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February 04, 2010 - Cold snap endangers Florida's fishSUFFOLKTIMES.COM I FEBRUARY 4, 2010 1 TA Left The bur fish, or spiny puffer, is striking in appearance with its fixed, erect spines, which help protect it The fish's ability to inflate its Pw tArro also helps discourage Prreda- tors. Right Few predators bother the little artrwr- plated cowfish with'homs' on its head �Y �h der atso helps dtscouage preda Cold snap endangers er s F fish When I wrote about the devastating effect the freez- ingtemperatures had on Florida's fruit crops and how they had stunned some of the wildlife, I wasn't aware of how muchhamr the cold would eventually cause. The other day while on our way to do some shop- ping, our road led us across one of the many bridges here in Florida. As we drove along we began to see windrows of dead fish and debris strewn up and down the beaches. Farther on we could see highway workers with seven... eight... nine... 10 trucks and loaders cleaning up FOCUS ON N{i�3Pc the beaches. Fish that had died in the unusu- ally cold water and drifted to the bottom eventually made their way to the beaches by way of tides and wave action. PAUL ST 1UTENEURvH As we checked the beaches we found new and different kinds offish. One of the most unusual and interesting to us was the bun fish, which is similar to our blowfish back home in that, as other mem- bers of the pufferfish family it can inflate itself with water to protect it from predators looking for a meal. Another means ofpmtecting itself from predators is its back that is covered with fixed, erect spines that give the animal a pincushion appearance. Burr fish are common here in sea grass beds in shallow waters. We saw many of them dead along the inner bays on the shoreline as well as along the water's edge on the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the bun fish we found were sir to eight inches in length Another fish we found that was new to us is called a cowfish. It is a member of the boxfish family and has a squared, bony body. The one we photographed is called a honeycomb cowfish for the way its scales are connected to form the bony surface that resembles a honeycomb. The samples of cowfish we saw were much smaller than the burr fish; in fact, the one we photo- graphed was only about two to three inches in length The cowfish gets its name from the two horns on its head. Because of their heavy armored bodies and The Florida mottled duck is found only on the Florida peninsula their only power being a puny rudder fm, these fish are limited to slow movements. Therefom they can become stranded in cold, shallow water and eventu- ally end up high and dry on the beach We saw many of these along the inland waters and also on the gulf beaches, along with bun fish. It was time to do something more interesting than check over these poor unfortunate fish, so we headed to Palma Sola Botanical Park It was for- merly a 10 -acre county nursery that was taken over by a group of people who wanted to preserve it as a valuable green space and park The unique condi- tions of the area would allow collections of rare Palms, fruits, flowering trees and other subtropical plants to be safely grown in a protected environ- ment alongwith native plants and trees. And what a place it turned out to be. A beautiful tropical setting, complete with lakes, palm trees, lush flowers and open lawns, it is a haven for wildlife. And it serves as a unique community resource dedicated to providing an interactive learning environment to foster an appreciation of nature and landscaping, preserving natural resources and promoting environ- mental education. It also provides a place for passive recreation for people of ail ages, picnic areas and a beautiful setting for weddings and concerts Jimp �oTeou� t Gzfs Un imited ,°;; T anderafied Jewelry 11160 Main Rd., Mottthlck 298 -1700 No sooner had we parked the car and looked through the trees than we saw families of storks feed- ing and relaxing on the lush lawns Well never get over how the stork sits down: It bends its legs back- ward at the knee— try it! Along the water's edge stood 30 or more beautiful white egrets, as if waiting to be served their lunch; their long, white plumes gracefully extended from their backs down beyond their tails, moving in the breeze. There was a large contingent of crows on the lawn and an evasive pink spoonbill in the distance. That is one bird we are still hying to get close enough to so we can photograph it After walling around the grounds and appreciat- ing the birds and trees, some with most unusual fruit and flowers, we headed to our car and stopped by the pond. There we enjoyed watching the Florida mottled duck, a duck we don't see up north This duck, a nonmigratory close relative of the mallard sometimes called the Florida mallard, is a unique subspecies found only on the Florida peninsula; it spends its entire life in the state, residing