of those rare north- easters the tide came up and decimat- ed the colony. This north end of Robins Island provides the ideal place for nestine. V= UK ;; wiuny inoveo across the water to Nassau Point on the Nature Conservancy's Meadow Beach Preserve. They did very well for a while, then I noticed they, too, had disappeared. This, however, was not due to the high tide but to predation, which I blame on raccoons. They will wipe out a colony in short order and it is almost impossible to keep them ou . They'll climb over fences and barri- cades no matter what you do to pro- tect the birds. Perhaps next year the birds will do better; that's all we can hope for. We checked all the osprey nests on � he island. All of the nests seemed to e doing well except the nest on the beach on the east side that failed like the tern colony when that northeast storm came up and washed it away. Perhaps in the future a very low plat- form or just a pile one or two feet high of secured sticks might be pro- vided to keep the nest from being washed away again. It's worth a try. There had been eight nests. That is three more than in previous years, which is very encouraging. Not so for the islands to the east: Fishers, Gardiners and Shelter islands. There the number of young is way down. Some believe it is the short supply of bunkers, which is their main food At the nest on the west side on the offshore rock we watched a mother feeding her young. I was also happy to see nests on the beach. That's the way many of the nests are on Gardiners Island. Bank swallows doing well We could see a very active colony of bank swallows on the west side. These birds nest at the end of a tunnel that they excavate into the bank. They work the edges of the island and catch flying insects such as mosquitoes and greenheads. Also there are occasional large holes in the bank where kingfish- ers live. I remember years ago pho- tographing a kingfisher just outside its hole on the west side of the island. As we drove along the narrow dirt roads, we noticed how well the under - story was coming back. Today, with good management, the woods are com- ing back to their natural cover which invites more land birds such as the thrashers, catbirds, towhees and others. It is remarkable how nature, with a little help, can bounce right back to its pro- ductive self. My hat's off to Mr. Bacon, the owner of the island, who has done just that. If we had more people who thought about preserv- ing and working with nature rather than against it, our world would be a better place. On our way back we passed the out- buildings that I remember from years ago and, of course, the Manor House, all of which had been left in very poor condition but today have been re- stored to their original charm. There were no new structures on the island, just the original buildings. The one thing I look forward to each time I go back to the island is to see whether or not the heron rookery has returned. As yet, it hasn't, but like the increase in ospreys, nesting terns, land birds, and the addition this year of the oystercatchers nesting on the beach, I have hopes that in the future we will once again see night herons, snowy egrets, ibis and others nesting on the island. I,OA • The Suffolk Times • August 3, 2000 A Robins Island roundu AA f� ago Barbara and I were invited to join an osprey survey on Robins Island being done by a Natio- nal Audubon representative from the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary. It did- n't take us long to take them up on the invitation, and the next day we were at the landing over at New Suffolk where the boat would pick us up at the FOCUS designated time of 9 o'clock. ON As I walked NATURE out on the dock by pawl I couldn't help but remember Stoutenburgh the old weath- ered oyster factory that was once here. Today the only thing that gives you an inkling of where it once stood are the pilings that were left after it burned down. It was in the days when there were oyster beds all around the bay. They were marked by long white cedar poles, measuring probably five inches in diameter by 20 feet long and perfectly straight. There was a canvas flag on top designating one of the boundaries of that particular oyster bed. Every once in a while one would break loose and come ashore, only to be quickly claimed, as they made per- fect flag poles. One stood in our front yard for many years. So much has changed since those early days when New Suffolk was bristling with fishing boats. It seemed every slip in Schoolhouse Creek was taken up with a party boat. Cars lined Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh For the first time oystercatchers have nested on the beach of Robins Island. This colorful black- and -white bird with its knife -like red bill is a welcome addition to the shoreline of this unique island. will wipe; out a ' AM colon y'o he streets with anxious fishermen who wanted to try their luck at catch- ing the silvery weakfish. The boats would leave early in the morning with shrimp carts loaded. The shrimp were sand or grass shrimp caught in our local creeks. Some of you will remember me telling about the "shrimp lady" from New Suffolk. I can still see her work- ing her net along the marsh edge, stopping every once in a while to empty it into the cart she towed behind her. Shrimp was sold by the quart to be used as chum for weak- fish. We will probably never see those plentiful weakfish