HomeMy WebLinkAboutSeptember 10, 1961 - ShorebirdsA GROUP OF SHOREBIRDS L to R) Semipalmated Plover, two Least Sandpipers, Black - bellied
Plover, and Greater Yellowlegs. Exclusive Sunday Review Sketch
by Dennis Puleston of Brookhaven Focus
on
Nature } - by Paul Stoutenburgh Cutchogue This week and next, it will be my
pleasure to bring to you who follow this series two
outstanding articles on shore birds. Our authority is Gilbert Raynor of
Manorville, one of the few people on this end of the island
who could handle this very difficult subject well. I might suggest
that you who are ardent birders, keep these two articles for up-
to-date
reference. —P. S. SHOREBIRDS
By Gilbert S Raynor Little
known to the bird watcher
who confines his ob- servations to
a back yard feed. ing station,
but a source of endless
interest to those who seek them
out in their favored haunts,
the shorebirds are a group
for which Long ' Island is
justly famous among
knowl- edgeable ornithologists. Called by the appropriate
t e r m ,
Waders," in England, the shorebirds
are a world -wide group
most closely related to the Gulls
and Terns but quite distinct
in
appearance and ha. bits. They
are divided into -several families
which include the
Oys- tercatchers, Plovers, Turnstones,
Woodcock, Snipe, Sandpipers, A- ocets,
Stilts and.Phalaropes. One an not, however,
trust in a com- mon name
to indicate which fam- ily a
species belongs. to. The Killdeer, for
instance, is a Plover but the
Upland Plover is really a Sandpiper
as are the Curlew,
Knots, Dowitchers and Godwits. Shorebirds
range from small to moderate
in size. Most species have rather
long legs suitable for wading in shallow water,
1 o n g necks and
long bills which they commonly use
to probe the mud or sand
for the small mollusks
crustaceans and insects which
form their principal food. Their
tails are generally short but their
wings are long, pointed and
powerful for swift, maneuver- able
flight and lengthy migrat-
ions. Shorebird plumages never include
bright or gaudy colors but are
composed of modest and
tasteful combinations of grays,
browns, black and white. Many species
molt into a dis- tinctive
breeding plumage in the spring but
by late summer this is again
replaced by the often rather
nondescript gray and white winter
plumage in which similar
species closely resemble each other to the confusion
of t
h e inexperienced observer. Most
shorebirds spend their liv- es on the
ground and except in flight
are seldom seen elsewhere. A
few species will occasionally Might on
fence posts, the Purple Sandpiper is at
home only o n rocks and
the Phalaropes do most of
their feeding while swimming but
these are the exceptions. Shorebirds
nest on the ground and commonly
lay four eggs in a hollow scooped
in the sand or earth,
sometimes lined with bits of shells
or twigs. Like chickens, the young are
able to run and find
food for themselves soon after
hatching but remain under parental
care until fully grown. Although
several species nest on Long Island and
a few are even more
southern, most species nest in the
arctic muskegs and barr- ens north
of the timber line. Because
summer in the Arctic lasts only a
month or two, breed- ing is a
hurried affair. The birds are paired by
the time they reach the
nesting grounds, lay immed- iately and
leave again for the South as soon
as the young
are able to fly.
Many species of shorebirds
perform long migrations. The Golden
Plover and several kinds of sandpipers
that nest in north- ern
Canada winter in southern South
America, a distance of
some seven thousand miles.
Although most species follow the
coastlines and some migrate through
the interior prairie reg- ions, a number
of the m ore powerful
fliers often travel di- rectly from
Nova Scotia to Bra- zil, an
overwater flight that can be
equalled only by
modern, long -range aircraft. On
Long Island, these species are seen
in numbers only when storms at sea
force flocks o f
migrants to the coast. Shorebirds
are most often seen on the
sandbars and mud flats of our
coastal waters but some species
like the Killdeer, Golden Plover
and Upland Plover prefer cultivated
fields or pastures while the
Solitary Sandpiper shuns the maritime
habitats in favor of small,
inland ponds and streams.
Shorebirds in spring migration appear on
Long Island in late April, reach a
peak in late May and
then dwindle in numbers through
June. The fall migration begins in
late July, reacaes a maximum in
August and is about
completed by late September. No s e a s
o n, however lacks
shorebirds completely. Non- breed- ing
birds' are always present throughout
the summer while in our latitude, the
last of the spring migrants
heading north may pass the first of
the fall
migrants go- ing. south. In the
winter one can always find flocks of
Sanderlings a n d Dunlins and
usually a few Black - bellied
Plovers braving the biting winds
on some exposed sandbar while individuals
of a few other
species
occasionally winter here also. One
hardy species, the Purple .
