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March 31, 2005 - Seeking out the snow goose Serving Long Island's North Fork since 1857 Seeking out the snow goose Focus on Nature By Paul Stoutenburgh Most people know that geese head north about this time of the year. Many of these geese stop here on our East End to refuel and rest to get ready for their next move northward. Every once in a while on our North Fork we see a few of the much rarer snow geese, with their black wing tips, traveling with the Canada geese. So when my son called and told us there were five snow geese in a field nearby, we headed out with binoculars and camera. Every year, as the Canada geese migrate north to their nesting grounds, there is always a chance that a few snow geese will travel with them. Being vegetarians, like all geese, they enjoy the sod farms and rye fields of our North Fork. When we got to the farmer's field we saw the five geese grazing on winter rye, along with 90 or more Canada geese. The great majority of snow geese move up the central flyway, which is more to our west. When migrating, they are one of the highest flyers, and it is said they travel at speeds of up to 50 mph. All are heading for the Arctic region that runs across the top of Canada, where they nest. Years ago we had the privilege of taking a group of interested birders to Chincoteague National Wildlife Refuge about this time of year to witness the build -up of these handsome white geese on their ancient gathering ground. For hours on end we watched clouds of white snow geese drift in and settle on the marshes as they moved from one eating place to another, always looking for the best menu. We had traveled all the way to Chincoteague to see the annual migration of white, and it truly was a mass of white as the geese came fluttering in, cackling to each other. I wondered what all the chattering was about. Were they saying, "Get out of my way," or "Here I come," or what? They surely did let everyone know they were about to land. Snow geese nest in colonies, not by themselves. The female is the workhorse, making her nest out of dry grasses and twigs. Then she lines it with down from her breast. I've seen similar nests made by Canada geese. When they leave the nest, they cover their precious eggs with the soft down to keep them warm until they return. I can vouch for the insulating quality of the down - covered nest, for once, out on Gardiners Island, I came across a goose nest by accident. The always -alert pair must have seen me coming and snuck off, leaving the nest covered over with down. I put my hand in under the layer of down and found it was toasty warm. While the female is incubating the eggs, the male stands guard, always ready to protect his family by challenging, hissing and flapping his wings. Usually the fox, hawk or other intruder turns tail and leaves. Snow geese grow to a ripe -old age. There's a record confirmed by a leg band of one that was shot in California that was 17 years old. Years ago, when I first started birding, we occasionally saw what was then called a blue goose, because of its bluish -gray color. Then it was listed as a separate species. riew.com/ST/stories/282970437709652.php Times - Review Newspapers I Eastern Long Island, NY - Welcome, vernal visitors Page 2 of 3 has already blossomed and poked its flower head out of the frozen ground in hopes of attracting the first flying insects to pollinate its brown - cupped flower. Skunk cabbage has to capture the sun early and do its growing early, for it will soon be shaded over by the trees of the wet areas — the tupelo, the swamp maple and others. It is in these wet areas that we find vernal ponds, where the cold- blooded salamanders have already indulged in courtship and mating. Their jelly -like masses of eggs vouch for their having been there. One salamander that comes to mind is the beautiful spotted salamander, with its blackish body sprinkled with yellow spots. They grow anywhere from three to five inches long. I'm sure there are those who would say, "So what? What good are salamanders? You can't eat them." No, you don't eat them, but they are part of the system that makes our world what it is today. They are like the multitude of parts that go into your car. Some parts you can run without, like door handles, rearview mirrors, turn signals, etc., but its nice to have them and it makes the car the better and safer product. And so it is with salamanders — they make the world a better place just because they are there. Let me clarify what I mean by a vernal pond. These are ponds that are filled with water In the winter and spring but eventually dry up in the summer. It's during that period of fulfillment that the salamanders take advantage of them as a place to lay their eggs. They are assured no fish or other predators will get their eggs before they hatch, and a new generation of salamanders will have left the pond long before it dries up. A typical place to see these vernal ponds is Moores Woods in Greenport, and I'm sure in other places like Riverhead, Aquebogue and Wading River. If we were upstate, let's say in the Catskills, the sign of spring there would be the sap flow in the sugar maples. The sap houses would be burning their logs and boiling down the sap to make maple syrup, that wonderful, sweet tasting syrup that makes the dullest of pancakes come alive. As I write in front of the big picture window, I see the red - tailed hawks have paired off and are now sitting next to each other on the very top of my windmill. It won't be long before their eggs are laid and a new generation of red -tails will come forth. You who live near the creeks and bays can now see the mallards, black ducks, bufflehead, mergansers and many other waterfowl putting on their antics of courtship. This is their time to come together. For those of you who have bird feeders, you'll see squabbles amongst the cardinals, one chasing the other out of its territory. Even the woodpeckers — our little downy is chasing after a female, all with the one universal goal of reproducing the species. I can't remember when I've had so many people call about robins on their lawn or in their holly tree or by the roadside. Groups of 20, 30, and at one place even 50 robins were reported. These were not over - wintering robins, which we have a few of each year, but true pioneers of spring. Here's another harbinger of spring, a shorebird that doesn't visit the shore but rather those wet, boggy areas where walking becomes a soggy adventure. Here we'll find the woodcock. This chunky, long- billed bird is noted for its elaborate courtship. I only wish you could get to one of its display areas and see and hear the aerial courtship the woodcock puts on. The best time is from late February to early April, and if possible in the evening, with a full moon. The male bird will strut in front of the female with soft love songs only a woodcock would know. Then it bursts into flight, climbing to a height of 50 to 100 feet, all the time giving out with little twitterings of "peent, peent " These love calls are heard throughout the courtship display. Once the male reaches a height of 100 feet or more, it then spirals down, calling all the time, until it reaches the ground, where it again starts strutting in front of the female. Now there's a true sign of spring. http:// archive.timesreview.comlarchive detail. php? archiveFile= .Ipubfileslmatlarchive /2005/... 