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October 26, 2006 - On sea turtles and terns10A • The Suffolk Times • October 26, 2006 On sea turtles and terns WE ttnD HOPED To get to Florida this year in time to volunteer for the "sea turtle watch," but our timing was off. Now we'll have to wait until next year. I've always been fascinated by the magical idea of sea turtles re- turning to their nesting shore after spending years at sea roaming the vast oceans. Perhaps my fascination comes from the horseshoe crab we have that comes to our shores each year to lay its eggs and then be gone. FOCUS Down here in Florida there O N are dedicated ni AT U R E groups of volun- teers who walk by Paul the beaches and Stoutenburgh keep track of the turtles that come ashore at night to bury their eggs in the warm sands of the islands.They remind me of our dedicated volunteers back home who work with the endangered piping plo- vers. One the turtle's eggs are laid, the volunteers have to see that nothing disturbs them during their 60 -day incubation period. There could be storms that would wipe out their nests; in that case the eggs would have to be rescued and moved to a safer spot. Then there's the ever - present problem of raccoons — they have such a keen sense of smell that they can find, dig up and feast on the eggs. Another problem, which has had the cooperation of homeowners living near the nesting areas, is lights. Bright lights can disorient hatchlings and divert them from their safe direction back into the waters of the Gulf. It's nice to see concerned people cooper- ating to save these nestlings that oth- erwise would surely be Iost.This year alone, 1,270 of the hatchlings were diverted by light and saved by the vol- unteers. This is the 24th year that records have° been kept for this area telling of the success or failure of the nesting sea turtles. It proved to be one of the best years so far, with 118 nests containing 9,778 eggs with a hatching rate of 77% reported. And to think we missed this banner year! We're only staying in our little hide- away here for about two weeks and so we take advantage of every minute of our time. Early rising finds us watch- ing the world come alive. The big thing for me has been seeing sandwich terns resting on the dock and occasionally fishing right in front of us. This dainty little tem looks very similar to our common tern, but, sorry to say, it hardly ever gets up to Long Island. The easiest identifying mark is the yellow tip on its bill. It's a little hard to see if you don't have binocu- lars, but then it all depends on how close you can get to the bird. Along with the tems flying in, even before sunrise, are the loose groups of ever - present fish crows. They are not a new bird for us, but what makes them so unusual this morning is their num- bers. We see hundreds flying up the bay, some stopping there, others mov- ing on to some secret place where they feasted yesterday. Fish crows are smaller than our crows up north. Their voice is nothing like the boisterous call of the crow we know back (tome. Fish crows always seem to be talking amongst them- selves. Next to show up in the early light of the new day is the tall great egret. This big, white egret has found that it can beg for food, and so rather than stalk for its meal at the water's edge, it can go to someone's back door and wait for a handout and, oh, yes, "Please, no bread; a piece of fish or a piece of a hotdog will do." Riverhead FENCE We Specialize in Expert Workmanship, including brick and masonry. The Riverhead Fence Companyis dedicated to giving the highest value in produc4 coupled with the bestservice in the fencing industry. Riverhead Fence offers a full range of fencing options, from chain link to wood fencing, ornamental iron to vinyl, swimming pool fences to dog kennels, guard rail to tennis courts, cantilever gates to baseball backstops ?' along with professional installation and supervision. - - h Custom pre - fabrication and expert welding are available for iid. a— anyprojectyoemighthave. 1 1 lil I� ! 9 � i '-� You can b Y our /eosin trust all needs to us ... attention to detail and customer satisfaction is our primary goal. Call 727 -3798 Fax 727.2588 www.riverheadfence.com ,..�� County Road 104, Riverhead nramne:o„morrnorrrru«rmal Li ...,ift—d Suffolk Times photos by Paul and Barbara Sloulenburgh Top left: The beautiful white plume feathers of the great white egret were almost its downfall. Market gunners shot and killed the egrets, taking only the feathers, which were sold to the millinery trade for high prices. Above: This dainty sandwich tern looks something like our common tern. It's easily identified with bin- oculars by looking for the yellow tip on its bill. Sorry to say, it seldom reaches our shores up north. Left: White pelicans are becoming more and more common down in Florida. They feed by scooping up fish and water in their huge pouch- es. After the water drains out, the fish are then swallowed. High above the local traffic of birds are three frigatebirds passing by on their long, black, pointed wings. These seabirds are real bandits of the sky, for they rob a large portion of their food from other birds.They are definitely capable of catching their own fish, but it's easier to just take it from some other bird. The way they do it is by diving on and harassing a bird that has just caught a fish. This ha- rassing keeps One never tires up until the of watching the bird drops its prize, then all brown pelicans the frigatebird gliding by. has to do is swoop down and grab it out of the air. One never tires of watching the brown pelicans gliding by ever so ef- fortlessly on their way to the fishing grounds. And to think there was a time when these clumsy- looking but efficient divers were on their way to becoming extinct. Pesticides were their downfall. When such pesticides as DDT were taken off the market, these birds slowly came back to where today they are actually quite common. Occasionally we'll see the counter- part of the brown pelican: the hand- some white pelican. These two birds feed in entirely different ways. The brown pelican dives from some 60 -80 feet in the air for its fish, while the white pelican works the surface for fish, scooping up both water and fish in its huge pouched bill. After draining the water out, the pelican then enjoys his catch. Suffolk Times • October 26, 2006 1700 rtles nd tern n /y� aVj, �, n p , N"^'1�.,. �� , �'Q /�lu �"l6ryrv*�mahlnw lJ;r.,r n ✓iuNl�"i�" ^w/" n , , ���ml ; lb ' � w , /,/ mn ��j �, ✓lmn y�rl�x . ,w�pwNmn y, ��%ahraniw ..,, ° � .., lrvrvNk'," �.. YON, Suffolk Times photos by Paul and Barbara Stoutenburgh Top left: The beautiful white plume feathers of the great white egret were almost its downfall. Market gunners shot and killed the egrets, taking only the feathers, which wer( sold to the millinery trade for high prices. Above: This dainty sandwich tern looks something like our common tern. It's easily identified with bin- oculars by looking for the yellow tip on its bill. Sorry to say, it seldom reaches our shores up north. Left: White pelicans are becoming more and more common down in Florida. They feed by scooping up fish and water in their huge pouch- es. After the water drains out, the fish are then swallowed. 