Sandpiper, considers Long Island the sunny South
for it comes here only in
the winter months and is
seldor;
see much further south. Next
week, the varieties of shorebirds
that occur on Long Island and
the specific areas in which they
may be found will be
discussed
in more detail. H L to R) Setnipalmated Plover, two Least Sandpipers, Black - bellied Plover,
and Greater Yellowlegs. IM Exclusive Sunday Review Sketch by
Dennis Puleston of Brookhaven Focus on
Nature } -
by Paul Stoutenburgh Cutchogue This week and next, it will be my pleasure
to bring to you who follow this series two outstanding
articles on shore birds. Our authority is Gilbert Raynor of Manorville,
one of the few people on this end of the island who
could handle this very difficult subject well. I might suggest that
you who are ardent birders, keep these two articles for up- to•
date
reference. —P. S. SHOREBIRDS
By Gilbert S Raynor Little
known to the bird watcher
who confines his ob- servations to
a back yard feed. ing station,
but a source of endless
interest to those who seek them
out in their favored haunts,
the shorebirds are a group
for which Long ' Island is
justly famous among
knowl- edgeable ornithologists. Called by the appropriate
t e r m ,
Waders," in England, the shorebirds
are a world -wide group
most closely related to the Gulls
and Terns but quite distinct
in
appearance and ha. bits. They
are divided into -several families
which include the
Oys- tercatchers, Plovers, Turnstones,
Woodcock, Snipe, Sandpipers, A- ocets,
Stilts and.Phalaropes. One an not, however,
trust in a com- mon name
to indicate which fam- ily a
species belongs. to. The Killdeer, for
instance, is a Plover but the
Upland Plover is really a Sandpiper
as are the Curlew,
Knots, Dowitchers and Godwits. Shorebirds
range from small to moderate
in size. Most species have rather
long legs suitable for wading in shallow water,
1 o n g necks and
long bills which they commonly use
to probe the mud or sand
for the small mollusks
crustaceans and insects which
form their principal food. Their
tails are generally short but their
wings are long, pointed and
powerful for swift, maneuver- able
flight and lengthy migrat-
ions. Shorebird plumages never include
bright or gaudy colors but are
composed of modest and
tasteful combinations of grays,
browns, black and white. Many species
molt into a dis- tinctive
breeding plumage in the spring but
by late summer this is again
replaced by the often rather
nondescript gray and white winter
plumage in which similar
species closely resemble each other to the confusion
of t
h e inexperienced observer. Most
shorebirds spend their liv- es on the
ground and except in flight
are seldom seen elsewhere. A
few species will occasionally Might on
fence posts, the Purple Sandpiper is at
home only o n rocks and
the Phalaropes do most of
their feeding while swimming but
these are the exceptions. Shorebirds
nest on the ground and commonly
lay four eggs in a hollow scooped
in the sand or earth,
sometimes lined with bits of shells
or twigs. Like chickens, the young are
able to run and find
food for themselves soon after
hatching but remain under parental
care until fully grown. Although
several species nest on Long Island and
a few are even more
southern, most species nest in the
arctic muskegs and barr- ens north
of the timber line. Because
summer in the Arctic lasts only a
month or two, breed- ing is a
hurried affair. The birds are paired by
the time they reach the
nesting grounds, lay immed- iately and
leave again for the South as soon
as the young
are able to fly.
Many species of shorebirds
perform long migrations. The Golden
Plover and several kinds of sandpipers
that nest in north- ern
Canada winter in southern South
America, a distance of
some seven thousand miles.
Although most species follow the
coastlines and some migrate through
the interior prairie reg- ions, a number
of the m ore powerful
fliers often travel di- rectly from
Nova Scotia to Bra- zil, an
overwater flight that can be
equalled only by
modern, long -range aircraft. On
Long Island, these species are seen
in numbers only when storms at sea
force flocks o f
migrants to the coast. Shorebirds
are most often seen on the
sandbars and mud flats of our
coastal waters but some species
like the Killdeer, Golden Plover
and Upland Plover prefer cultivated
fields or pastures while the
Solitary Sandpiper shuns the maritime
habitats in favor of small,
inland ponds and streams.
Shorebirds in spring migration appear on
Long Island in late April, reach a
peak in late May and
then dwindle in numbers through
June. The fall migration begins in
late July, reacaes a maximum in
August and is about
completed by late September. No s e a s
o n, however lacks
shorebirds completely. Non- breed- ing
birds' are always present throughout
the summer while in our latitude, the
last of the spring migrants
heading north may pass the first of
the fall
migrants go- ing. south. In the
winter one can always find flocks of
Sanderlings a n d Dunlins and
usually a few Black - bellied
Plovers braving the biting winds
on some exposed sandbar while individuals
of a few other
species
occasionally winter here also. One
hardy species, the Purple .
Sandpiper, considers Long Island the sunny South
for it comes here only in
the winter months and is
seldor;
see much further south. Next
week, the varieties of shorebirds
that occur on Long Island and
the specific areas in which they
may be found will be