The Naturalist

NORTH SHORE WILDLIFE SANCTUARY ASSOC.

Annual Meeting - Wed. Oct. 12, 2011


When geese from the north begin to arrive in Mill Neck in the fall, there seems to be an electric tension in the lake. It wakes us all up! On November 27th, 2010 some 750 excited migrant Canada Geese flew into Beaver Dam from the north and with them was a Greater White-fronted Goose of the Icelandic race, a really rare bird on L.I.
On Jan 12th, after a heavy snow, I had a near record count of Canada Geese in Beaver Lake. There were 1300 of them sitting on the snowy edge of the pool of open water in the middle of the ice that forms from the warm-water discharge during ice-making at the Beaver Dam Skating Club. Their food supply, the open meadows at Planting Fields Arboretum, was covered by twelve inches of snow. I wondered how long they could fast before the wind blew some of the grass free or a melt occurred. They must have a built-in mechanism for fasting because you don’t see many dead geese lying around!
In February, I was in Florida to prepare to lead the Long Island Botanical Society’s 25th anniversary trip through nine habitats in nine days from Tallahassee in the north to Fakahatchee in the south. We stood in awe before a 970 year-old Live Oak near Sebring, watched 2 young Bald Eagles flapping at their nest on Sanibel and escaped an angry Cottonmouth as it charged us in a bog in Apalachicola. We had a lot of fun but I was glad when it was over!
Home in Mill Neck, I looked over at the Osprey nest on the morning of April 12th and was concerned to see it empty! Necklace should have been on eggs by that date. Two hours later, there she was, with two huge pieces of white plastic, ballooning on either side of her like leg-o-mutton sleeves as she sat on the nest. Two hours after that, the plastic was gone. Had she decided it was just too much or had she tucked it all into the sticks of the nest?
On May 17th, Necklace was fidgety – were her eggs hatching? Monday May 23rd, I was sure she had a hatch – there was a white plastic burgee flying off the northeast corner of the nest. Just then, Squirt flew in with a large fish which Necklace devoured, feeding little bits to her babies. In exuberance, Squirt flew off and bombed a Canada Goose four times as it sat on the water. I was chuckling at this when a pair of Wood Ducks flew in, the male disappearing behind the island while the female made a neat loop around our birch tree and headed for the entrance to the Wood Duck box. But she missed the hole, banging into the box below the hole and fell, flustered, into the water. She swam behind the island but ten minutes later she reappeared, flew around the birch tree again, swooped straight into the hole in the box and disappeared to lay her egg . Was this a new wife I wondered?
The highlight of June was on Mon. the 6th. My daughter Cathie was visiting and since it was her birthday we took a walk in Shu Swamp. Her birthday present was when we jumped a big doe feeding in a streamlet close by. Cathie actually got a picture of two ears and a big black eye in the bushes when she stopped to look back at us!.
The next day was my birthday and we went to Caumsett where we succeeded in spotting some Baltimore Checkerspot butterflies. These beautiful butterflies hadn’t been seen on L.I. for 20 years until 2009 when they were spotted in Caumsett but I hadn’t been able to find them until this year. That was my birthday present!
Two days later I was watching a mother Swan swimming across the lake with her two cygnets. One was securely on her back with its head sticking out between her wings. The other was desperately trying to get up the ramp but kept slipping back. Suddenly the swan stopped dead and spun around quickly. The trailing baby was suddenly on board with his littermate. I think the Swan made a little whirlpool to give him a boost up. Being up on board gives small cygnets protection from turtles while traveling.
On June 20th, I met a red fox while walking in the old stabling area for the Piping Rock Horse Show. In August I surprised a young fox hunting in the dump at Piping Rock. Glad to see foxes twice within a calendar year!
From mid-June to the end of July is the time when Canada Geese molt their flight feathers. Because they can’t fly out to feed in the meadows at Planting Fields, I feel sorry for them and welcome their presence on my “lawn” at that time. This year it happened to coincide with some landscaping that I was having done around the house. The rushes that were planted were candy for them. Then the absolutely-goose-proof Wild Oats that replaced the rushes were devoured overnight. And finally a chicken-wire fence was built which held the geese at bay.
