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March 20, 1997 - Scavengers: Nature's Cleanup CrewGA • The Suffolk,Times • March 20, -1997 Scavengers: Nature's Cleanup Crew We here on the East End are used to seeing seagulls fly over our homes. They are usually flying from the bay to the sound or vice versa, so when I looked up the other day to check on "just another gull," I was surprised to see something radically different. It was much bigger and very dark with gray undersides on its wings. Then, as it sailed along low over the back pasture, I could see a distinct dull reddish head. It had to be a turkey vulture or, as they call them down south, �O�u� a buzzard. If ever there was a bird that inspired on one to want to fly, Nature it is this elegant soarer of the sky. by Paul They literally seem Stoutenburgh to hang by magic in the air, often not moving a wing while other times, by merely a slight change in angle, they'll drift off to find another ther- mal to hang on, all the time looking and scenting for the unfortunate below. I know when I'm down south I never tire of watching them, particularly if I have my binoculars so I can see the primary feath- ers in their huge wings that catch" every bit of thermal lift. Anyone who has ever driven down south is probably familiar with these graceful aerialists. Probably the first place the sharp eye will see them is in lower Jersey and from then on, almost anywhere on your trip south. It's truly an uncommon bird here on Long Island, so why did it pick my pasture to fly over the other day? It's a long story that started with the slaughtering of one of our cows a few weeks ago. As has been done for cen- turies, the deadly deed was carried out in the pasture and when it was all over, the dressed -out carcass was taken away to a cooler, where it was eventually cut up and packaged for freezing. Drawn by the Scent of Food The entrails were later disposed of, but I'm sure some scent of blood, etc., was left on the ground. So what's that have to do with our vulture? Well, it's been proven that turkey vultures locate their carrion mostly by scent and, of course, where visible by sight. It's my belief that this "stray" vulture was soaring along over our East End when its superior smelling mechanism caught the whiff of what he thought was a meal. The problem was there were no remains for him to enjoy, merely the scent left on the ground. Finding nothing, this master of the airways went on his way east- ward looking hopefully for a road kill, or possi- bly a dead deer to feast on. Vultures of all sorts are actually defined as birds of prey. Usually we reserve this grand title for the hawks and eagles, etc. We think of them attacking their prey from the air in spectacular dives and chases and kills. Not so with the vulture family, of which the endan- gered California condor is a member. All of these birds of prey rely on finding already dead sources of food. Often when an animal is dying, the vultures will wait patiently off to the side for it to pass on. Then they will start their feast. Vultures are symbols of death as any good western movie will reinforce. Remem- ber the bad guy who was left dead on the dessert with the vultures circling above. Actually we have two species of vul- tures, the turkey vulture with its reddish head that we see occasionally here on Long Island and the black vulture with its black head that hardly ever roams this far north. The turkey vulture, with its excep- tionally keen sense of smell and telescop- ic sight, usually is the first to locate the carrion, then it suddenly drops down and unknowingly signals all other vultures, including the black vulture, to join in on the feast. Then there are the squabbling, jabbing, picking, tearing beaks going about devouring as much as their stom- achs will hold. In a short time all that is left are the bones. If you look closely at the vulture's head and neck, you will see it has no feathers to speak of. They are the true "skin sen for their remoteness because of their vulnerability as they nest on the ground, laying one to two white or creamy spotted eggs. The young, like many birds of prey, are born with white fluffy down that gradually changes to juvenile feathered plumage after about 10 weeks, when the young are ready to fly. During their period, they have been fed a conglomerate of fresh and rotten flesh from a variety of ani- mals and fish that has been carried back to the nest in the parent's crop. Here the young are fed by thrusting their bills into the parent's mouth to gain access to the regurgitated spoils of the day. In this act of scavenging on dead ani- mals the vulture per- forms an important ser- vice to humanity. We have our own effi- cient scavengers here on the East End. Gulls and crows do a pretty good job of this messy task of cleanup. The most com- mon scavenger is the herring gull, the one we always see along our beaches and bays and sound. Herring gulls don't nest on the main- land, but do nest on the islands in Shinnecock and Moriches bays, but their largest colonies are on Gardiners and Plum islands. There they build their rather crude nests of dried grasses and reeds right on the ground. When the beaches And nearby sands become crowded with nests, they'll take to the uplands. I've even seen them nesting on the airport's grass runway on Gardiners Island. Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh TURKEY VULTURE —This rare visitor to our East End was spot- ted heading eastward in Cutchogue. With its huge six -foot wing span, it is master of the airways, soaring effortlessly above as if held up by some magical thread. ■ —il— ■ --111— M--§— not a "UMM osaysa 75 Years Ago March 17, 1922 Orient News: The old blacksmith shop, which has stood at the foot of the village lane for nearly 70 years, was torn down last week. A new shop is being built on Vincent Street. While the old shop presented a picturesque appear- ance which added to the quaintness of the village, it obstruct- ed the view on the harbor, which possibly is more to be desired. Our blacksmith, John Cleveland, has retired from active business and Mr. Whitney will be the new smith. 50 Years Ago March 21, 1947 Burt Elected Greenport Mayor: On Tuesday, in one of the most closely contested elections in the political history of the Incorporated Village of Greenport, the Independent Party, a newcomer in the political field this year, elected its candidates for Mayor and one member of the village Board of Trustees. Mayor -Elect Otis Burt defeated Mayor John Kluge, who has headed the municipality for 14 years, by only 15 votes. Charles Woolley, who has served as a member of the Board of Trustees for 12 years, was defeated by a total of 36 votes. Harry Thornhill, a Trustee for the past six years, was the only one of the incumbents to be reelected to office. Robert Morris, a candidate of the Independent Party, was elected a heads." The reason for skin instead of feathers is that when they reach deep into the carcass for some goody, their head and neck get blood and debris on them. If feathered, it would be a continuous prob- lem of feather cleaning and discomfort, whereas the skin is much easier to clean and maintain. The occasional turkey vulture we see on Long Island does not nest here. In remote parts of the state it has been known to nest on rocky crags, caves and other isolated spots. These spots are cho- Trustee. Robert Brown, the other candidate for Trustee on the Independent Party, was defeated. SI School Damaged by Fire: Great excitement prevailed on Shelter Island Monday morning when it became known that the old school building at Shelter Island Center was on fire. The fire, which is presumed to have started by sparks from the chimney, ignited the wooden shingles on the roof. By the time the fire apparatus arrived all of the students had been evacuated from the building. The fire was extin- guished without difficulty. 25 Years Ago March 23, 1972 A Locker Room Party: Did you know that last Friday night was "Find your locker" or "We moved, you find it" night at the North Fork Country Club in Cutchogue? The men's locker room had been completely renovated and to celebrate, a party was held "for men only" in the locker room! The ladies, however, did get to join their husbands later for dinner and a quick peek at the new room. Planting Begins: Wheels will be turning on eastern Long Island croplands next week. The coming of spring finds the frost out of the ground, the snow fences going down and farmers on the East End poised for the annual land rush. At a few scattered points, plowing and planting have already started. The first reported planting was of peas, made Monday at Aquebogue by George Reeve. Gulls Look FartherAfteld Gulls don't limit their scavenging to just the beaches. Throw some likable food out in your backyard and it won't be long before Mr. Gull will find it, along with his scavenging followers. The largest of our gulls is the black- backed gull. It is king when it comes to food, nesting sites and just plain bullying. All others yield to his demands. It's interesting to note that this largest of gulls was a stranger to these parts a mere 50 to 60 years ago. Our crow, who scavenges on road kills, man's unwanted garbage and the sea- shore, has come back in numbers these past few years. There was a time when crows hit a real low in numbers, forcing the Department of Environmental Conser- vation to protect them from hunting. Today hunters can only shoot crows in a given season. It doesn't take a crow long to figure out where a free meal comes from. I can hard- ly get back into the house after feeding the chickens before the crows move in to get their share. As a matter of fact, the family of crows around our place has gotten so bold as to come and help themselves to the suet I put out in our feeders. I guess it's like so many things in life, you have to take the good wit't the bad. Our crows do a good job of cleaning up roadside kills, man's throwaway garbage, etc., but he becomes a real villain when it comes to birds' nests, eggs and young that he finds mighty fine eating.