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January 09, 1992 - Stalking Herons by the Ocean Road6A • The Suffolk Times a January 9, 1992 Stalking Herons by the Ocean Road By Paul Stoutenburah The first week of the new year surely gave us some mild weather. It shows up in my lawn and back pasture where my feet feel like they are walking on some super -soft carpet because the little Focus on frost that was in the ground has Nature disappeared completely. Even the little ice that was around has gone leaving the few great blue herons a better chance for survival. Normally all herons move south in the winter but a few stay on to try to make it through. Most of those pay dearly with their lives when a cold spell freezes up their feeding grounds. Then it's a slow death by starvation. For now though we'll see these grey giants sitting hunched up along the side of a creek or waterway waiting for something to move below. It could be a killie that wiggles out of the mud hoping to find a bit of nourishment in the ooze below. Then it might be a meadow mouse or marsh rat that unknowingly scurries by, not noting the statuelike figure above, poised and ready to snap it up. It's remarkable to see what food passes through these three- foot -tall de- liberate stalkers. I once photographed one with a huge two -foot eel hanging from its bill. Then there was the one I watched for at least five minutes while it tussled to get a big flounder down its throat. Finally I could actually see the flounder bulging as its folded shape was slowly worked down that long out- stretched neck. Ocean Road Views A good place to see great blue herons without even getting out of your car is along the road that parallels our ocean- front and creeks. I never fire of making a dune road trip for there's always some- thing to see. Last week on one of these trips Barbara and I saw an elusive Amer- ican bittern stalking the shallows that parallel most of the ocean road. Years ago, when rules and regulations concern- ing our wetlands didn't exist, people did just about what they wanted to do with this valuable resource. When fill was needed for a road along the oceanfront it was taken out of the marsh, leaving a trench alongside the newly built road. Today after more than a half century the scarred marsh has finally healed itself to some extent and now provides, along with other natural drainage areas, habitat for herons, ducks and other waders. This American bittern we saw is one of nature's greatest camouflage achievements. Not only does its mottled color dissolve into the marsh grass per- fectly but its pose puts the final touch on this masterpiece of hiding. The col- oration is a series of soft brown -and- cream streaks that, when stretched out with its neck and bill pointing to the sky, makes it almost impossible to see. This is the attitude you'll find this bird pictured in all books as it typifies the American bittern. Actually we had gone out on one of our goof -off days to try to find an eagle reported in Manorville. Many years ago I worked for a farm supply company that took me to every farming community on the island. This was an exciting job for I saw much of our island, including that wilderness area of Manorville. This back country had been forgotten about in those days and seldom received visitors. It had great expanses of pine barrens, ■ Afts9af. X wwL 79 Years Ago Jan. 11, 1913 Local News: Shelter Island —Owing to the heavy westerly wind of Saturday last which made the lowest tide ever witnessed by the oldest inhabitants here, there was no necessity of anyone going hungry, if clams would appease their appetites. Barrels of the bivalves both hard and soft, were dug, some getting one, two, three and even six barrels. The catch was great but no doubt the prices will be lower. Orient —Such moderate weather as we are having begins to make our sprout dealers feel blue, because prices are low and stock is turning yellow. Boys, one hundred dollars per acre is a great risk at any time. Icemen too are getting uneasy. Four dollars per ton for manufactured ice will make too big a hole in the fisherman's profits. 