February 02, 2006 - Introducing: new speciesThe Suffolk Times • February 2, 2006
trodu nci g
new species
Suffolk Times photos by Barbara Stoutenburgh
Above we see a pair of Eurasian collared doves, originally from Asia, looking
for a nest site in a frangipani tree down here in Florida. Introduced into the Ba-
hamas in 1975, by 1980 they had migrated to Florida, where they multiplied
and spread to the extent that they are considered common now. At right: Cor-
morants often can be seen atop some buoy or piling just waiting for a school
of fish to come by. Then, from out of nowhere, hundreds of these black diving,
always- moving birds will reap the harvest of the feeding fish below.
MOST of YOU KNOW the tales about
how the starlings and house sparrows
were introduced into New York from
Europe and how they now have mul-
tiplied and spread throughout every
state in the nation. These are just two
examples of "deliberate releases" of
birds that have done well in their newl
adopted country.
The cattle egret, an all-white bird,
is an example of a "natural introduc-
tion" species.
which came frorr
Focus
Africa. We see
this egret today
O N
throughout Flor-
ida. How these
naturally invad-
by Paul
ing species get
Stoutenburgh
here is anyone's
guess.
Down here in
Florida we have an interesting
situa-
tion of two species of doves that have
moved to the state causing much con-
fusion because they look so much alike.
We all know the common mourning
dove that we feed through the winter,
which has that soft "woo -oo woo -oo"
call. Well, some years ago a different
dove started to show up here in Florida.
It was about the same size as our na-
tive dove but it had a narrow black
band around its neck. It was called the
ringed turtle dove. In time, some of the
more serious observers began to ques-
tion what they were seeing. Was there
another species of ringed dove, one that
looked almost the same as the ringed
turtle dove but a bit larger and darker
tan? Bird watchers found out it was a
new species and was called the Eur-
asian collared dove.
It was introduced back in the '70s
into the Bahamas, where it thrived and
spread throughout the islands. Then
around 1980 it showed up in Florida,
where it multiplied and expanded its
territory, and today this dove has been
sighted as far north as New York.
So here was a case of a new spe- '
ties of dove causing much confusion
in the bird watcher world. This also
showed, once again, that whenever we
are invaded by a foreign species, be it
a plant, a bird, an insect or some other
kind of creature, it usually does well in
its new home. The sad part is that they
take over the local species' habitat to
the extent that some of our native spe-
cies have the possibility of becoming
extinct.
Down here in Florida we have the
Intercoastal Waterway on one side of
us and 1,000 feet to the west
g t is the Gulf
Of Mexico. We see dolphins
in both places, moving alon
in small groups, seemingly
without a care in the world.
They never seem to be in a
hurry as they cruise along at
five to seven mph. Yet I've
been told they can travel up
to 30 mph if necessary.
I got to know dolphins
Years ago, when I was in the
>ervice. On snerml eta„�.> .
nights when the sea was calm and our
ship traveled in complete blackout,
we'd take our hammocks and sling
them up on the bow of the ship. It was
then we could hear them alongside the
ship when they came up for air. Look-
ing down, we could see their outline
in the phosphorescent water below. It
was so dreamy up there we almost felt
guilty, knowing that the rest of the crew
was down below.
Dolphins are more common in the
oceans while porpoise are more coastal
and shy. Porpoise would be what we see
in our bays and Sound. There are prob-
ably many of you who can remember
seeing porpoise in our East End bays
and the Long Island Sound at one time
I can remember seeing them in both
places. I must have been quite young
when I saw them in the bay between
the south end of Robins Island and the
south end of Nassau Point.
Many years later, when Barbara and
I were up at the Sound with our canoe,
Whenever we
are invaded
by a foreign
species, it
usually does
well in its
new home.
we saw a "pod" of porpoise traveling
along a mere 300 feet from shore. We
paddled amongst them and when they
came up for air, we were so close to
them we could hear and see the spray
from their blowholes. Dolphins and
porpoise do not have a flapper valve to
keep water out, so when they surface,
the water that's accumulated in the
blowhole has to be expelled, which was
what we were seeing and hearing as we
paddled amongst them.
Porpoise and dolphins, like whales,
propel themselves by moving their
tails up and down, in contrast to a fish,
which moves its tail from side to side.
The are warm- blooded mammals with
a body temperature approxi-
mately that of humans. To
help insulate their body from
the cold, they, like whales,
have a thick layer of fat
that helps keep them warm
— similar to warm- blooded
mammals that have fur on
their body to keep warm.
It was quite a thrill to be
so close to those sleek and
graceful creatures the day
we paddled amongst them. Sorry to say,
sightings of porpoise in the Sound have
become a rarity in today's world.
We've enjoyed being able to get ac-
quainted once again with these wonder-
ful, sleek and graceful creatures here as
we watch them cruise by. Whether we
are fishing off one of the piers or sitting
at the water's edge watching the sun go
down over the Gulf, we still get a thrill
out of seeing them swim by on their
endless quest for food.
As I write this I can see another spec
tacle of nature. It's a feeding frenzy for
both birds and fish. From all around,
the cormorants (400 or more) came,
along with a smattering of pelicans,
terns and laughing gulls, all hoping to
reap the harvest of feeding fish below.
The cormorants put on a conveyor
belt -like display of black bodies that
moved along as the fish pursued their
prey. Yet for a moment, in amongst
them, I saw a dolphin — then it was