Novmber 08, 2001 - The night heron: a look backThe Suffolk Times • November 8, 2001
The night heron:
a look back
Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
The photo above was taken In the 150s on what was then a duck farm in
Riverhead. It Is quite unusual, as this yellow -crowned night heron is rarely
seen here on the Island. The more common black- crowned heron is the one we
usually see in our creeks and along the bay.
WE'VE BEEN ITCHING TO get out in
our camper one more time before
winter moves in. This itching and th
reams of paperwork that needed ou
attention gave us a good reason to
take off. It would be a short trip, a
mere excuse to get away from tele-
phones, TV and today's
chilling world of reality. We FOCUS
chose Indian Island County
Park just outside of ON
Riverhead. NATURE
Fall is a great time to go by Paul
camping. We walked the Stoutenburgh
trails and the now -quiet
roadways lined with the
browns, reds and yellows of fall. What
stood out most were the scarlet vines
of the Virginia creeper. Its climbing
ability had it draped in garlands of
elorious red.
At one point we came to a section
of woodland that was completely
taken over by that foreign invader,
bittersweet. It had literally smothered
the trees,_ shrubs and ground with its
leaves, which were turning a bright
yellow. Some of them had already fall-
en, exposing berries in their rich red -
orange color. Many resident birds in
the area had come to feast on this
new -found source of food. We could
see them and hear their soft bird talk
as they moved about. There were
scampering song sparrows and a host
of newly arrived white - throats from
the north, all busy gleaning at this
chosen spot.
Indian Island Park boasts one of the
Flargest y pear cactus stands in
t. I must say I was
ut I'm afraid, in my opin-
econd place to the
amount of prickly pear cactus that
grows in Orient Beach State Park.
In between our walks we were able
to accomplish lots of paper-
work we'd brought along
that never seemed to get
done at home. The leisurely
campground atmosphere
allowed us time to catch up,
plus it gave us lots of time
for exploring and relaxing as
well.
This area of Indian Island has a spe-
cial meaning to me, for it was here in
the 150s that I discovered a night
heron colony and proceeded to photo-
graph it. But rather than my telling
you about it now, let's dig into my
field notes of past years and quote
from them without any editing.
"June 10, 1957 — Visited the heron
colony I found between Riverhead
and Aquebogue. It's situated on the
land just to the northeast of a duck
farm. The place is called Indian
Island. I found this place by mistake
last year when I drove the back roads
and found an orphaned young heron
walking up the road. It was late in the
season and most of the young had
already fledged so no picture taking.
"This year I got there early and
found the herons in full nesting on the
10th of June. I immediately set out to
photograph the colony I took two 2-
foot extension ladders and placed
them in a pyramid, covering the top
with burlap. Then I placed a 2x6
plank between the rungs about seven
feet down for me to stand on. Then I
clamped the camera to the ladder and
was ready for pictures. Rather
cramped quarters I can assure you,
and hot! My shoulders could hardly
get across the area it was so tight. I
tried three times to photograph these
nests of the night herons but to no
avail. As a matter of fact, something
took one of the young I was hoping to
photograph. My, these birds are wary.
The nests are in scrub pines about 20
feet up and are the usual flimsy stick
affairs; some so thin you can see the-
eggs right through them.
"On the second occasion
to the site I saw a yellow- Watt
crowned night heron and on
my third trip I took Larry the h
Penny along and we both
saw it. As a matter of fact,
we traced it to a pine that house
we thought held its nest. I dutie.
was sure when I saw the
droppings they were not the
usual whitewash of the night heron
but matted affairs of shells of crabs.
Also when we looked into the nest we
found the four eggs of a different
shade of green -blue.
"So I decided to move the blind
here and try it out. After leaving the
ladders up for about three days, I
tried it again in the blind. Nothing.
The bird would come around but not
:o within camera distance. I only had
I 180mm telephoto lens. So as not to
:hase the bird away I left, but first I
idded more burlap so the next time
'd be well hidden. On the next try I
iad better luck. The bird came to the
lest after about an hour of stalking
found and lit in a nearby tree. From
hen on I kept shooting every chance I
fad. Then I got out and went home.
Wt what a disappointment I had com
rig. The film did not wind in the cam -
ra. All my work was for nothing!
"So next day up at 6 a.m. and off to
he blind. I had to work in the early
morning because of the terrific heat
we were having: 93 degrees today.
This time I had another disappoint-
ment. After the first shot (the bird
came right up to the nest) the film
would not wind up. It jammed. So
while Mrs. Yellow Crown looked on
with an icy look that only a heron can
give, I took the back off the camera
and rewound the film, but it was
worth it for I watched the bird per-
form its household duties. She even
tossed out half an egg shell and then
commenced to pick up objects in the
nest. I couldn't see what they were.
Perhaps some regurgitated food she
lost when I scared her off the nest or
could it have been droppings? I don't
know. For the bird actually took them
in its bill and downed them.
hed The young are still hatching
out today — June 17th. I'll
won keep a close watch and see
what comes of this. Dennis
Puleston and Gil Raynor are
h0 w coming over to band the
bird Saturday so I'll see the
nest again on the weekend.
"P.S. While walking around
I found sort of a second half of the
colony to the east. This group was nest-
ing in big oak trees right along the
scrub pine area. I'm sure there must be
a total of at least 50 or 60 nesting birds
here. The latter nests are in oak trees
30 feet up.
"PS. I also came across a humming-
bird's nest. Took pictures of it but on
my return something had taken the
two pea -sized eggs. How disappoint-
ing, for I always wanted to get that
family group on film. Took the vacant
nest home. What a perfect piece of
workmanship and camouflage."
So you see, my acquaintance with
Indian Island County Park goes back
a long way. It gives you some idea of
how I have acquired some of my pho-
tographs over the years. It also shows
some of the joys and disappointments
of bird photography. Needless to say,
when Barbara and I walked the roads
and trails this year there was no sign
of a night heron anvwhPrP