50 Years Ago Jan. 8, 1942 Military Patrol Stationed in Mattituck: Sol- diers from Camp Upton, assigned to patrol duty on the North Fork, arrived early last week, and as the result of arrangements made by the Civil Defense Council, firemen and the Raymond Cleaves Post of the American Legion, took up quarters in the old firehouse on Pike Street, Matti- tuck. Detachments of 18 men are changed every four days. They brought considerable equipment along with them and Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh GREAT BLUE HERON WITH EEL —We'll see a few of these great stalkers during the winter provided it doesn't freeze up for too long a period. Their food supply can vary from insects to fish, from mice to frogs. swamps and lakes, and because of this wet area, commercial cranberry bogs. It was a naturalist's paradise, mostly untouched by man. It was in this area Barbara and I had hoped to see the reported golden eagle. Like many of our trips, we failed to find what we were after but had a wonderful time reac- are prepared for any emergency. Farm Program Adapted to Wartime Needs: The U.S. Department of Agriculture under the Agricultural Conservation and the Food for Victory Programs is trying to help every farmer to adjust production, so nations fight- ing aggression will have the required amounts of certain foods and not have an overproduction of less - needed farm products. The Department of Agriculture does not see a need for an increased production of potatoes in 1942 and therefore the potato program of the Suffolk County Agricultural Conser- vation Association, which is on a voluntary basis, will be substantially the same as the 1941 program. 25 Years Ago Jan. 13, 1967 Garden Club Honored: The Garden Club of Shelter Island has been notified that it was the first -place winner in a civic beautification project sponsored by the Federated Garden Clubs of New York State in coopera- tion with the Sears Roebuck Co. The Garden Club chose as its project the landscaping of the grounds of the new library. Miss Alice Heys of Brooklyn was the landscape architect. Ralph Sterling of Cutchogue provided the planting material. A $200 cash prize accompanied the award. g!lia,F 3 0 t0 5 0 O F F manufacturer's list price erticals a Pleated Shades a Mini Blinds e Sunshades a Wood Blinds 765 -4700 WINDOW DECOR Free InstaHatlon . Free shop at home service quainting ourselves with this unique area that by now has been caught up in the development craze. Misplaced Golf Course The cranberry bogs have long since closed down and are now overgrown. A golf course has sprouted up in one of the prime wetland areas and new devel- opments are seen everywhere. Thank goodness, the state's Department of En- vironmental Conservation (DEC) has bought up much of this land for it forms the headwaters of the Peconic River that feeds into the Peconic Estuary, whose area includes all the waters from Riverhead to Montauk Point to Orient Point. This vital estuary area so rich in shellfish and fish of all sorts is at a cri- sis. A vast part of our economy is di- rectly or indirectly tied to this great bay of varying salinities. I say crisis because it has growing pains. More people and more development around its edge have taken much of the life out of this great spawning and nursery area. If something isn't done to correct the effect of man's pressures we'll lose this most valuable resource and with it much of our econ- omy. The federal government would like to include this Peconic area in its federal estuary system. If it could be included there would be funds for study and vital recommendations. Of course, there is no mandatory compliance but at least we'd know what direction to go if we want to save our valuable bays and creeks. Much of the work of protection of the land has been done by the state, as we have seen in the purchase of the headwa- ters starting in Manorville, but now with the tight purse strings on budgets there is fear that the Peconic estuary system will not be funded and the East End will lose out. We can miss seeing our golden eagles at Swan Pond in Manorville but we can't miss this last opportunity to be included in the federal estuary program. That would be a disaster. JAMESPORT 200 gal 0116 72-9 722 -3533 CASH C.O.D. BETWEEN NE LONDON, a& ORIENT POINT, NY SCHEDULE a THROUGH JAN. 30 MAUNA JAN. 20 MON.-THURS. EXC. JAN. 20 Nl OP A OP 1.00 9.00 7.00 9.00 9:00 11:00 11:00 1.00 11:00 1.00 1:00 3.00 3.•00 5.•00 3.•00 5.00 5.00 1-00 7:00 8:45 7:00 8:45 Reservations are recommended if you are taking a vehicle. FOR VEHICLE RESERVATIONS OR INFORMATION CALL ON LONG ISLAND IN CONNECTICHT 516. 3231525 203-4435181 516. 313. 2743 203.444 -0183 516. 313.2695 203444.5035 516. 3232415 203-444-0482 JAMESPORT 200 gal 0116 72-9 722 -3533 CASH C.O.D.