By July 1, we could ascertain there was only one baby in the Osprey nest. She was a beautiful brindle-tan and looked just like a Quail as she sat in the nest. On the 7th of July, Katie-the-Quail flapped so strongly at 6 A.M. that I thought she was lifting off. But no. It was hot and humid – perhaps that kind of air doesn’t have enough lift?
On July 10th, the Ospreys had the first visit from another Osprey who circled over the nest until Squirt had to assert himself and chase her away. She reappeared 4 or 5 more times over the summer. I have no idea what that was all about.
On July 18th, there was an empty nest - no Ospreys in sight. Katie had flown! An hour later, Necklace was standing in the nest with Katie leaning against her, nibbling her neck and face. After a bit Katie drooped over, head down, showing the tan on the back of her neck. At 7:35 she lifted her head for a bit, looking like a little penguin, and then slumped down again. Finally at 8:05, Squirt appeared with a fish for Katie which she promptly tore into. Half an hour later she was all restored. She had just had a bad day at the office I guess.
On July 26th, she flew out of the nest towards the r.r,. turned and buzzed a cormorant on her return – just like her daddy!
In early August, I walked in Coffin Woods with Lois Lindberg to see the vine she had discovered. We had guessed it might be Wild Kiwi (Actinidia arguta) and indeed it is. Unfortunately it rivals Kudzu in its take-over ability. There is a patch of it about 50’ square and I think may need machinery to remove it. It is close to the Siberian Geranium, Goatsbeard and Galax – all probably introduced by Miss Coffin at one time.
On Aug. 10th, a Turkey Vulture was soaring over the Carshallton Gates at P.F.A. A number have been seen on L.I. this summer and there seems to be a resident pair at Caumsett State Park. so perhaps we have a new breeding species for L.I.
As summer turns to fall, the place to be is at the dump at P.R.C. in the early morning. The dump is right behind the Trap Shoot so it behooves one to check on the shooting schedule first!
When a cold front comes through, the place can be hopping with migrant songbirds feeding on the weed seeds there. Even warblers, which are insect eaters, can be found down amongst the weeds. 9 or 10 species can be spotted on a good flight day. And Indigo Buntings (most in fall plumage), Rose-breasted Grosbeaks and occasionally Blue Grosbeaks show up. There seem to be at least 30 Chipping Sparrows still in residence there. In late October, a variety of Sparrows appear, but this year a very special sparrow appeared early in the season and stayed for three days – a Lark Sparrow – a snappy male with a gorgeous bridled face.
Of course the flood of songbirds coming down from the north attracts the hawks that feed on them. The resident Redtail which often roosts in the dump doesn’t seem to be much of a problem but it’s the Peregrine, the Cooper’s and the Sharp-shinned that the birds have to be wary of. At times, the flitting about in the dump area may totally stop. That silence indicates that perhaps a Sharpie or Cooper’s has sneaked up through the woods and you might as well go home because the small birds will freeze in cover for quite a while.
A young Cooper’s attacked a bird just off my porch last week. The Jays went bananas, shrieking at him but he didn’t fly away, so I slipped around the house with binocs and hoped to see him. And there he was, a beautiful immature Cooper’s, down low, with nothing in his talons. He was hunting for the quarry that had gotten away. Something moved under a Laurel bush and he grabbed it. It was a Jay and still full of fight. Meanwhile at least 15 Jays in the trees overhead were screaming their lungs out. Finally the hawk subdued the bird and flew off to have lunch. And everything was instantly quiet again. And life went on. That afternoon, visiting Bailey Arboretum to count Wood Ducks in the pond there (there were 14), I looked down and found the most amazing fungus I have ever see. It is maybe 3” tall, bright red, and is formed like a maharajah’s howdah of three slender fingers which apparently rise separately and then bend over to touch tips and fuse, forming a delicate three-point arch. It is in the Stinkhorn family and is Pseudocolomus scheffenbergiana, commonly know as Stinky Squid. It absolutely blew me away.
So you never know what’s around the corner when you go for a walk in a natural place! And isn’t that a wonderful thing?

     Barbara H. Conolly