in both brackish and freshwater marshes. These ducks have inhabited Florida for thousands of years Mottled ducks are large and brown, their color somewhere between that of a female mallard and a black duck Around the pond, high in the trees, we could see storks and egrets resting. This is one place we will return to often, as species and quantities of wildlife change from time to time What a valuable commu- nity asset this park is for people of all ages. It shows what groups of interested and active people can do to preserve parts of their community. It reminded me of a telephone call I received one day years ago from George Wells, a fine local citizen of Southold Town, who called me when I was a town councilman and said, "The historic Hartranft house is gone and I will provide the funds to preserve that comer for the people of Southold Town if you will do whatever is necessary to make it happen." With the cooperation of many, we were off on one more of Southold Towns saves by an interested and active group of people and community organizations: the town green at Silversmith's Comer. BEAUTY SALON Only IO days left -1 to surprise your Vakntine - Gftf Easy... and Maureen, Kathy. C d Ann. Mary, tom, Bonnie, Lisa a great idea, too! We also offer cuts, color, foil frosting, perms, Cl u.for manicures, nails & gel nails Tus ad iva 8:30 am -5 Pm • Thus am am-a pm an appointment ki&Wam -5 pm• sd.a am.Im pm• aosed9m.mdAbL 400 Pike Smeer, Matacuck - 298 -8962 Come in for our f Valentine Gifts Open Sun., Feb. 14.10 a.m. — 6 pi V Chocolate T's & Truffles f. V Valentine Balloons V Webkinz V Gift Baskets & Platters Jimp �oTeou� t Gzfs Un imited ,°;; T anderafied Jewelry 11160 Main Rd., Mottthlck 298 -1700 No sooner had we parked the car and looked through the trees than we saw families of storks feed- ing and relaxing on the lush lawns Well never get over how the stork sits down: It bends its legs back- ward at the knee— try it! Along the water's edge stood 30 or more beautiful white egrets, as if waiting to be served their lunch; their long, white plumes gracefully extended from their backs down beyond their tails, moving in the breeze. There was a large contingent of crows on the lawn and an evasive pink spoonbill in the distance. That is one bird we are still hying to get close enough to so we can photograph it After walling around the grounds and appreciat- ing the birds and trees, some with most unusual fruit and flowers, we headed to our car and stopped by the pond. There we enjoyed watching the Florida mottled duck, a duck we don't see up north This duck, a nonmigratory close relative of the mallard sometimes called the Florida mallard, is a unique subspecies found only on the Florida peninsula; it spends its entire life in the state, residing in both brackish and freshwater marshes. These ducks have inhabited Florida for thousands of years Mottled ducks are large and brown, their color somewhere between that of a female mallard and a black duck Around the pond, high in the trees, we could see storks and egrets resting. This is one place we will return to often, as species and quantities of wildlife change from time to time What a valuable commu- nity asset this park is for people of all ages. It shows what groups of interested and active people can do to preserve parts of their community. It reminded me of a telephone call I received one day years ago from George Wells, a fine local citizen of Southold Town, who called me when I was a town councilman and said, "The historic Hartranft house is gone and I will provide the funds to preserve that comer for the people of Southold Town if you will do whatever is necessary to make it happen." With the cooperation of many, we were off on one more of Southold Towns saves by an interested and active group of people and community organizations: the town green at Silversmith's Comer. BEAUTY SALON Only IO days left -1 to surprise your Vakntine - Gftf Easy... and Maureen, Kathy. C d Ann. Mary, tom, Bonnie, Lisa a great idea, too! We also offer cuts, color, foil frosting, perms, Cl u.for manicures, nails & gel nails Tus ad iva 8:30 am -5 Pm • Thus am am-a pm an appointment ki&Wam -5 pm• sd.a am.Im pm• aosed9m.mdAbL 400 Pike Smeer, Matacuck - 298 -8962 SUFFOLKTIMES.COM I FEBRUARY 4, 2010 Cold snap endangers Florida I s fish When I wrote about the devastating ettect the freez- ing temperatures. had on Florida's fruit crops and how they had stunned some of the wildlife, I wasn't aware of how much harm the cold would eventually cause. The other day while on our way to do some shop- ping, our road led us across one of the many bridges here in Florida. As we drove along we began to see windrows of dead fish and debris strewn up and down the beaches. Farther on we could see highway workers with seven ... eight ... nine ...10 trucks and loaders cleaning up FOCUS ON NATURE had died in the uu u u- ` ally cold water and drifted to the bottom eventually made their way to the