4;� �nn� ;t rtles nd tern n /y� aVj, �, n p , N"^'1�.,. �� , �'Q /�lu �"l6ryrv*�mahlnw lJ;r.,r n ✓iuNl�"i�" ^w/" n , , ���ml ; lb ' � w , /,/ mn ��j �, ✓lmn y�rl�x . ,w�pwNmn y, ��%ahraniw ..,, ° � .., lrvrvNk'," �.. YON, Suffolk Times photos by Paul and Barbara Stoutenburgh Top left: The beautiful white plume feathers of the great white egret were almost its downfall. Market gunners shot and killed the egrets, taking only the feathers, which wer( sold to the millinery trade for high prices. Above: This dainty sandwich tern looks something like our common tern. It's easily identified with bin- oculars by looking for the yellow tip on its bill. Sorry to say, it seldom reaches our shores up north. Left: White pelicans are becoming more and more common down in Florida. They feed by scooping up fish and water in their huge pouch- es. After the water drains out, the fish are then swallowed. WE HAD HOPED TO get to Florida this year in time to volunteer for the ;,sea turtle watch," but our timing was off. Now we'll have to wait until next year. I've always been fascinated by the magical idea of sea turtles re- turning to their nesting shore after ;pending years at sea roaming the vas xeans. Perhaps my fascination comes from the horseshoe crab we have that comes to our shores each year to lay its eggs and then be gone. FOCUS Down here in Florida there ON are dedicated NATURE groups of volun- teers who walk by Paul the beaches and Stoutenburgh keep track of the turtles that come ashore at night :o bury their eggs in the warm sands A the islands. They remind me of our ledicated volunteers back home who work with the endangered piping plo- Once the'turtle's eggs are laid, the >lunteers have to see that nothing sturbs them during their 60 -day cubation period. There could be arms that would wipe out their nest; that case the eggs would have to : rescued and moved to a safer spot. ien there's the ever - present problen raccoons — they have such a keen nse of smell that they can find, dig r and feast on the eggs. Another problem, which has had e cooperation,of homeowners living :ar the nesting areas, is lights. Bright ;fits can disorient hatchlings and vert them from their safe direction Eck into the waters of the Gulf. It's ce to see concerned people cooper- ing to save these nestlings that oth- wise would surely be lost. This year )ne,1,270 of the hatchlings were verted by light and saved by the vol- This is the 24th year that records ave been kept for this area telling of to success or failure of the nesting se irtles. It proved to be one of the best -ars so far, with 118 nests containing 778 eggs with a hatching rate of 770/( .ported. And to think we missed this inner year! We're only staying in our little hide - vay here for about two weeks and sc e take advantage of every minute of ar time. Earlv risine finds us watch- mg ine worlcl come alive. The big thing for me has been seeing sandwich. terns resting on the dock and occasionally fishing right in front of us. This dainty little tern looks very similar to our common tern, but, sorry to say, it hardly ever. gets up to Long Island. The easiest identifying mark is the yellow tip on its bill. It's a little hard to see if you don't have binocu- lars, but then it all depends on how close. you can get to the bird. Along with the terns flying in, even before sunrise, are the loose groups of ever - present fish crows. They are not a new bird for us, but what makes them so unusual this morning is their num- bers. We see hundreds flying up the Say, some stopping there, others mov- ng on to some secret place where the .'easted yesterday. Fish crows are smaller than our .rows up north. Their voice is nothing ike the boisterous call of the crow we :now back home. Fish crows always ,eem to be talking amongst them- Next to show up in the early light o the new day is the tall great egret. Thi big, white egret has found that it can beg for food, and so rather than stalk for its meal at the water's edge, it can go to someone's back door and wait for a handout and, oh, yes, "Please, no bread; a piece of fish or a piece of a 1. .A._._ __.:11 a_ 11 High above the local traffic of birds are three frigatebirds passing by on • their long, black, pointed wings. These seabirds are real bandits of the sky, for they rob a large portion of their food from other birds. They are definitely capable of catching their own fish, but it's easier to just take it from some other bird. The way they do it is by diving on and harassing a bird that has just caught a fish. This ha- rassing keeps One never tires up until the. of watching the bird drops its prize, then all brown pelicans the frigatebird gliding by. has to do is swoop down and grab it out -of the air. One never tires of watching the brown pelicans gliding by ever so ef- fortlessly on their way to the fishing grounds. And to think there was a time when these ,clumsy - looking but efficient divers were on their way to becoming extinct. Pesticides were the' downfall. When such pesticides as DDT were taken off the market, these birds slowly came back to where toda they are actually quite common. Occasionally we'll see the counter- part of the brown pelican: the hand- some white pelican. These two birds feed in entirely different ways. The brown pelican dives from some 60 -80 feet in the air for its fish, while the white pelican works the surface for fish, scooping up both water and fish in its huge pouched bill. After drainin the water out, the pelican then enjoys