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The Naturalist
NATURALIST REPORT
Wednesday, October 28, 2009
Just about this time last year (October 27th), I made an eventful trip to the Piping Rock Dump in the late afternoon. I found a nice assortment of birds there: the usual Blue Jays, Chickadees, Tufted Titmice, White-breasted Nuthatch, Robins, Mourning Doves, and Cardinals; but also a Yellow-bellied Sapsucker, a Purple Finch, a White-crowned Sparrow, and both Golden-crowned and Ruby-crowned Kinglets. But as I was leaving at 5 pm, I noticed a tiny gray bird, busily gleaning the undersides of crabapple leaves at the edge of the lane. I thought it had to be a warbler, being so small and busy, but after a lot of observation, I could see it had a divided eye-ring with a narrow white path leading from the eye-ring to its bill and just one distinct wing-bar. This didn’t fit any warbler in the book, and I finally switched to Vireos, deciding it had to be a Bell’s Vireo, a tiny western stray that hasn’t been seen on Long Island for years. The only characteristic it didn’t have was a yellowish wash to the belly, which I could have missed as it was getting dark, and the bird was under a tree canopy. However, on later research, I found one source that said that the Bell’s Vireos that nested in the eastern part of their range often lack the yellowish wash.
Now, I was in trouble. I had no corroborating witness, no camera, took no notes, and was not familiar with the species. I resolved to come back with a camera the next day, but as luck would have it, we had hard rain and wind that night. When I got up to the dump, the leaves had blown off the Crabapple tree and there were huge trucks dumping leaves, branches, and grass nearby. No birds were to be seen except a few Juncos down in the back, and then when a boy arrived with a blower, I left. I came back at 4:30 and saw the Juncos, but then the resident Redtail arrived. Calling “Key-err”, he settled in his favorite dead tree, and that was the end of the visible birds. Discouraged, I started to leave at dusk when I heard a female Great Horned Owl call repeatedly with high chattery hooting. Finally, the male responded with his basso profundo voice, and I left with a nice bird for the list if not the one I came for.
On Saturday, November 1st, six Shovelers arrived here as I was leaving for Jamaica Bay. There, we saw 2,500 Brant Geese and had a thrilling view of 145 Snow Geese wheeling into land for the night, sunlit against the stormy sky. There was even a Blue Goose in with them.
On November 2nd, One Siskin showed up at the Piping Rock Dump – a precursor of the great Siskin year we were to have. Siskins were constantly at my Niger feeder with Goldfinches all winter, and I saw the last ones on June 5th. They stayed so long, we were hoping they might stay to breed, but evidently that didn’t happen.
On a cold December 14th, six Hooded Mergansers showed up in Beaver Lake along with Piedbill Grebe and a female Common Merganser.
Great Egrets persisted in using Bird Roost Preserve on Beaver Lake every night, despite some bitter cold. They made it until December 30th, thus ensuring they’d make the Christmas Count. Another bird that made the Count was the Bluebird – there were five at the south end of the golf course and Margie Von Stade had seven or eight in her trees.
On February 21st, two Evening Grosbeaks showed up at the Muttontown Preserve. Years ago, these birds used to storm our feeders in winter forays for sunflower seeds but have been absent for a number of years, and so their appearance was very welcomed. Also in February, we had a huge incursion of swans in Beaver Lake. Fifty-nine appeared and stayed while I usually expect about thirty to arrive in April.
On April 2nd, Necklace, the female Osprey, was in her nest on the pole over by Bird Roost Preserve, looking as if she was laying an egg. On April 13th, I was concerned because she kept standing on the nest instead of sitting on her eggs, and we had had a lot of cold rain. But Squirt flew in with a big piece of cotton batting, which was placed on the nest edge and that did it – she began sitting.
On April 29th, we added a new bird to our place list, a Turkey which my neighbor, Nancy Shea, spotted under my feeder early in the morning. Later, Luigi, my gardener, threw some seed on the ground for it, but he complained that it wouldn’t eat from his hand! It was a hen, perhaps a yearling, which indicates they must be breeding in the area. Domestic Turkeys have a white tail-band, wild turkeys have a chestnut tail-band, and the ones around here seem to have a beige tail-band, perhaps a cross. They sure don’t seem to be very wild!
