December 09, 1993 - Visits bv Black Swans and Bald Eagles". • The Suffolk Times • December 9, 1993
Visits bv Black Swans and Bald Eagles
By Paul Stoutenburgh
Someone called me last week about a
of black swans in one of our neighboring
creeks. That brought back memories of
the time my wife and I went camping in
New Zealand and Australia. We came
across a body of water that was sprin-
kled with over a
F�t,uS O� thousand of these
handsome, jet -
Nature black, red - billed
birds.
Like our own
mute swans they are strictly vegetarians,
gathering their greenery from the water
surface and below. When the water gets
around three or four feet deep they
upend and their long necks stretch to the
bottom where they feed. Occasionally
you'll see their feet treading water in this
upside -down position to give them that
little extra push to eke out the tender,
green plants on the bottom. On first see-
ing our own white mute swans in this
upended position you are taken aback a
bit, for until they come up for air they
look like pointed chunks of snowy ice.
Occasionally swans will come up on
land to graze or just sit and preen them-
selves. Like geese they can be messy
visitors to your seaside home and often
become a problem in that respect. Be-
cause of the swan's beauty and grace
most people enjoy them in our water-
ways, but like so many things too many
can cause pollution problems, plus they
are so aggressive that they chase all of
the native birds away. This taking over
of our creeks and bays by swans has
made some people think that perhaps we
BLACK SWANS —These two rare swans were seen in one of our local creeks here on the East End. They are
native to Australia, so these probably have escaped from someone's private collection.
should start thinking about controlling
the swan population, but then this
becomes an emotional problem and sane
reasoning is lost in endless arguments
and hard feelings.
Mystery visitors
How these two black swans ever
found our neck of the woods I'll never
know. Most likely they were part of
someone's private collection of birds
and somehow they escaped. Surely they
didn't fly in from Australia or New
Zealand. We often get exotics in our
area and hopefully they'll only be of in-
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North V,ork p
Christmas Tree Farm
North side of Sound Avenue, Northville
(300 yards east of Church Lane)
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Open 7 days 10 a.m. - 4 p.m.
369 -9592
LI Exp. exit 73 proceed east on Route 58, make left on Route 105 to
the end. Make right on Sound Avenue 2 miles on left.
terest and then be gone. We always
have to think of the problems caused
when these exotics become established
in our area. One only has to think of the
English sparrow, the house sparrow or
the starling to see what happens when
nonnative birds are introduced into the
country. -
On viewing one of the black swans
through my binoculars, I could plainly
see the white tip on its red bill and to-
wards its back end the white primaries
of the wings that are most visible when
in flight. Again, like our all -white mute
swans, they have difficulty in getting
airborne. They need a long takeoff area
and even then they need the additional
lift and speed their paddling feet will
give them as they run across the surface
of the water. I guess what charms most
people is the grace and majesty of these
birds when they see them on the still
water. They seem to move without any
visible signs of motion from their huge,
webbed feet. No wonder royalty prized
them so much.
Eagles in the Area
Another telephone call was from a
lady who was all excited about seeing
two bald eagles. Well, one is enough to
stir me out in the most inclement
weather but two eagles, well, Barbara
and I rushed out of the house with our
coats half on. Within 10 minutes we
were at the designated spot where a
small crowd had already gathered. It
was good our friend had spotted the
birds flying, for when we got out and
0
scanned the sky we could see nothing.
Then word was passed that one had
settled in the now - leafless trees across a
pond. My eyes scanned back and forth
for some time; I knew it was there but I
couldn't pick it out. One reason was that
the eagle was a young bird and still had
its dark, mottled plumage that blended
in with the woods perfectly. With a little
help as to where to look I finally
focused in on the big, hunched -down
bird resting in the trees. We never did
see the other bird, but with patience we
were rewarded when the bird in the tree
took off and flew around. How big he
was! No wonder my informer said, "It
could only be an eagle — it was so big."
For those who haven't seen an eagle
flying, it is truly one of the great sights.
With the wing span almost twice that of
an osprey, the eagle dwarfs gulls and
crows. I'm sure these birds were
migrating south. Perhaps they were
hatched in the wilds of Canada or one of
the more isolated parts of the Maritime
Provinces.
I'm always surprised to see what's
around us and doubly surprised to see
how observant and interested many
people are in the world around them.
Even though I always keep an eye tuned
to what's about us, I would have missed
both of these interesting visitors to our
area if I hadn't been alerted by people
just like you. And so I want to thank all
those past, present and future observers
who keep a sharp eye out for the
unusual. I have gained much from your
calls.
V V ishing You and Yours
a Merry Christmas
and a
Healthy, Happy New Year
From All of Us at
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