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November 20, 1997 - Adrift Amidst the Fish and Fowl6A • The Suffolk Times • November 20, 1997 Adrift Amidst the Fish and Fowl There's lots to see down here in Florida, particularly if you are interested in the world around you. To give you some idea what I mean by that, come with me on a party boat fishing trip out in the Gulf of Mexico. A friend was going for a half -day's trip and asked if I would like to go along. I quickly agreed as he Focus showed me a pic- ture of the party On boat we would be taking. They are Nature very similar to the big boats that go by Pahl out of Greenport Stoutenburgh and Montauk. You didn't need a reservation at this time of the year — "Just be there by 8:30 and all your fishing needs will be taken care of (poles, bait, etc.). Barbara put together a great lunch and along with my regulars that included a bird book, binoculars, pencil and pad, and peaked hat we were off. We've had splen- did weather down here, each day in the 70s and 80s, and our day was particularly rewarding because there was just enough breeze on the water to make it pleasant, not one of those "hang on" days. We arrived at the dock a little early so I had time to look around and see what the natural world had to offer. Luck was with me as the tide was out, revealing in the shallows mud flats that had attracted a wonderful array of shorebirds and waders. My binoculars started to pick out some of the really neat birds that we often see right around our own East End back on Long Island. Two large brown shorebirds showed me their obvious white wing markings when they flew, identifying them as willets. These are rare along our north shore but quite com- mon on the south side. They actually nest in the uplands of the marsh all along Dune Road. Great blue herons, the common three - foot -tall wading bird often seen in our creeks, was doing its usual stalking at the water's edge. I never tire of watching these slow- motion stalkers as they pick up killies in the shallows. An equally tall, all -white great egret must have had good hunting earlier as it was asleep in the nearby shrubs that surrounded the ma- rina. On a pole a few hundred feet down from our boat was a nest of an osprey with its resident bird sitting off to one side. On almost every piling sat a con- tented brown pelican. They'd await our return and feast on the remains of the fish that are cleaned at the dockside. Standing on one foot, seemingly asleep, was a yel- low- crowned night heron. I photographed a yellow -crown 35 years ago in a black - crowned night heron rookery on a duck farm in Riverhead, the area that is now the Indian Island Golf Course. Today they are a rare sight on our North Fork but common down here in Florida. Three little shorebirds running about poking their bills here and there in the muddy flats were the semi - palmated plovers; they look like our endangered piping plover. Also a few bobbing spotted sandpipers were off to the sides doing the same. All were finding food in the ooze of the mud flats just in back of the marina. Laughing gulls, the same ones we see mostly along our Sound shore, kept up a continual raucous call. They are the true beg- gars around the docks and, of course, people cannot resist feeding them. Some birds will actually take the food in flight right out of your hand. Our time for departure soon arrived and everyone scurried aboard. There were only about 30 of us, ranging from an elderly couple who had never been fishing before to the macho man who knew everything there was about fishing. The churning of the maneuvering diesels as we left stirred up the water in the back of the boat, making it easy picking for the laughing gulls that dipped down to pick up their newfound goodies. We passed through the canal out into the sparkling Gulf. Along the edges were white stuccoed houses, each with a boat of one sort or another tied up in front. Boating is big business down here and if you live near the water you are bound to have a boat. I scanned the water but saw nothing but a few common gulls moving through. I found a shady spot and laid out on the deck to relax. The engines were doing their best to lull me off to sleep. The drone of them is a comforting sound for you know things are going well. In my past boating days I could always fall asleep below when the engines were run- ning. The sound is a sort of hypnosis. I awoke from my nap when the engines into the ice chest. Our greatest disap- pointment were the groupers we had to throw back, a fish something like our blackfish but lighter in color and with a much larger mouth. It's an excellent eat- ing fish and one most sought after. Time and time again we'd get them aboard — 16 inches, 18 inches, 19 1/2 inches, all had to go back. The legal size was 20 inches. No matter. We were catching enough of the Man- grove snappers, spot tails, red snapper, squirrel tail, porgies, little tuna and oth- ers. They were all new to Suffolk Times photo by Paul Stoutenburgh LAUGHING GULL — Probably the most common gull found around the waterways of Florida. It is a noisy, small, agile gull, a true beggar, knowing all too well people cannot resist feeding it. ■ _il_ ■ _2_ M-111111– Not a AMUR noun 75 Years Ago Nov. 17, 1922 Night School at Greenport: A night school will be opened in the Greenport High School building on Monday evenings. The purpose of this school is to aid foreign- speak- ing people of this community to become better acquainted with the English language, and to help them become better adjusted to their surroundings. This Americanization work is a project which should receive the interest and support of all citizens who are eager for the betterment of their own com- munity. Free tuition. Free textbooks furnished by the gov- ernment. A large enrollment is desired. 