October 25, 2001 - Ponderings by the pondThe Suffolk Times • October 25, 2001
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Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
Everyone loves a Chickadee and there's good reason for its popularity. It stays
with us throughout the year, it enjoys our feeders, it's always busy, it has a
soft "chickadee- de"es" call, it does good by eating insects and can even be
trained to eat out of your hand, provided you have the patience.
I'M DOWN AT OUR LITTLE POND. No,
it's not really a pond, it's one of those
places that was close to the water
table and the farmer who owned it
before we did took advantage of the
location and dug into the water table
to create a pond.
You can do that FOCUS
near the bay and. ON
creeks because
they are usually NATURE
close to the by Paul
water table. Stoutenbulrgh
Anyway, I'm
sitting down here
just watching one small bit of the fall
migration of birds. Today we've been
inundated by myrtle warblers. These
are the little yellow - rumped warblers
that we see. It's quite easy to see that
yellow wtien tney ny ana move anout.
Then there are two or three eastern
phoebes or flycatchers that have
moved into the pond area. Evidently
the pond hatches out a wide variety of
flying insects that they can stock up on.
You can tell the phoebe, for it usu-
ally finds a fence post or bare limb to
perch on. Here it will sit, occasionally
pumping its tail until an insect flies by.
Then it's up to snatch the insect in
midair, then back down to its perch
where it awaits its next bit of nourish-
ment. Sometimes you can actually
hear the bill snap as it collects the
unsuspecting insect. The myrtle war -
blers, or yellow- rumps, also have this
fly- catching ability and we often see
them hovering in the air as they pur-
sue some bit of insect life.
ing for insects, insect eggs and hiber-
nating bugs. They are on the move all
the time and hardly notice me unless I
blink or move my head or shift my
t wont a long before t e tempera-
position. Then it's just a flit away and
ture drops and all insect life will cease.
they start all over: searching, search -
Then it's time for the flycatchers to
ing, searching.
head south where there are flies and
The water in the pond is way down.
other insects to prey upon. It's like the
It's interesting to see the fluctuation in
osprey; most have already moved
the water through the year. Sometimes
south but a few are lingering, seeing
it drops a foot or more before the
there are still a few fish around. Soon
ground is replenished by rain or the
they, too, will be gone as the fish
snows of winter. This is that controver-
move out, leaving the ospreys' cup-
sial water table that's so often in the
board bare.
news as a questionable resource.
About two weeks ago we had three
Just how much water do we have
migrating ospreys hanging around my
under our East End? Each household
windmill. I was hoping they were look
uses this water and each new house,
ing it over as a possible nesting site for
helps deplete it. So the question is,
next year. I'm hoping the site will be
"How many families can our water
imprinted on their tiny brains and
supply support?" Some will say, "You
remain with them as they spend their
know, if we run out of water, we can
winter in the Caribbean or as far awa
always tap the water in the pine tiar-
as the Amazon. Then when they head
rens." Do they have any idea of the
back here next spring one of them
cost just to put that concept into being
might choose my windmill to build its
and then the cost to you as a con -
bulky stick nest on. Who knows?
sumer? Let's not take that route. Let's
The water in the pond
control our destiny.
is getting cold enough so
•••If I remain
One day last week my granddaugh-
that I don't see turtles
ter, who lives in Sag Harbor, told me
basking in the sun as perfectly still,
she was coming to Greenport to play
they did during the the birds hardly
field hockey. Well that's always worth -
warm winter months. I
do see pea -sized heads pay any attention
while to see these young people with
all their energy and excitement. And
of little ones poking up to me.
so we got ourselves together and got
and trying to get the
down to Greenport (where I spent
best of the warm surface
many wonderful years teaching) and
water before they, too, burrow m the
sat and watched the field hockey
mud below and spend the winter
game.
hibernating.
But while we watched, an interest -
A lot of flickers are passing
ing thing happened. There were
through. This is our largest woodpeck-
strings of birds — probably each
er. They are having a difficult time
string contained 500 or more birds —
holding off the starlings that take over
coming from the west and settling
their cavity nesting sites. Imagine the
someplace in back of the school in the
frustration, after chipping out a cavity
general direction of Silver Lake.
in some dead tree, when along comes
These birds, I suspect, were roosting
.a pair of starlings who take over your
there. Sure enough, as
newly made home. It just doesn't
one flock would drop
seem right that this introduced species
down and disappear,
has taken over our woods, our bird
another would be right
boxes and almost any place they can
behind it. I estimated we
get in to build a nest. No wonder we
must have seen two to
see so many of them. It's a real prob-
three thousand starlings
lem for the flickers and other birds
in continual strings mov-
trying to outsmart them as they never
ng in and roosting
give up fighting for a place to nest.
omeplace to the north-
Catbirds are all about the area.
northeast.
They're after berries of all sorts. I have
So if any of you people in the
a chair down here by the pond and if I
Greenport area know anything about
remain perfectly still, the birds hardly
these birds that roost in your back
pay any attention to me, they're so
yard, give me a call. I went back again
busy looking for food to build up their
the next day to see if I could see a
reserve of fat that will see them
repeat of it but the wind was blowing
through their migration. Catbirds will
so hard and it was so overcast and
come right up within six or eight feet
cold, nothing was flying. I'd be inter -
of me and look me over. The warblers
jested to know where these birds are
are just too busy to pay any attention
roosting. By the way, my granddaugh-
to this sitting giant. Chickadees come
ter's team won. I was torn between my
even closer. They, too, are busy look-
old alma mater ( Greenport) and the
team from Sag Harbor. But that's