01*RESCAN December 27, 1979 - GARDINER'S ISLANDDecember 27, 1979
GARDINER'S ISLAM
us on
Paul Stoutesalsu . h-
high above as she protested our intrusion
into her area. Those were the days when we
were checking on the ospreys. Gardiner's
Island is one of the strongholds of the osprey
population on the eastern seaboard. I can
remember my first trip here was with Roy
Wilcox, the great naturalist from the south
side.
Osprey's Start To Recover
At that time the ospreys built right down
week we started telling you about our
trip to (,ardiner's Island For the annual
lionlauk Christmas bird count. Now we
return to the island to pick up where we left
off...
• Even in. the uplands there are small
ponds. All had a frozen glaze of beautifully
patterned ice. One pond in particular was all
beaten down around the edges and reminded
r o o f a water hole you'd see in Africa where
the animals would come to drink. Evidently
the deer had used this to drink, as their
nolprints were everywhere around the
edge.
All through the grass areas were deer
1,11 :)nd I'm sure the turkeys also used
them for runs as they would seemingly
,1,- ,appear in front of you. One minute they'd
be in a field. the next they'd disappear into
one of their mazes and you'd see them no
nior�•
I w;i0 in one of These fields that i flushed a
I ine nifir'vI barn owl. What it was
0. on the ground i do not. know. Perhaps
< e :flog sonir:•lliing it had caught. 1010'!
.I;. nr.0 ;dly hunt a1 night. Perhaps it was
there. I'll never know but one thing
for silrr . 111 I1•ce0 forget 1111 lovely, soft,
la, o and while hint n -: it fluttered away on
;001)10(1 like lode fly wings. Another
,dent addition lo our I101
tru�ev: +rat
For wagons
10 an ;■ea called I(oger':; Woorls I lo0lorl
the remain, of old wagon :,. : ;out of
/J,r:i 10yard of the pail. 1'er lsll; snore of You
emember a few 0101)I, h1icl1 the rover of
The `;liffrrll Time, • hov, irif; the wagon wheel
-- this was from Gardiner's past. There Wa,
alto all old 0))1)10 bridge here over a small
sire ;rrrr vt110111)11(1 Of days when cement was
not a r o u n d . iI was covered over mostly with
dirt and debris, but I am sure had been
traveled much in the early days of this great.
ivloorl
Some areas here still had a (lusting of
,now Thal had fallen on the extreme east end
earlier in the week. i/111SI 101)0 g)1me, 1)111 in
the (old, shaded 1110ns it had managed 10
11)sl on 1110 dry beech leaves that malted the
Iloor )1l Ile. woods.
The weather was all we could ask for,
bright sun and warming up by noon. As a
mailer of fact, by '.l o'clock our floats were
open. And by this lime we'd already started
into our lunch. The apples and oranges gave
us that extra energy lift and the moment or
two it took to sit down and eat them gave 00
a chance to reflect on what 0 treat it was to
be here again on Gardiner's Island for the
annual Christmas count_ The only adverse
condition was the continual harassment the
blackberry briers seemed to give us. Every-
where you went their hook -like thorns
ripped into your legs and jackets. I actually
stopped, checked one out and the thorn was
like a barb on a hook. You could not get by it
without it grabbing on you. This was the only
flaw in the day and we surely could put. up
with that. As I said earlier, my area was the
uplands and in many places I could look
down on that great expanse of Tobacco Lot.
1 was about a half a mile to the west and
could almost imagine my two companions
sloshing through the mire and wet of the low
area below.
(areal Flocks of Ducks Seen
As this land all drained into the Tobacco
Lot pond, there were small rivulets every
half mile or so. Some would flow into flat
areas, where the water would spread out
and on this there'd be great green masses of
tiny duckweed, a plant about an eighth -of-
an -inch in diameter.
From the high uplands I could see great
flocks of ducks wheeling over the pond. Our
party must have scared them up. Through
my glasses I could see their white bellies
and tight formation, which meant they must
have been scaup or, as some say, broad bill.
By noontime we had reached the south end
and met to eat. We lay about in the grass
enjoying our lunches. How good everything
tasted. Hawks soared above and the sun
beat down on us. We were surely at peace
with the world.
The boat was to leave at 3 o'clock and so to
finish our day we would work the west shore
back to the landing. Here again the land ran
off and rivulets and wet areas were
everywhere. We walked past the spot where
years before I photographed a red - tailed
hawk's nest, its skeletal remains still
clinging to the old dead tree. But then it was
spring and everything was green. How thz
female screamed her high - pitched call from
S uftoUUl �Slllt'$ Page 23
on the beach and of course there were many
many more than today. Our technology has
taken its loll. Yet there are signs we are
learning slowly from our past. Some of the
more harmful pesticides have been banned
and already there are signs of our osprey
population starting to recover. Whether they
will ever reach the proportions of years ago
only timerwill tell.
The last of our lunch was consumed on the
way back, and while sitting we saw a myrtle
warbler shoot upward like a crazy rocket to
snatch a flying insect awakened by the
warmth of the day. It then fluttered back
down and awaited another.
We found ourselves within sight of the
landing. In the background the red buildings
of the old settlement lay quietly at rest, their
day of activity past. The only sign of the
modern world was the radar dome that
stood above the reeds on the Captain Kidd as
vie. approached. Our modern world was
again before us.
Slowly our group drifted in from quarters
until we all had assembled and were ready
for the trip back. Again the water was calm
and as the sun set we headed almost directly
into it back to Three Mile Harbor. I've been ..
on this count many tines and each time it's
a new and exciting adventure. Let's hope
there will always be islands of adventure
where wilderness is still wilderness and
where the soul of roan can be revived.
CAPTAIN KIDD- -After leaving the group on Gardiner's Island for the Montauk Christmas Bird (:Guth. lhc'
Captain. Kidd heads homeward over the quiet waters of Gardiner's Bay. Photo by Peter Silt 1'omil ; .1191
Two Great iSam.e.s
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