In May, our resident Carolina Wren drove me to distraction by building a nest in the over-head door control box over my car. Anybody coming or going in the garage got a furious tongue-lashing from her. When the babies finally left the nest Mat 12th, one of them got into the space between the rolled up door and the ceiling and shrieked most of the day. Fortunately it joined its family the next day, and peace reined again.
That was also the day I walked at Piping and saw a Turkey Vulture soar over head. Could it have been one of the three seen in the fall on October 11th in the clean-up field after the Mill Neck Manor Apple Festival which sat there forlornly hoping for a leftover bratwurst or two?
May 18th, Pine Warblers, Wood Thrushes, and Veerys were singing in Shu Swamp. The next day, a Scarlet Tanager and Crested Flycatcher were singing at Muttontown Preserve.
On May 30th, it was a thrill to see flocks of small sandpipers at Jamaica Bay. It was like the old days to see a flock of 3,000 rise up and fly like curtains blowing in the wind before settling down again.
On June 19th, it was pouring rain, and hard, and I saw an odd white thing in the Osprey nest. When got the scope set up, it was Necklace’s under sides which were visible because she was holding one wing out over the baby in her nest to shelter him from the rain. This one I called “Handsome” because he was. By June 27th, I noticed Squirt had brought in a new decoration for Necklace – a large, totally ragged piece of white plastic. (The cotton batting had long disappeared). A second piece, also ragged, was added three days later. Ragged pieces so they would flutter in the breeze? On July 1st, an orange toy was added.
On July 9th, at night, I finally glimpsed Handsome flapping. Necklace seemed to be cheering him on with loud cheeps. I had been concerned because he never seemed to exercise his flying muscles. On July 14th, however, he took off, and I watched him soar effortlessly around and around – and around – and around. And it dawned on me he didn’t know how to stop. His father, Squirt, was in the top of an oak, and I had the distinct impression he growled “ Come over here, kid” because Handsome aimed for him and - crash – landed in the oak as Squirt lifted off. By lunchtime, however, he made a three-point landing in the nest. In the afternoon, I heard the Cormorants groaning in the roost, and there was Handsome, buzzing them just the way his daddy did it! A chip off the old block!
In August, the Carolina Wren laid four eggs in a beautiful nest with a tunnel entrance in my hanging geranium – a better choice than the overhead door in the garage!
On August 31st, the Piping Rock dump was alive with birds; there were 20-30 Chipping Sparrows, 30 Cowbirds, 2 Indigo Buntings, a Rose-breasted Grosbeak and a Hummingbird in hot pursuit of a small bird. But most interesting were the visitors to a large puddle right at the entrance: a Solitary Sandpiper and two Semi-palmated Sandpipers. The next day, they were still there, and so were three Rose-breasted Grosbeaks, three Indigo Buntings, and two Kingbirds. On September 14th, a lot of those birds were still feeding there, but added to the mix were two Merlins, two Sharp-shinned Hawks, and a Harrier, which made birding difficult as everything goes quiet and still when hawks are around.
On September 14th, I counted 79 Egrets in the Bird Roost Preserve; of those, 14 were Snowy Egrets, and 65 were Great Egrets.
On September 25th, a male Hummingbird came to my feeder in the morning and drank steadily for 14 seconds. That’s a long sip for a Hummer. In the afternoon he came back and drank for one minute and fifty seconds. That night a cold front came through, and I believe he tanked up and left, as I didn’t see him again.
On October 3rd, two Muscovy ducks, probably dropped, attacked me on the viewing platform. Fortunately, they didn’t break the skin as my pants were heavy. One was ailing last week and disappeared. Could Avian Flu have caused that inordinate rage?
On October 8th, there was a large cohesive flock of Cormorants, slowly cruising the lake. I believe they were getting ready to go.
As some go, others come. There were ten Widgeon whistling at me in the Planting Field Dump pond on October 23rd, and Beaver Lake is filling up with wintering Canada Geese.
As the seasons roll around, there is always something to see, something to enjoy, and something to wonder at: how could a half-ounce Hummingbird drink steadily for nearly two minutes and not explode?
Barbara H. Conolly
October 2009