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February 04, 1988 - Early Birds at MontaukThe red - breasted merganser is one of the typical winter birds we see throughout our area. Most often seen are the females and immatures in their rusty -grey plumage in con- trast to the handsome males pictured above. Paul Stoutenburgh Photo Focus on Nature Early Birds at Montauk By Paul Stoutenburgh The other night Art Cooley called me from the south side saying he was going to Montauk with a group of outdoor en- thusiasts and wanted to knc , if I'd be in- terested in going. Needless to say a hasty lunch was packed and binoculars and scope were put by the door ready for an early morning departure. I had made arrangements to meet the group at the Westhampton exit of Sunrise Highway and there I picked up Dennis Puleston from their car. Dennis, just back from a trip to the Antarctic, is one of the great Long Island naturalists. We are old friends and the drive to Montauk would give us a chance to talk. Montauk was clouded with a steel grey overcast and as we got out of the cars I'm sure some of the group were wondering what we were doing here on such a dismal day. Coats were buttoned up, gloves put on, binoculars slung over necks and bulky tripods with their scopes atop were carried over the shoulders. We were off to the easternmost tip of Long Island. The sea had a gentle swell that made but a slight effort to break over the rugged stony embankment below the great lighthouse. From atop a hill just north of the lighthouse we set up our scopes. Those with binoculars scanned the sea looking for whatever appeared on the surface. By now the light was a bit better and we could see hundreds and hundreds of white- winged scoters, mergansers and oldsquaws bobb- ing up and down on the steel grey water that spread out before us. This was a winter's day on the ocean yet the ducks paid little at- tention to the weather. Their concern was feeding. Gulls Take Ducks' Food Among the mass of ducks were seagulls, the bandits of the sea. What they did was to wait until a merganser or scoter popped to the surface with some bit of food in his bill and then move in and snatch it from him. Gulls can't dive deep so they let the ducks do the diving and they reap the harvest. Naturally they don't get all the food; the ducks looked healthy and strong. Ducks have fed off this Point since the beginning of our island. The sea has been a good pro- vider. As we looked more carefully, three com- mon eiders were spotted. These big hand- some ducks come from the north and a few are usually found along our oceanfront wherever there is a rocky coast. A single Bonaparte's gull flew by. This small gull which is a common offshore bird throughout the winter feeds on small fish and crustaceans the sea provides. It was nice to see it in so close where we could all view it. I can remember last year when we were at Montauk there were hundreds of them feeding off some school of fish just off the Point. It was a bit earlier in the season and the bluefish were running then. We looked over the gulls particularly well for we hoped to see one of the white winged gulls such as a glaucous or Iceland gull. These are northern gulls that we are privileged to see when they come into our area occasionally. Later Art's sharp eyes would pick out one but, like so many birds on the move, it never stopped long enough for all of us to see. After checking and rechecking, Art concluded definitely it was an immature glaucous gull. Mussel Shell Beach Having scanned the Point for about half an hour, we decided to head to the north and west along the bay beach. From the beginn- ing and lasting for almost a mile, a windrow of mussel shells lined the high tide mark of the beach. These were the blue mussels that are so good to eat and the ones, I'm sure, the ducks offshore were feeding on, but why so many shells? We all speculated on this and came to the conclusion that some great storm must have ripped up the bottom and cast them ashore. Nothing else could have done it. It was one of nature's catastrophes. On they spread as we walked to the west, and if you walked on them, your feet would sink a foot or more into the thick loose shells. Amongst them were crab and lobster shells with a multitude of seaweed and kelp mixed in. Most of the mussel shells were empty and this completely bewildered us. What had happened to them? Had they been ripped off and organisms of some sort eaten them and then the lighter empty shells toss- ed ashore? We'd never know. There were still a few live mussels left for we could see where the gulls had been eating them. Yet no amount of gulls could have eaten the billions of mussels piled on the beach. We'd seen something like this before but never to such an extent. If you walk far enough along the bay side of Montauk in a westerly direction, you'll eventually come to some rocks that stand out along that rugged shore. It was here we hoped to see some Harlequin ducks, those seldom seen colorful northern ducks. As we approached and scanned the area with our glasses, we could see seals on the rocks. Three or was it four? We were too far away to see so we moved up closer. Three great cormorants flew by showing their white throat patches. Their extra large size identified them easily from the smaller double- crested cormorant. Later, around the corner, we'd see more of them sitting on rocks with their wings outstretched so characteristically drying their wet feathers. Seals Enjoying Winter We finally got close enough to set up the scope and look over the area. We saw no Harlequin ducks but were amazed to see 17 seals in all, some on rocks and some in the water. This spot has never failed us for seals. We watched engrossed at these sleek animals as they rested perched high on the rocks. Every once in a while one would scratch with its back flipper almost like a dog. Then they'd stretch, bending almost in a big U, head and tail raised high. One in particular had markings of a white face mask. It looked almost carnival -like. The long beach walk was invigorating. We had the companionship of good friends. The day had cleared up and the sun sparkl , ed about us on a now cheery sea. Our earlier gloomy weather had cleared. Birds and seals obliged us and we had worked up our appetites for the lunches awaiting us back at the cars. We headed back. When we reached the big parking lot under the mighty Montauk Light there were over 30 cars there. The latecomers had arrived.