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July 28, 1994 - 2Along Nature's Often-Tangled TrailJUN 28, 1994 • The Suffolk Times • 7A Along Nature's Often - Tangled Trail By Paul Stoutenburgh How does one make time slow down'? Perhaps it's because we have been so busy that this elusive phenomenon of time sneaks by us so easily and un- noticed. Half the summer has IIready slipped away. Recently we had an unusual call from an old friend about a huge bird in his backyard. "Could I have seen an ea(,le')" he asked. Eagles Focus on are not unheard of on Long Island Nature but they surely are _ -- unusual, to say the least. So, without missing it moment, Barbara and 'I were in the car and off to verify an eagle. You might know it, as soon as we pulled in the driveway Henry said, "It just took off but landed right across the creek in the woods." Again it was into the car, down a dirt road and through a farm lot to the woods across the creek. I knew the bird was in there because I could hear the excited crows calling. They're archenemies of big hawks and owls and will harass them unmercifully until they drive them out of their territory. So I was on the right trail. It was hot. Poison ivy was everywhere and catbricr caught at my bare legs as I worked my way through the woods. Still, I couldn't see it and the sound of the crows became more distant. So, I had to give up and head out to where Barbara was waiting in the clearing. There she told me she had seen the eagle flying off in the distance with birds in hot pursuit. Again it was back in the car but we saw no sign of it no matter how far we searched. The next day we got two more calls about seeing a big bird. "Could I have seen an eagle' ?" "Was that an eagle that I saw today' ?" It stayed right around the Southold /Peconic /Cutchogue area so I still had hopes of seeing it. The last call came from the people at Punkinville up on the North Road where they have many different kinds of birds and ani- mals for the public to view. When they said it was right in a tree in their back- yard we were off again in search of our eagle. This time, sure enough, it was s r� �y f. x ' i f � yN� lYl7 tI�YY� 'a�J Y g,. 1 r� IAC 8 � I�t r r ,. 4010, f . of rG r /� � "•y�� �z Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh CECROPIA CATERPILLAR —This large four -inch green caterpillar is handsome in its own right. Next spring, when it emerges from its cocoon, it will have changed into a colorful six -inch moth. there and I could identify it as an imma- ture bald eagle. Evidently, the birds and animals they have there had attracted it to their area. It stayed around quite some time and then later new away. For the Last Hine The next day it was back again at Punkinville but this time the Bergmanns said it looked weak and failing. And so I called Tim and Sue Gray, who are licensed wildlife rehabilitators, and asked them to check on the bird. Sure enough, they verified its poor condition and decided they should capture it so it could be taken care of. But capturing is not always that easy as the bird new up on the barn and remained there overnight. The next morning they had hoped to take it Dr. Zitek's veterinarian hospital where it could be treated and hopefully cured. But plans don't always work out the way you want and when they went to pick it up, the eagle had died. A sad story for sure and one we still don't quite understand. Bald eagles have been taken ■_adii9A 11—AAL �AAL 82 Years Ago July 27, 1912 Exit Theodorus Rex Tyrannus: Ring out, ye bells, your merry chime! Let all the people shout. An omen comes of better times, for Roosevelt's fired out. We know not where he's going now, nor shall we seek to find him; to fate at last he makes his bow; his future is behind him. We've stood him long — he would not go, although the nation asked it. Praise God from whom all blessings flow! His head is in the basket. — Charles H. Requa Island Mail Service: Last week J.J. Scott, chief clerk of the Railway Mail Service, visited the island to see about establishing a mail service between Greenport and Shelter Island. A direct communication has been a longfelt need to the businesspeople of both places and such a ser- vice will be much appreciated. 50 Years Ago July 28, 1944 Wickham Heads New Cooperative: John Wickham, a prominent -Cutchogue farmer, is one of a seven -man board of directors for the new cooperative, known as Cooperative P and C Family Foods, which was announced this week as a "separate and distinct farmers' off the endangered list but are still on the threatened list and so whenever one dies y an inquiry is made as to the cause. The state DEC was notified and the bird was taken to Stony Brook where it was later transferred to Albany for an autopsy. The saga of our bald eagle will be con- tinued when we get the final report of what actually caused its death. I spoke of time flying by and half the summer being over. For those who are observant, the bird world tells you this by the already migrating shorebirds fly- ing low over the bay on their southerly trip from up north where they have already had their young and are now returning to their wintering grounds in and around South America. We stayed overnight in our boat by Robins Island and saw swallows also moN, ing south. Later in the week I'd see 50 to 100 of them lined up on telephone wires. It's a little early for the big concentrations of swallows to be going through but things are starting to move. The grouping up of cooperative" with paid -in stock of $650,000, its own man- agement and a line of foods embracing 1,000 items, many of which are produced on northeastern New York farms. LIRR Celebrates 100th Anniversary: The 100th anniversary of the coming of the railroad to Southold Town is dramatized in a play written by Louise Fitz Howell and presented at Southold Community Hall on Aug. 12 at 3:30 p.m., under auspices of the Whitaker Memorial Histor- ical Collection Committee. The play, describing the events leading up to and follow- ing the running of the first train on the newly installed tracks of the North Fork in 1844, is written especially for the 100th anniversary celebration. 25 Years Ago Aug. 1, 1969 Quakers Hold Special Meeting: The fourth year of gathering at the little Burying Ground at Sylvester Manor on Shelter Island will be observed on Sunday, Aug. 10, at 3 p.m. by Long Island Quakers. Included in Long Island history is the flight of persecuted Quakers from the Massachusetts Bay Colony to refuge on Shelter Island, with many dying there. The most famous, Mary Dyer, returned to Boston to bear her testimony and was hanged on the Common. She is now immortalized by a statue on the site. flocks of young starlings and grackles and redwings is another familiar sight this time of year. These are the new and old members of the family that will later enjoy the farmers' berries, fruits and sweet corn. Even my own small orchard is under attack as the peaches are now being picked apart by their sharp bills. Driving in to the cottage we pass an area where wild wineberries arc turning into their brilliant orange -red color. I look forward to picking them each year. I think the birds sit and wait for them to ripen and then fly down and nip them off. A Crop of Caterpillars The last bit of nature news concerns a call from the daughter of a dear departed friend, Harold Evans. Gail called and asked me if I wanted some cecropia caterpillars. I must say I had to ask, "What' ?" She repeated "cecropia cater- pillars." Always anxious for any insight into the great world we live in, I said sort of hesitantly, "Why, yes." Then the story unfolded. For the past nine years Gail has been raising these caterpillars in her yard to watch them pupate (enclose in a cocoon) and then follow them through the winter and spring when they emerge as beautiful moths (up to six inches) to lay their eggs. Of course, we had to go see this oper- ation. Sure enough, there were 40 or more of these huge, green caterpillars feeding on wild cherry inside her hand- made netting. This was for their protec- tion for birds love to eat them. I took about 12 of these handsome, big cater- pillars along with their leafy branches to distribute to families and friends with children who will enjoy following the metamorphosis of the caterpillar into a beautiful moth. When the caterpillar spins its cocoon later I'll keep one outside my window and through the winter glance at it occa- sionally and marvel at its contents. Through ice and snow, sleet and rain, inside there's a mystery of life holding on. Then, one spring day, there will emerge, wet and folded, the makings of the new and colorful moth. Slowly the wings will dry and fan out and nature will have again completed one of its greatest miracles.