beaches by way of tides and wave action. As we checked the PAUL STOUTENBURGH beaches we found new d different kinds of fish. One of the most unusual d interesting to us was the burr fish, which is similar to our blowfish back home in that, as other mem- bers of the pufferfish family, it can inflate itself with water to protect it from predators looking for a meal. Another means of protecting itself from predators is its back that is covered with fixed, erect spines that give the animal a pincushion appearance. Burr fish are common here in sea grass beds in shallow waters. We saw many of them dead along the inner bays on the shoreline as well as along the water's edge on the Gulf of Mexico. Most of the burr fish we found were six to eight inches in length. PAUL AND BARBARA o er nsffwe tounct Mai was new to us is causu a cowfish. It is a member of the boxCish family and has a squared, bony body. The one we photographed is. called a honeycomb cowfish for the way its scales are connected to form the bony surface that resembles a honeycomb. The samples of cowfish we saw were much smaller than the burr fish; in fact, the one we photo- graphed was only about two to three inches in length. The cowfish gets its name from the two horns on its head. Because of their heavy armored bodies and are limited to slow movements. Therefore, they can become stranded in cold, shallow water and eventu- ally end up high and dry on the beach. We saw many of these along the inland waters and also on the gulf beaches, along with burr fish. It was time to do something more interesting than check over these poor unfortunate fish, so we headed to Palma Sola Botanical Park. It was for- merly a 10 -acre county nursery that was taken over by a group of people who wanted to preserve it as a valuable green space and park. The unique condi- tions of the area would allow collections of rare palms, fruits, flowering trees and other subtropical plants to be safely grown in a protected environ- ment along with native plants and trees. And what a place it turned out to be. A beautiful tropical setting, complete with lakes, palm trees, lush flowers and open lawns, it is a haven for wildlife. And it serves as a unique community resource dedicated to providing an interactive learning environment to foster an appreciation of nature and landscaping, preserving natural resources and promoting environ- mental education. It also provides a place for passive recreation for people of all ages, picnic areas and a beautiful setting for weddings and concerts. e Florida mottled duck is found only on the ninsula. No sooner nad we parked the car and looked through the trees than we saw families of storks feed- ing and relaxing on the lush lawns. We'll never get over how the stork sits down: It bends its legs back- ward at the knee — try it! Along the water's edge stood 30 or more beautiful white egrets, as if waiting to be served their lunch; their long, white plumes gracefully extended from their backs down beyond their tails, moving in the breeze. There was a large contingent of crows on the lawn and an evasive pink spoonbill in the distance. ,That is one bird we are still trying to get close enough to so we can photograph it. After walking around the grounds and appreciat- ing the birds and trees, some with most unusual fruit and flowers, we headed to our car and stopped by the pond. There we enjoyed watching the Florida mottled duck, a duck we don't see up north. This duck, a nonmigratory close relative of the mallard sometimes called the Florida mallard, is a unique subspecies found only on the Florida peninsula; it spends its entire life in the state, residing in both brackish and freshwater marshes. These ducks have inhabited Florida for thousands of years. Mottled ducks are large and brown, their color somewhere between that of a female mallard and a black duck Around the pond, high in the trees, we could see storks and egrets resting. This is one place we will return to often, as species and quantities of wildlife change from time to time. What a valuable commu- nity asset this park is for people of all ages. It shows what groups of interested and active people can do to preserve parts of their community. It reminded me of a telephone call I received one day years ago from George Wells, a fine local citizen of Southold Town, who called me when I was a town councilman and said, "The historic Hartranft house is gone and I will provide the funds to preserve that corner for the people of Southold Town if you will do whatever is necessary to make it happen." With the cooperation of many, wewere off on one more of Southold Town's saves by an interested and active group of people and community organizations: the town green at Silversmith's Corner. v a a, no 0 V CL Q) L 0 V, Q) r ro 3 T O r r 0 JA L v L 4- Q1 0 tj a a v L s s 3 ro v Q, L C � t; o v i C O -o L X L w� L L vi o v T v a Q- a 0 0 E �oo ra Q) N v _ r L L Q_ 0 C �n 0-0 ru r o _0 v a_ �LT v s 4' 30