April 10, 1986 Hazy MondaySECOND SECTION
THE SUFFOLK TIMES
The Osprey: Comeback of the Decade
By PAUL STOUTENBURGH
Since there is so much interest in
returning ospreys, I thought it might
be worthy of talking a bit about what
we've been doing to re- establish these
magnificent birds here on the North
Fork.
As most people know, pesticides,
particularly DDT, and the many re-
Focus on
Nature
lated problems stemming from its
misuse caused a direct drop in the
population of the osprey and other
birds of prey at the top of the food
chain. Luck was on our side though,
and with the banning of DDT, the
basic problem was corrected. How-
ever, it did not immediately stop the
falling population of our ospreys and
falcons.
The reason for this was the DDT
had a long residual effect and con-
tinued to devastate the reproduction
of the birds. Just how long the prob-
lem would be with us, no one was
quite sure. What we do know is that
our osprey population is starting to
recover and that after 30 years or
more the problem of DDT seems to be
wearing off. How many other hidden
problems are still in our food chain is
anybody's guess.
During these years our East End
has had a dramatic increase in popu-
lation and loss of open space. Now,
nearly every lot along our shoreline
contains a home or the potential for
a home. This means fewer isolated
tree nesting sites, which gives the re-
bounding population of ospreys a
problem. To overcome this, some of
us have started a program of building
osprey nesting platforms in some of
the less traveled areas. This year
alone we have added six new plat-
forms.
Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
OSPREY ON NEST - -Last year was one of the best we've had for ospreys since the 1940s.
Gloria Did Her Damage
Hurricane Gloria hit many of our
old platforms and these had to be re-
built. We are using old galvanized ir-
rigation pipe (donated by Pinewood
Nursery and Briarcliff Sod of Cutch-
ogue) for the poles. The platforms
were made by Tim Gray and donated
free in the hopes of helping this
worthy cause.
There's quite a bit of work involved
in erecting one of these nests. It's not
just digging a four -foot hole three or
four feet deep, but there's an intricate
network of underground supports to
keep the metal pole from tipping over.
Most of the nests have worked out
quite well and the birds have adapted
easily. A new nest we put up last week
had a pair of ospreys on it within four
days, and they were soon busy build-
ing their stick nest they'll return to
year after year.
When the young leave here in the
fall they will go south to winter over
-- anywhere from Georgia to South
America. They will stay in the south
for two or possibly three years as they
learn the skills of fishing and osprey
life. When they return to our area
some will start rearing young and
others will just "play house" and not
get down to the actual rearing of
young that first year. That's why we
sometimes see birds at a nest for a
while, but then they don't stay.
There's a lot we still don't know about
the osprey.
We do know ospreys like high spots
to build on and LILCO's high tension
lines at Mill Creek are no exception.
It's pretty hard to get a nest hold on
these towers but some birds persist.
One pair has given LILCO a hard
See Focus, Page 7A
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Page 8A The Suffolk Times April 10, 1986
Hazy Monday
By PAUL STOUTENBURGH
After a dreary weekend, Monday
brought us one of those rare foggy morn-
ings, illuminated by a subdued sun. The
fields in back seem to drift off into no-
thingness. We've been cut off from the
world with no neighbors or cars in sight.
The only life that can be detected is our
chickens scratching under the nearby
bird feeder and two lazy cows chewing
their cud by the old split rail fence. We
seem to be adrift in a sea of hazy white,
connected to nothing.
I remember a similar day years ago
when I had bought my first camera and
captured the mood of the sun filtered
through the fog. It was just luck that I
exposed the shot correctly, for fog can
play tricks on you when photographing.
When the film came back, the photo had
captured more than I expected. It car-
ried with it an air of spiritual wonder
that I still to this day cherish and reflect
upon.
Another appealing element of a foggy
day is the sparkle that is added to each
blade of grass, each leaf, each twig. The
droplets reflect the varied colors of the
rainbow and as you move about, new
and brilliant colors flash into sight. It's
fun to stand and move your head just a
bit to pick up a new and hidden shaft
of color.
As I write, the fog starts to lift, and
my world now becomes part of another
world. The old marker tree in the center
of the big field is first to be seen. Now
over the ridge the farmer's house and
barns to the east come into view. The
perimeter of woods has come back and
once again the sun takes over. Only in
the low spots out back does the fog still
have a foothold but in time these will
be "burned off' as the day warms up.
Focus on
Nature
Pastures Turn Green
With the weekend of rain, our pasture
has turned green and the cows even now
try to feed on it. I don't see how it's
worth their while because everything
is so fine and small, yet, like vegetables
from our own garden, the first are usu-
ally the most delicious. I'm sure this is
due to the fact that we've been deprived
for so long through the winter months
that the first seems the best.
The fast - growing new shoots of the
wild leeks have already been nibbled
down by the cows. Years ago, when we
got fresh milk from Wickham's farm,
we could always tell when the cows got
into the wild onions, as we called them
then, for the milk carried their taint
right to the glass. Another way you can
tell they have been eating leeks is that
when you get near them their breath is
overpowering.
The fox must have cubs by now for
our chickens have been under siege for
the past month. Along with the rac-
coons, the foxes have cut our flock just
about in half. There is no longer any
safety in the hen house as the raccoons
will rip the wire apart to get in, no mat-
ter what you do to keep them out. Now
none of the chickens dare to stay in the
hen house any more. the ones that are
left roost in the trees. So far this tip toe
perching seems to do the trick and we
haven't lost any this week.
It is the first time we ever lost a goose.
Now our poor gander wanders around
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EARLY MORNING FOG . Photo by Paul Stoutenburgh
looking for its mate. It has ended up
using the big white car as a substitute.
If you move the car, the goose gets very
excited. Somehow it has become at-
tached to the car.
I'm sure with so many hungry mouths
to feed, the fox and the raccoons take
extra chances. Usually our dog will
keep them away but we've had to keep
him inside because of an ear operation
and so they've had free run of the place
while he's been hospitalized. The first
to go were a group of beautiful hybrid
chickens that were given to me by a
friend. I don't believe they were adapted
to living off the land like our chickens
were and, because of their inability to
rough it, they made easy targets for the
fox. We haven't lost any of our old chick-
ens for they fly like birds to trees
whenever danger comes along. They've
learned thOr survival skills and they're
paying off.
Now that we've had our April shower
and the sun is coming out, things should
really start to burst out of the ground.
It's time for new life and a new season.
The cold of winter is behind us and the
best time of the year is just ahead, so
let's hope each one of you is able to get
out and enjoy this grandiose time of the
year.
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