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April 23, 1992 - Jessups Neck: An Endangered Jewel4A 4 The Suffolk Times - April 23, 1,992 Jessups Neck: An Endangered Jewel By Paul Stoutenburgh There's talk of the federal govern- ment, in its great wisdom, balancing an impossible budget by selling off some of its wildlife preserves. To me that would be like selling your mother in her later years because she was a bit more dependent on you Focus on than in her youth. Nature One of the pre- serves closest to us here on the East End is the Morton National Wildlife Refuge, or Jessups Neck as we knew it years ago. It lies west of Sag Harbor and juts out into Lit- tle Peconic and Noyac bays. I hadn't been to this unique area since I took a Nature Conservancy group there some years ago. I wondered if it had changed. As I remembered it there was an old barn at the entrance and just a path through the woods to the beach. So, to reacquaint ourselves once more, Bar- bara and I decided to go there after a meeting in Southampton. We'd stretch our day to include a visit to this threat- ened preserve. Actually the day started out with clouds and sprinkles, a not too pleasant prospect for an outing where walking would take up most of our time. After our meeting we arbitrarily took one of the many back roads that riddle the north shore of Southampton. Up and down we went, swinging first to the left and then back to the right, always in an easterly direction. Occasionally a familiar land- mark would come into view, a familiar spot where we'd birded years before. Today the character has changed: new homes, slick- topped roads and golf courses had sprung up where we had once walked. With another turn I found myself on the familiar Noyac Road that parallels the north shore. Now I knew we were soon to be in front of the Mor- ton National Wildlife Refuge. Time Out for Lunch Being about noon, we went a little far- ther to a roadside deli, got a bit of lunch, then doubled back to the parking lot in back of the barn. Here we ate. There was one car there already but this would change to six by the time we returned from our walk. The sun had come out now and 'the gloomy day was a thing of the past. We had been rewarded by com- ing and as if by magic the area changed from winter's drab to a bright, warm, bursting spring. A Carolina wren outsang all except the noisy crows that were squabbling just behind the tall tupelos to the north. A huge white oak lay on its side nearby, evidence of the havoc- that Hurricane Bob had done to the area. Later we'd see great swaths cut through the trails, show- ing the damage done by this tyrant of wind. A small, white butterfly danced from one point to another along the ground. Freed from winter's grip, it flew with life anew. Sitting in the car with the windows open we could actually feel and smell the warmth of the sun as it settled down around us. Grackles with brilliant iri- descent blues and purples courted in the trees nearby. The occasional scolding call of a Red - Winged Blackbird an- nounced its territorial rights. This was the closest day to spring yet. We were eager to get out and explore this old, yet new area. . The Foray Begins With cameras and binoculars the only trappings we took along, we proceeded toward the beach. First we passed a plat- form shelter where literature about the sanctuary could be picked up. A few well - hidden trail- ers lay to the right sell this showing someone must live here dur- meaningful ing the busy sum- preserve? mer season. HOW could the trail were White- anyone think Throated Spar- of such a rows feeding along with a single thing? Rufous -Sided Towhee. I'm sure this bird has been here all winter and been fed for we could see the sunflower -seed casings. Evidently it's a popular place to feed birds. This was later reinforced when we found groups of chickadees following us and begging for seeds. Of course, there were i w690% 1 wwG ndmw16 78 Years Ago April 25, 1914 Come On, Girls: Assemblyman Talmage's bill to facilitate marriages on Fishers Island has been signed by the governor. Heretofore, people living on that spot were com- pelled to cross the Sound to Greenport and proceed to a town clerk's office at Southold for a license. Now they may obtain that precious document at home. Long Island Gold: We heard of a man the other day who farmed on Long Island, living easily, accumulated $10,000 or more, and then sold out here and bought a farm in Connecticut, where he expected to do better. He didn't, for it is now remarked that he lost everything and is work- ing as a laborer. We are sincerely sorry for his hard luck, but it is simely the penalty of moving away from a gold - mine. The Brooklyn Eagle. High Price for Pickles: At Mattituck, Alart & McGuire Co. are contracting for cucumber pickles and are paying the highest price of any past season, $2.25 per thou- sand for the best stock. 