50 Years Ago Nov. 21, 1947 Interesting Bits of Local News: This week we received from the Rhine Main Air Base, headquarters of the European Air Transport Service, public information office, a short article regarding Miss Kate Salter, a former student at Greenport High School. Miss Salter has been a correspon- dent for the Air Force in Europe since May 1946, working for the European Air Transport Service, the military airline on the European continent responsible for providing the slowed down and we were at the fishing grounds an hour away. We were all called in to the big cabin, where elementary instructions were given on how to use the fishing equipment and to make sure no one was injured by an uncontrolled hook. Our bait was chopped -up squid and some sort of small frozen fish. Everyone was anxious to try their luck at bottom fishing. Soon fish were coming aboard. There was the usual excitement and tangled lines. They are very strict about size lim- its and many more went overboard than army of occupation with air transportation. Her assignments have taken her throughout Germany and Italy as well as a recent trip to Morocco, French West Africa and Liberia. Miss Salter has recently renewed her contract for another year in Europe. Drivers of new motor cars in the village of Greenport are attorney Harry Reeve, a new Packard sedan from Vail Brothers, local dealers; and a new Kaiser sedan to Richard Miller, one of the proprietors of the Hotel Wyandank. The sedan delivered to Mr. Miller is the first car which Charles Manwaring, the new Kaiser - Freaser dealer, has delivered. 25 Years Ago Nov. 23, 1972 Someone Cared: This Thanksgiving The Suffolk Times extends its "Someone Cared" award to a man who at great personal risk helped others. Frank Knispel, owner of the Anchor Inn Restaurant and Naugle's Dock in Mattituck, set out alone in a small boat one stormy night in October to rescue two persons from a sinking yacht. He pulled them aboard as their boat sank against the rocks of the Mattituck breakwater. In the opinion of the editorial staff, seldom has the award been more deserved. me. A Little Birding, Too In between bites I'd be checking the horizon for birds. Nearby were anchored shrimp boats, their booms and nets hanging out drying. It seems they rest and sleep during the day and work at night when the shrimp come to the surface. At one place there were 20 or more birds circling and diving for fish in the water. They were jet black in color and vaguely familiar. My binoculars helped identify them as frigate birds, handsome, dis- tinct- looking birds with long, pointed wings and a long forked tail. They are mostly noted for their pirat- ing of other birds' catches and today they were demon- strating their art to the fullest. One bird would snatch a fish out of the water and then one or two others would be after it, diving and grabbing, until most often the pursued would drop its prize and the fish would be picked up, sometimes in midair, by one of the pursuers. Terns flew by, looking very much like the ones we see at home along the bay and Sound, but on close examination they revealed a yellow tip on their black bills: sandwich terns, a nice addition to my list. I've only seen them once or twice before, offshore, when down here in Florida. Then something on the surface of the water caught my eye three or four hun- dred feet off. I thought it was a piece of canvas or a piece of building material, but no — a head soon popped up and my glasses revealed a beautiful three- to four - foot loggerhead turtle, another good find. The day was perfect. No one got sea- sick and everyone had fish to take home for supper. We had a great day fishing plus I had a great day birding. Our return trip was uneventful except for a small group of dolphins that we passed; they paid little attention to us. Isn't it a shame we no longer see these sleek animals in our bays and Sound? I remember when Barbara and I were first married we pad- dled out into a group of them moving along the shore. What a sight and what a thrill! Graceful, glistening, their black streamlined bodies going under and com- ing up, going under and coming up — true masters of the sea. I wonder how many of my readers can remember the days when these beautiful creatures passed through our East End waters. Will we ever have the pleasure of seeing them there again? Or will we have to go to Florida to see them? Or maybe by then they will have vanished from there as well.