days again. Yet it was good to see a comeback this year of nice -size weakfish in the bay. Let's hope the trend will continue, as weak- fish and the Peconic Bays go together. The boats would head for Roses Grove where they'd line up, one alongside the other, each one tossing over their chum to keep the fish up close to their boat. Hundreds of fish would be caught. Off to Robins Island We boarded one of the boats that provides trans- portation to Robins Island and in no time we were across the bay and on the dock. The island is private with 24- hour -a -day security. This dock is not the same one that I remember from years ago; that one was wiped out by a storm. There used to be a small building at the end of the dock just as there is now, and atop that old building was an osprey nest. A more perfect setting would be hard to find. We went around the island, survey- ing all the osprey nests plus the nest- ing birds on the beach. It was disap- pointing to see that the large group of nesting endangered least terns that had been there earlier was wiped out by a storm. Terns nest just above high water, and in one of those rare north- easters the tide came up and decimat- ed the colony. This north end of Robins Island provides the ideal place for nestine. V= UK ;; wiuny inoveo across the water to Nassau Point on the Nature Conservancy's Meadow Beach Preserve. They did very well for a while, then I noticed they, too, had disappeared. This, however, was not due to the high tide but to predation, which I blame on raccoons. They will wipe out a colony in short order and it is almost impossible to keep them ou . They'll climb over fences and barri- cades no matter what you do to pro- tect the birds. Perhaps next year the birds will do better; that's all we can hope for. We checked all the osprey nests on � he island. All of the nests seemed to e doing well except the nest on the beach on the east side that failed like the tern colony when that northeast storm came up and washed it away. Perhaps in the future a very low plat- form or just a pile one or two feet high of secured sticks might be pro- vided to keep the nest from being washed away again. It's worth a try. There had been eight nests. That is three more than in previous years, which is very encouraging. Not so for the islands to the east: Fishers, Gardiners and Shelter islands. There the number of young is way down. Some believe it is the short supply of bunkers, which is their main food At the nest on the west side on the offshore rock we watched a mother feeding her young. I was also happy to see nests on the beach. That's the way many of the nests are on Gardiners Island. Bank swallows doing well We could see a very active colony of bank swallows on the west side. These birds nest at the end of a tunnel that they excavate into the bank. They work the edges of the island and catch flying insects such as mosquitoes and greenheads. Also there are occasional large holes in the bank where kingfish- ers live. I remember years ago pho- tographing a kingfisher just outside its hole on the west side of the island. As we drove along the narrow dirt roads, we noticed how well the under - story was coming back. Today, with good management, the woods are com- ing back to their natural cover which invites more land birds such as the thrashers, catbirds, towhees and others. It is remarkable how nature, with a little help, can bounce right back to its pro- ductive self. My hat's off to Mr. Bacon, the owner of the island, who has done just that. If we had more people who thought about preserv- ing and working with nature rather than against it, our world would be a better place. On our way back we passed the out- buildings that I remember from years ago and, of course, the Manor House, all of which had been left in very poor condition but today have been re- stored to their original charm. There were no new structures on the island, just the original buildings. The one thing I look forward to each time I go back to the island is to see whether or not the heron rookery has returned. As yet, it hasn't, but like the increase in ospreys, nesting terns, land birds, and the addition this year of the oystercatchers nesting on the beach, I have hopes that in the future we will once again see night herons, snowy egrets, ibis and others nesting on the island. I,OA • The Suffolk Times • August 3, 2000 A Robins Island roundu AA f� ago Barbara and I were invited to join an osprey survey on Robins Island being done by a Natio- nal Audubon representative from the Theodore Roosevelt Sanctuary. It did- n't take us long to take them up on the invitation, and the next day we were at the landing over at New Suffolk where the boat would pick us up at the FOCUS designated time of 9 o'clock. ON As I walked NATURE out on the dock by pawl I couldn't help but remember Stoutenburgh the old weath- ered oyster factory that was once here. Today the only thing that gives you an inkling of where it once stood are the pilings that were left after it burned down. It was in the days when there were oyster beds all around the bay. They were marked by long white cedar poles, measuring probably five inches in diameter by 20 feet long and perfectly straight. There was a canvas flag on top designating one of the boundaries of that particular oyster bed. Every once in a while one would break loose and come ashore, only to be quickly claimed, as they made per- fect