50 Years Ago April 23, 1942 Speed Law: A 40- mile -an-hour speed limit, expected to help conserve tires, gasoline and oil, became effective in New York this week. The law stipulates that driving over 40 miles an hour is "presumptive evidence of driving at a CAROLINA WREN —if you hear a particulary loud and repeated bird call near your house, it's probably the little and often hard - to-find Carolina Wren. cardinals, mockingbirds, juncos, doves and others that took advantage of the free handouts that proved so popular. The farther we walked along the well - trodden trail that wound its way through trees and thickets, the more we felt that the area was used and appreciated more than most imagined. There were benches along the way and occasionally we'd stop and sit, only to have a chickadee come and practically light on our shoul- der. Farther along the trail Barbara's sharp ears heard some movement off to the left as we approached the beach. We stood still and listened. Then, ahead of us, almost as if floating on air, crossed one, two, three, four, five deer, their white tails waving goodbye to us. On the beach the blue waters of Little Peconic Bay spread out before us. Hard- ly a ripple showed on its surface. A lone- rate of speed which is not careful and prudent." OHS Wins Opener: A brilliant pitching duel between Westhampton's Zebroski and Greenport's Pember- ton was settled in favor of the latter, when the local team bunched two hits, following an error in the fourth inning, to score two runs and win, 2 -1. New War Industry: J.S. Richards, a New York industrialist interested in the conversion of potatoes into industrial alcohol, has leased the Mattituck factory of Tatoe Industries and plans to establish a new war industry there. It may be the first of a chain of such plants throughout the spud - producing areas of Suffolk County. 25 Years Ago April 28, 1967 Teenagers Rob P.O.: On Monday evening two teenagers, a boy and a girl about 15, broke the glass panel in two of the lockboxes in the Greenport Post Office with a rock and helped themselves to the mail. They found one check. They forged the signature on the check and endeav- ored to cash it in two local stores but were refused. They then went to one of the local banks. One of the tellers told them to return for the money. During their absence the bank notified the police department and the District Attorney's office. When the teenagers returned to the bank the officers placed them under arrest. ly loon stopped to look us over and then returned to the endless pursuit of its livelihood below. Halfway up the beach were signs and fences. My binoculars revealed that the area was off limits because of the nests of endangered terns and plovers that in a very short time would be returning to these shores. After a brief rest on one of the way- side benches, we turned back, but this time followed the trail that wandered through the wet, marshy areas to the east and then to a lonely pond. Here again we sat and I saw my first Tree Swallow of the year darting across the pond in its pursuit of newly hatched insects. Then we saw the flight of a flycatcher snap down and up to its perch. It, too, was doing its job on the insects. There was even a photographer's blind for taking pictures. A chipmunk scurried beneath the bench. He, too, was looking for sunflow- er seeds. Later along the trail we'd see the many green shoots of skunk cabbage that lined the wet and boggy areas. We'd see two college students with a bag of seed sitting alongside the trail, excited to have the chickadees feeding out of their hands. Sell this meaningful preserve? How could anyone think of such a thing? This property, like many others given to the government for the benefit of all, and now to fill a mere crack in a bursting budget seems ridiculous and mis- conceived. Perhaps the threat of selling was in jest. Let's hope so, but then no one should scorn and threat _with the treasures of the people when the world is losing its natural resources at an un- precedented rate. As man rapes the land, let's not add to the despair. Rather we should be continually building on to our most precious. and natural resources be- cause these are the people's assets. We had such a grand time at the pre- serve that the following week we took our grandchildren and plenty of sun- flower seeds. Talk about excited youth- ful eyes! This is the place to see chick- adees up close.