April 23, 2009 - Focus flies north for the springI APRIL 23, 2009 1 SUFFOLKTIMES.COM
Focus flies
north for the s
It took us just a couple of hours by
plane and an hour from the airport
to get home after we'd left our winter
retreat in Florida. (Time out. Our
cat just rolled my pen off the table
and now chases it across the floor. I
might add she couldn't express her
joy in seeing us enough, with much
purring and rubbing against our legs
until I thought she'd wear the side of
her head off. She, by the way, kept
vigil in the house with visits from
family and friends to make sure she
was OK.)
We knew things were different as
far as the temperature went as soon
as we landed, for there was coolness
FOCUS ON NATURE
PAUL STOUTENBURGH
M not experienced all winter lon€
te long chilly walk from the plane
rough that cold metal tunnel that
nnects the plane to the board-
; area told us a chilling day was
store for us. Even standing at the
ggage merry-go -round we could
11 feel the tug of winter.
11
rin
PAUL AND BARBARA STOUTENBURGH P
A lasting memory I have of gannets is from years ago when we were camping at Perce
at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River in Canada. I traveled by boat to photograph
L_:-1, ,NarP nestine by the thousands in the rock crevices.
On the ride home the nrst sigh
noticed that spring was winning
ut were the bright yellow clumps
f forsythia telling us winter's back
.ad been broken and the rhythm
f the season could not be stopped
particularly enjoyed seeing the
lumps of forsythia that had not
)een manicured by trimming; left
o their own direction seems to me
he way to go.
We would see an occasional store
)r business that had been lost be-
;ause of the failing economy, and I
:hought how hopeless it must feel to
use out to hard times.
Then ix was back to our son s
place, where all the family gathered
for a scrumptious meal, pictures an
well wishes from all to see us back
home. You forget how good it is to
see everyone once again.
Here again we could see spring
trying to take over. Daffodils lined
Roger's driveway, trying hard to get
their first bright yellow blossoms
out. And interestingly enough, just
to show us that winter hadn't left u:
yet, the blooming winter jasmine
on his back porch was there in all
its glory with its small, bright yel-
low blossoms.
This was turning out to be a day o
days, for what greeted me was a col-
lection of baby chicks that the Easte
Bunny had left. Once word got out,
everyone wanted to see what we ha(
and touch the cute little chicks, not
to mention the two ducks that were
the noisiest and biggest of the batch.
What fun! I look forward to raising'
and enjoying them. So you see, were
going to be busy making cages for
our new arrivals.
Back home, where Peggy had
arranged pansies and other bright
flowers to greet us, I took off for. a
short walk around the place. In the
chicken house I was greeted with a
few new Rhode Island Red chicken:
and —guess what? — three small
eggs, perhaps their first. Then,
walking through the garden, we
found winter had devastated every.
thing, so now we'll have to get busy
out there. And so our homecoming
A few days later my son Peter,
whose business takes him all over
this end of the island, told us of
gannets working in the bays for
mackerel, herring or whatever is in
season. For those who are not famil
iar with gannets, let me tell you
about another one of my favorite
birds. Perhaps the reason I'm so
keen about this ocean traveler is m`
experience with them nesting on
Bonaventure Island on the Gaspe
Peninsula in Canada. It was there
I spent a whole afternoon sitting
among them as they flew past me
a mere 10 feet away. The gannet is
one of the largest sea birds, an all -
white bird with black wing tips.
;W
The gannet is only occasionally
seen on our bays and Sound, so
when my son told me about seeing
them in close off Greenport, we ha(
to check them out. We went down
Fifth Street to the very end, which
put us opposite Shelter Island, and
sure enough, there were 30 or more
off in the distance and they were
fishing, for we could see their sil-
very-white splashes as they dove foi
their meal. Remember, we are talk-
ing about a diving sea bird about
the size of a small goose and with a
wing span a little over six feet.
As we finish up this article, our
first written back on the North Fork,
we are watching a brilliant yellow
and black goldfinch at our thistle
feeder. During our stay down South,
we missed seeing all the colorful
land birds we enjoy here. It's good to
be back home.
Ell
Left: This bright - yellow duckling left off by the Easter Bunny brought joy to our great -
grandchildren as well as to the adults who watched the young people learn about
the natural world. Right: This small flower of the winter jasmine has been blossoming
throughout the winter, holding out until spring really arrives.