flag poles. One stood in our front yard for many years. So much has changed since those early days when New Suffolk was bristling with fishing boats. It seemed every slip in Schoolhouse Creek was taken up with a party boat. Cars lined Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh For the first time oystercatchers have nested on the beach of Robins Island. This colorful black- and -white bird with its knife -like red bill is a welcome addition to the shoreline of this unique island. will wipe; out a ' AM colon y'o he streets with anxious fishermen who wanted to try their luck at catch- ing the silvery weakfish. The boats would leave early in the morning with shrimp carts loaded. The shrimp were sand or grass shrimp caught in our local creeks. Some of you will remember me telling about the "shrimp lady" from New Suffolk. I can still see her work- ing her net along the marsh edge, stopping every once in a while to empty it into the cart she towed behind her. Shrimp was sold by the quart to be used as chum for weak- fish. We will probably never see those plentiful weakfish days again. Yet it was good to see a comeback this year of nice -size weakfish in the bay. Let's hope the trend will continue, as weak- fish and the Peconic Bays go together. The boats would head for Roses Grove where they'd line up, one alongside the other, each one tossing over their chum to keep the fish up close to their boat. Hundreds of fish would be caught. Off to Robins Island We boarded one of the boats that provides trans- portation to Robins Island and in no time we were across the bay and on the dock. The island is private with 24- hour -a -day security. This dock is not the same one that I remember from years ago; that one was wiped out by a storm. There used to be a small building at the end of the dock just as there is now, and atop that old building was an osprey nest. A more perfect setting would be hard to find. We went around the island, survey- ing all the osprey nests plus the nest- ing birds on the beach. It was disap- pointing to see that the large group of nesting endangered least terns that had been there earlier was wiped out by a storm. Terns nest just above high water, and in one of those rare north- easters the tide came up and decimat- ed the colony. This north end of Robins Island provides the ideal place for nestine. V= UK ;; wiuny inoveo across the water to Nassau Point on the Nature Conservancy's Meadow Beach Preserve. They did very well for a while, then I noticed they, too, had disappeared. This, however, was not due to the high tide but to predation, which I blame on raccoons. They will wipe out a colony in short order and it is almost impossible to keep them ou . They'll climb over fences and barri- cades no matter what you do to pro- tect the birds. Perhaps next year the birds will do better; that's all we can hope for. We checked all the osprey nests on � he island. All of the nests seemed to e doing well except the nest on the beach on the east side that failed like the tern colony when that northeast storm came up and washed it away. Perhaps in the future a very low plat- form or just a pile one or two feet high of secured sticks might be pro- vided to keep the nest from being washed away again. It's worth a try. There had been eight nests. That is three more than in previous years, which is very encouraging. Not so for the islands to the east: Fishers, Gardiners and Shelter islands. There the number of young is way down. Some believe it is the short supply of bunkers, which is their main food At the nest on the west side on the offshore rock we watched a mother feeding her young. I was also happy to see nests on the beach. That's the way many of the nests are on Gardiners Island. Bank swallows doing well We could see a very active colony of bank swallows on the west side. These birds nest at the end of a tunnel that they excavate into the bank. They work the edges of the island and catch flying insects such as mosquitoes and greenheads. Also there are occasional large holes in the bank where kingfish- ers live. I remember years ago pho- tographing a kingfisher just outside its hole on the west side of the island. As we drove along the narrow dirt roads, we noticed how well the under - story was coming back. Today, with good management, the woods are com- ing back to their natural cover which invites more land birds such as the thrashers, catbirds, towhees and others. It is remarkable how nature, with a little help, can bounce right back to its pro- ductive self. My hat's off to Mr. Bacon, the owner of the island, who has done just that. If we had more people who thought about preserv- ing and working with nature rather than against it, our world would be a better place. On our way back we passed the out- buildings that I remember from years ago and, of course, the Manor House, all of which had been left in very poor condition but today have been re- stored to their original charm. There were no new structures on the island, just the original buildings. The one thing I look forward to each time I go back to the island is to see whether or not the heron rookery has returned. As yet, it hasn't, but like the increase in ospreys, nesting terns, land birds, and the addition this year of the oystercatchers nesting on the beach, I have hopes that in the future we will once again see night herons, snowy egrets, ibis and others nesting on the island.