4/2/2005 • Suffolk Times • March 31, 2005 eeSkin out the MOST PEOPLE KNOW that geese head I north about this time of the year. Many of these geese stop here on our East End to refuel and rest to get ready for their next move northward. Every once in a while on our North Fork we see a few of the much rarer snow geese, with their black wing tips, traveling with the Canada geese. So when my son called and told us there were five snow geese in a field nearby, we headed out with binoculars and camera. When we got to the farmer's field we saw the five geese grazing on winter rye, along with 90 or more Canada FOCUS geese. The great majority of snow 0 N geese move up the central NATURE flyway, which is by Paul more to our west. Stoutenburgh When migrating, they are one of the hiehest fivers. and it is said they travel at speeds of up to 50 mph. All are heading for the Easter seals? Arctic region that runs across the top These 38 harbor of Canada, where they nest. Years ago we had the privilege of seals were seen taking a group of interested birders basking in the sun to Chincoteague National Wildlife a sand bar in th the bay in back of Refuge about this time of year to wit- C a Beach ness the build -up of these handsome Couunty nty Park last white geese on their ancient gathering ground. For hours on end we watched Week. Harbor clouds of white snow geese drift in and seals come in various shades: settle on the marshes as they moved from one eating place to another, al- some white, some ways looking for the best menu. speckled, some brown, some We, had traveled all the way to Chincoteague to see the annual migra- black. They're not tion of white, and it truly was a mass uncommon, but to of white as the geese came fluttering see a group of 38 Was quite a sight! in, cackling to each other. I wondered what all the chattering was about. Times /Review Photos by Were they saying, "Get out of my Barbara Stoutenburgf, way," or "Here I come," or what? They surely did let everyone know they were about to land. themselves. The female is the work- horse, making her nest out of dry grasses and twigs. Then she lines it with down from her breast. I've seen similar nests made by Canada geese. When they leave the nest, they cover their precious eggs with the soft down to eep them warm until they return. I can vouch for the insulating quality of the down - covered nest, for once, out on Gardiners Island, I came across a goose nest by accident. The always - alert pair must have seen me coming and snuck off, leaving the nest covered over with down. I put my hand in un- der the layer of down and found it was toasty warm. While the female is incubating the eggs, the male stands guard, al- ways ready to protect his family by challenging, hissing and flapping his wings. Usually the fox, hawk or other intruder turns tail and leaves. Snow geese grow to a ripe -old age. There's a record confirmed by a leg band of one that was shot in California that was 17 years old. Years ago, when I first started bird - ing, we occasionally saw what was then called a blue goose, because of its bluish -gray color. Then it was listed as a separate species. Today, through re- search, that has all changed and what was once known as the blue goose is now merely listed as a color phase of the white snow goose. It's some- thing like the color phase of our little screech owl, which has either a red or a gray phase. No matter what the color, it's lust a screech owl. by geese is so extensive it can be seen from outer space. tin those wondertul memories of the '70s when we visited Chincoteagt were when the snow goose popula- tion was fairly stable. Since that time much has happened in the snow goos world. Their numbers have drastica113 increased. They are experiencing a population explosion due to man's expanding his agriculture by creating more and more rice fields, soybean fields, corn fields, wheat fields, etc. — all of which have now become the feeding grounds for the snow geese. In early times the snow geese flew directly to their nesting grounds, non -stop. Today we have not only provided the agricultural food along the way but we have also provided wildlife refuges along their migration routes to the north. We find the geese are healthier and better able to survive the long mi- gration to their nesting grounds. Snow geese are prolific breeders and very successful nesting birds; we now have created the problem of too many snow geese. A result of what this population explosion is doing can be seen when the geese reach their northern nest- Every year, as the Canada geese migrate north to their nesting grounds, there is always a chance that a few snow geese will travel with them. Being vegetar- ians, like all geese, they enjoy the sod farms and rye fields of our North Fork. ing grounds and immediately start to graze. They feed on the grasses, sedges and bulbs to such an extent that they literally have made a desert area out of what was once a prime nesting area This destruction is so extensive that it can be seen from outer space, running along the northern edge of Canada's Arctic. This devastation of the wet- lands and marshes not only affects the snow geese and their young but also becomes a real problem to the mil- lions of shorebirds that also use this area as a nesting ground. Still, with all the work being done to try to stop the devastation of the 135,000 acres of the Arctic tundra, one third is already destroyed, an- other third is on the brink of being destroyed, and the last third is being consumed by this over - exploding pop- ulation of geese. Their numbers have grown over time from fewer than half a million to more than three million. Others say their numbers are up to Si million. So what can be done about it? They've increased the hunting limits, taking off all restrictions. Asa matter of fact, you can do just about whatever you want to do to help reduce the number of snow geese. Yet these tech- niques to reduce the population all have failed, and the number of snow geese continues to increase. The problem s become so bad that the U.S. and Canada, plus private organi- z ha ations like Ducks Unlimited, Audubon and others, have gotten together to try to turn the problem around. When- ever you try to control a pop- ulation for the good of wild- life, there is always an outcry from those who feel this type of control is wrong and man should let nature take its course. Gov- ernment is caught in the middle. This problem. that man has created is one that needs immediate attention; otherwise the great Arctic tundra that once provided lush grasses and sedges for birds to feed on will be gone. If this happens, there'll be a tremendous gash in the population of the snow ;eese, along with all the other species hat use the area. Man is caught on the