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July 12, 2001 - The winged signs of summerJuly 12, 2001 • The Suffolk Times e winged signs HAVE YOU SEEN YOUR FIRST rireiiy yet? These are the true harbingers of summer. From the beginning of June we see a few of their lanterns and then, as days pass, we see more and more, until by the end of June and the first of July they are every- FOCUS where. How many of you can ON remember col- NATURE lecting them in a by Paul glass jar as a kid Stoutenburgh and marveling at their blinking greenish light that even today still stumps scientists as to how it's pro- duced? They say it's the most efficient light ever created, 100% efficient and it gives off no heat. Pretty remark- able, I'd say, and what a wonderful addition to our summer nights as they blink about trying to lure a mate. I receive many telephone calls and letters each week and one of the lat- est was from a man on Nassau Point telling me how he had finally lured martins to his apartment -house boxes. You will remember some weeks ago I mentioned martin boxes that I had put up in hopes of attract- ing these large swallows, but to no avail. Years ago martins were quite common, but of late they have become few and far between here on the East End. They are wonderful birds to have around. First off, they eat only flying insects. Secondly, they are handsome birds to see swooping ot summer are, catching their meal on the wing. Thirdly, they are friendly, chirping birds that let you know they're doing their job of getting rid of the pesky greenheads, mosquitoes, black flies and others that inhabit the airways «.. around our homes. My caller told me that afterM " waiting for years he finally lured the martins to his boxes. Usually, once you attract these birds they'll return the following year with even more of their r kind. So, for those of r you who have an empty martin box and are still waiting for your martins, don't give up trying. Remember, it took I three years "P before my caller had his martins finally show up. So who knows? Maybe next year I might even have some martins Suffolk Times photo by flying over my pas- Paul Stoutenburgh ture, making it a Mockingbird: no truer name much more pleasant for a bird. Its repertoire of place for my two song in unequaled. cows,.whose only help now is the continual swishing of their tails to ward off the flies. Another bit of information some o you might be interested in is that there is a shorebird called a willett Road in Westhampton and other places along the South Shore. It is a noisy bird when it flies, giving off its alarm call. It is easily recog- ized by its patche of white over brown when in flight. It is about as big as a robin, has a Ion ill and long legs. I've ften wondered why we haven't had them here on the north shore. Then just last week, when we were out in our boat touring the shores of Robins Island, we saw a pair of these noisy willetts. They flew up from in back of a dune and then out over the water. Could it be we have willetts nesting on Robins Island? I sure hop so, for they would make a handsome addition to that wonderful island. Now for a story about those devils, the crows. As we pulled into the driveway the other day we saw a most unusual sight of pilfering. Ahead of us was one of my bird boxes that house sparrows were nesting in. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. Atop this bird box was a big old black crow bent over the open- ing of the box and pulling out all the makings of the nest the sparrow had put in there. The reason he was devas- tating the nest was that he hoped he could get hold of the young that were nestled deep inside. Can you imagine this bandit? He was just going to pull everything out of that box until he came to the young birds and then he would have his midday snack! Luckily we came along just in time and chased him away. The ground below the box was littered with feathers, sticks and pieces of grass, etc.. that he had already pulled out. "There was also another crow on the fence nearby, probably just waiting his turn for a meal. The damage these crows do in their nest raiding is tragic. Thank goodness nature has worked it out so if the first nest of young do not survive, the parents try and try again, which brings me to the subject of a Carolina wren that was building a nest in one of our hanging flowerpots. We watched as it laid its eggs, raised its young and then we watched the young, one by one, leave the nest. These Carolina wrens and noisy birds. You can't miss them. I've told this story before, but for those who may not have heard it, I can remember as a kid my mother had a clothespin bag hanging on her [clothesline in the back yard. It proved to be a perfect place for a wren to build her nest. Needless to say, no one took clothespins from that bag until all the young had fledged. You won't believe this, but as I sit here writing, I'm looking over toward the garage and that same busy little Carolina wren that just finished nest- ing in the flowerpot has already start- ed a new nest. Wrens sometimes have two or three broods a season. We will have fun watching them again, this time not in our hanging flowerpot (I think the plant that sheltered their nest has had it), but in our garage. The thing about Carolina wrens and even house wrens is that if you have a pair around, they'll surely let you know they are there, for they cele- brate life with their sone all day long. which brings me to another caller this week who wanted to know about an equally loud songster in her back yard. She said it was singing all the time, day and night. It called from the highest tree and in between calls it jumped up into the air as if show- ing off its other skills. It could only be our mockingbird with its white feathers you see in flight and its longish tail. I told her there must be berries nearby, as mockingbirds set up their territory where berry bushes will supply them with food year- round. Some seem to sing all day, others all night and still others, both day and night. Our last little story has to do with foxes. I have received many letters and telephone calls from people who have seen foxes. Some have even found their dens near their homes. Just this week my son saw a family of four romping in his big back yard. They seemed to be quite tame, he said, for as he worked in the garden they paid little attention to him. Of course, they were quite some dis- tance away, but nevertheless you always think of foxes being very shy. It got our interest up and we had to check them out. Sure enough, early in the morning they were out there romping and rolling like puppy dogs. So who knows, maybe this is a good year for foxes. As I mentioned in my article about mites, foxes come and go in cycles because of this mange, so this might be a good year for these champion mousers. I must say they also like to dine on my chickens occasionally; that I can vouch for.