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May 14, 1998 - Crows: crafty creatures are on the rise6A • The Suffolk Times • May 14, 1998 grows: crarzy creatures are on the rise Spending some time in the car waiting for family members at Stony Brook this week I had a chance to see just what was in the area. Scrubby black oaks and white oaks dominated what was left of the natural land- scape. Low blos- soming blue- FOCUS berries held on to ON the sparse land- scape as progress NATURE moved in all by Paul about them. The Stoutenburgh medical center, where we were, had cut a huge chunk out of the area, almost obliterating the struggling old landscape. I pondered what would be left in another 10 or 20 years. Would there be anything left of what this rolling landscape once looked like? As I looked at the green spring leaves that had just recently filled the trees, two crows flew in. They landed in an old dead tree across the road. It was nice to see some sort of wildlife even if it had to be a pair of crows, and it was a pair of crows for sure. One seemed to be crouched down, sort of in a hunched position, while the other one moved from branch to branch, finally moving in alongside the other. Then ever so gently it presented the female with a tidbit of food, which the lady fair took with little emotion. This feeding kept up for three or four minutes. Each time the male would produce some morsel seemingly by magic as a token of their bond. Each time it was received without fanfare. I marveled at how these unpopular black rogues, who are despised by every bird for their savage and brutal attacks on their nests and young, could be so gentle and caring to one another. We've all seen crows under attack by other birds when they stray into their nesting area. This particular aggressive attack is most often seen by one sort of black bird or another. The male redwing is particu- larly aggressive in this attack procedure. Birds have good reason to despise these black bandits, for I've often watched them go down my hedgerow and clean out every bird's nest of its eggs and yes, even the young. Yet today I watched the tender affec- tion of Mr. Crow as he lured his bride - to-be in his tender courtship ritual. We've all seen the gaudy blue jay at our feeder, where he gobbles sunflower seeds one right after the other until his jowls can hold no more. Well, the crow, a close relative of the blue jay, has that same capacity and he had obviously col- lected some sort of goodies to bring to his mate and presented them one at a time. Three's a crowd As I watched a third crow flew in but he didn't get far for he forgot to bring along his box of candy. He soon flew away knowing he had little chance. Of course, there'll be other courtship maneuvers that the crow performs, such as aerial shows where dives and gyrations of all sorts will hopefully help prove to the oppo- site sex that he is qualified to be her mate. Once he's won her over, nest build- ing will take place. Here again, like with the blue jay, this process is undertaken in the most secretive man- ner. Around the nesting site they will sneak in and out of the area. So skilled are they at this invisible game that often we don't even realize they have nested nearby. The nest is not an elabo- rate affair. Small sticks and strips of bark are put togeth- er, usually high in a tree. My first crow's nest was in the tippy -top of a tall pine. The climb to this bulk of sticks and its handsome eggs was done when youth saw no limits or danger in climbing. There were no signs of the parent birds around, rather I was struck by how com- pletely absent both birds were. Their shyness and skill in leaving and entering the nesting site makes it difficult to find their nests. Needless to say, they are one of our most clever birds in this respect. Years ago crows were often shot or I should say shot at, for it was always dif- ficult to get near them. Today they can only be hunted during a special season and so crows no longer fear man. As a matter of fact they are downright bold. Perfect example is when I go out to feed the chickens and when I turn my back to head to the house I often see the crows moving in silently among the trees to get their share. Then if that doesn't satisfy them, they fly over to my suet feeder and poke away at that. That feeder, by silent hunter of the night I'm sure has struck terror into many a roosting crow, but then the tables are turned in the daylight. It's then that the sleeping owl pays for his evening meal. Once he's located, crows from far and wide come over to harass him. No tree or bush is safe from their diving, jeering harass- ment. Whenever you see a mass of crows flying and calling wildly you can pretty well bet they've found an owl to give a hard time to. Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh These Intelligent, Inquisitive animals seem to always be on the prowl. They'll take up residence In any chimney, building or boat that Is avail- able. Play It safe. Use a raccoon excluder and board up any openings In your buildings. h.r = a = mom W W r% 160 H V r% 75 Years Ago May 11, 1923 Palimony's precursor? A well -known young woman of Mattituck, by her guardian ad litem, has instituted an action for $25,000 damages for breach of promise against a young man, also of Mattituck. The case is on the calendar for trial before Justice John McCrain and a jury at the present term of the Suffolk County Supreme Court at Riverhead. The fair plaintiff is in her teens and the defendant is about 23 years old. They had been "keeping company" for about four years, when it is alleged that the young man broke off the engagement. The young woman still retains the engage- ment ring her fianck gave her. An action of this kind is very uncommon in Suffolk County. The defendant's mother is reputed to be well- to -do. 50 Years Ago May 14, 1948 Let's clean up our act: Cleanup days and weeks are being observed in a great number of American communi- ties. This is a most useful movement, and it gets rid of a vast amount of refuse and rubbish. If home grounds have been littered with waste, they look better after this material has been removed. People have reason to feel pleased if their the way, is only 25 feet from our house. Years ago you wouldn't find a crow around when man was about. We seem to have more crows now than ever before. Evidently now that man is no longer the predator that he once was, their numbers have increased so much so that some say there should be a year -round hunting season on them. There are few natural predators that crows have to look out for, the excep- tion being the great horned owl. This grounds have been freed from such accumulations. The desire for neat and attractive home grounds has been growing for many years. Modern standards lead people to dislike an appearance of disorder around their home places. We residents of the North Fork can hardly expect to clean up the whole world. But there is nothing to keep us from setting an example fit for the world to follow. 25 Years Ago May 10, 1973 Op Shop on the hop: The Horton Building in downtown Greenport, owned and operated by the same longtime East End family for the past 111 years, is now the property of the Eastern Long Island Hospital Association. "This was not an impulsive buy," said president Jerry Callis. "From the time the trustees realized the Opportunity Shop would have to be moved off the hospital grounds the board has been looking for a suitable spot. The continuation of the hospital's thrift shop is of vital importance. The shop, the hospital's largest single fund- raiser, will not only have a permanent location, but one with 1,100 more square feet for stock, excellent window display and free parking. The pur- chase shows the trustees' faith in the future of our village while providing a self- sustaining home for the Opportunity ShoR." The property will stay on the tax roll. On a different note, it's time for raccoons to be making the headlines. Summer folks will be calling in pleading what to do with these masked bandits in their chim- neys. By now every- one should know that no chimney is safe without a raccoon ex- cluder. These simple devices that clamp on to your chimney pre- vent these unwanted guests. The trouble is that raccoons aren't particular where they hole up. Of course, a chimney is somewhat like an old hollow tree but your available garage or boat will do just fine. Being one of nature's most intelli- gent and inquisitive creatures, the raccoon sooner or later will pay you a visit. A friend of mine was recently getting his boat ready to be launched when he found one of those "critters" had found his boat just right for homesteading. Of course, this furry tenant had started to make a few alter- ations to the insulation and was about ready to make a complete overhaul when discovered. That did it! The rac- coon had to go. But how do you get a big old raccoon out of your boat? I remember a man years ago who found a raccoon in his boat after he was out in the middle of the bay. Now there's a tricky situation! Here again, how do you get a raccoon out of your boat and, to make matters worse, in the middle of the bay? Luckily the man had a landing net and dumped Mr. Raccoon over- board. But then as he began to pull away he became softhearted and turned around and scooped the raccoon up and brought him back to shore. Well, my friend did it a little dif- ferently. He got a big Havahart trap and was about to climb up and set it when he was met by the raccoon on his way out. He backed off and watched the raccoon climb down his ladder, which had evi- dently given it easy access to his boat. Needless to say, the boat was promptly launched without Mr. Raccoon. Calling jr. naturalists The Riverhead Foundation for Marine Research and Preservation offers a junior naturalist camp this summer for kids 10 to 13. The five -day camp includes a canoe trip on the Peconic River, salt marsh exploration, a day at the foundation's learning cen- ter, a whale watch in Montauk and a nature walk through Morton Wildlife Preserve. Call 369 -9840 ext. 10.