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HomeMy WebLinkAboutFebruary 24, 2005 - It's bedtime for the birdsOfficial Newspaper of Southold Town It's bedtime for birds Focus on Nature By Paul Stoutenburgh People often ask about where birds go at night. Well, that's a pretty broad question because it depends upon the bird. Each one has its own peculiar roosting spot, like the one Barbara and I observed just a few days ago. It involved a birdhouse that as far as we knew had never been used, probably because it was too close to the house, a mere five feet away. It all started when I awoke one morning and happened to be turned toward the window, where I thought I saw something move in the entrance of the birdhouse. The time was around 6:15 a.m. It was still pretty dark out and my eyes were still a little sleepy, so I wasn't quite sure if I was seeing things or not. Here you see a house sparrow getting ready to leave a bird box in the early - morning hours after spending a warm and protected night inside. Times /Review photo by Barbara Stoutenburgh I called Barbara from down the hall, as she had gotten up before me, and asked her to come and check it out. "What do you see ?" She, too, was having trouble seeing but soon agreed there was a bird moving in the entrance to that little box. Together we watched a house sparrow work its way slowly out through the opening until it teetered on the edge and then flew off. So that was how we found out where the common house sparrow spends the night. The next day I awoke before Barbara, and this time I was prepared with a flashlight. It was again about six o'clock in the morning. I thought I'd bring a little sunshine to the sparrow with my flashlight. And so I turned the flashlight on, pointed it toward the opening in the bird box and waited for my artificial sun to work. Sure enough, within 10 minutes there was movement inside the box. I called Barbara to witness my homemade sunshine. We both saw the head pop out, the sparrow look around, squeeze itself through the opening and fly away into the early- morning darkness. We had actually fooled it by the light of the flashlight. It was a fun experiment to do and see. That gave us an idea to do an article about the different kinds of places birds go to spend the night. I've often been asked, "Where do seagulls spend the night ?" We wrote about that years ago, and in our research we found that gulls sleep on the water, usually in the shelter of land. It can be blowing a winter's gale out of the northwest, yet if you are in the lee of the land along the bay side you'll find it' s relatively calm there. These calm waters behind the land make ideal roosting spots for the gulls. While we are on the subject of water birds, it is interesting to note that ducks also sleep on the water, along with swans and other water birds. Actually, when you come to think of it, it could be freezing outside but the temperature of the open water is warmer. Naturally the gulls and ducks know this and prefer staying on the water. So gulls, ducks, etc. spend their nights on the water, safe from predators. The Suffolk Times I It's bedtime for birds Page 2 of 3 In my travels on the road years ago I became aware that late in the afternoon crows would head to their roosts to spend the night. One of these roosts, which I believe was the biggest in the area, was around what is now the North Fork Preserve in Jamesport. Crows from all over the island would home in on the roost. There they would congregate by the thousands. It was something to see. When the wintry wind howled out of the north, the crows would come in low over the frozen ground, pumping away into the wind until they got to the roost. On calmer days they'd fly in from high above and then swoop down just before they reached the roost to join the others until it seemed there were crows on literally every branch and limb of the trees. Another experience I had with crows roosting was in Mattituck. This was years later, when the crow population was a lot smaller. It was nighttime and I was coming home from work. There was a beautiful, soft snow falling and, as I approached the roost, I thought here was my chance to experience what it was like in a crows' roost at night, particularly when it was snowing. I parked my car and slowly walked into the roost. It was a magical time, with snow coming down. It was as quiet as if I were in church. The only sound was the crows above, quietly murmuring to each other as I walked beneath them. None cried out the usual warning call. They knew I was there and yet not one flew. That was the last crows' roost I remember, and that must have been 20 to 25 years ago. When winter comes and the thermometer drops, birds have to find a warm place to stay out of the cold, and so my bird box, which is a cavity in a tree to them, becomes a prime place to stay overnight. Woodpeckers, chickadees, titmice and others all sleep in cavities of some sort or another. The little Carolina wren uses the wood shed to roost in, or she might go in the garage, which is always open. I've found her leaf nest from last year there and, who knows, she might use that. Once inside these protected areas, birds use special muscles attached to their feathers so they can fluff them out, creating air spaces between them that work much the same way as the air spaces do in a down jacket. Birds, like other animals, including humans, all incorporate a variety of techniques that help them get through the cold of winter. Some birds, like the nuthatch, will roost with other nuthatches. They know that in numbers there is warmth. Starlings, grackles, cowbirds and red - winged blackbirds roost much like the crows do, in great communal roosting areas. Years ago starlings decided to roost in the heart of downtown Riverhead, where it was warm and protected from the wind. There were small trees along the sidewalk and clustered buildings that acted as ideal roosting areas. Every evening the birds would come in by the thousands and find a spot where they'd settle down for the night. The problem was that the food they had picked up during the day was digested and passed out into splattering displays all over the sidewalks below and on every car parked along the street. The birds became a real problem. It's not easy to get rid of birds once they have established themselves. It was finally decided to cut down the trees to get rid of the starlings. This action became a very controversial issue; nevertheless it was one way to get rid of the roosting starlings. In the South blackbirds, which can be starlings or grackles or cowbirds or red - winged blackbirds, often swarm like bees and roost in trees so thickly that their combined weight causes the limbs to crack. There are literally millions of them — not thousands, but millions of them. They do great damage to the rice fields and other grain fields in the area. There have been attempts to eliminate them by dynamite and by spraying the area with pesticides at night. They even tried using flamethrowers to eliminate the masses of birds. Sometimes their actions worked; most often they failed. We have this problem right here in the grape growers' vineyards, where they have used various methods, including placing netting over the grapes. That seems to be the most successful. Probably the greatest communal roosting area the North American continent ever saw was that of the now - extinct passenger pigeon. At one time passenger pigeons http: / /www2.timesreview.com/ST /community /353078606760385.php 2/24/2005 The Suffolk Times I It's bedtime for birds swarmed the countryside by the millions, some say even billions. Man eliminated them by taking over their habitat, unregulated shooting, and the use of nets and traps by market gunners. All this caused the end to the passenger pigeon. 2005 Times - Review Newspapers Page 3 of 3 http: / /www2.timesreview.com/ST /community /353078606760385.php 2/24/2005 The Suffolk Times • February 24, 2005 It's bedtime People often ask about where oira go at night. Well, that's a pretty broad question because it depends upon th bird. Each one has its own peculiar roosting spot, like the one Barbara and I observed just a few days ago. It involved a birdhouse that as far as w knew had never been used, probably because it was too close to the house, a mere five feet away. It all started when I awoke one morning and happened to be + turned toward FOCUS the window, where I thought ON I saw something NATUREmoveinthe entrance of the by Paul birdhouse. The Stoutenburgh time was around 6:15 a.m. It was still pretty dark out and my eyes were still a little sleepy, so I wasn't quite sure if I was seeing things or not I called Barbara from down the hall, as she had gotten up before me, and asked her to come and check it out. "What do you see ?" She, too, as having trouble seeing but soon aereed there was a bird moving in the Times /Review photos by Barbara Stoutenburgh I - - I —« l I cranCU where oircis go at night. The answer is wide and variemclm depending on what kind of bird it is. Here you see a house sparrow gettingreadytoleaveabirdboxintheearly- morning hours after spending a warm andprotectednightinside. Above: This photo taken at Cornell University's Sap- sucker Woods museum shows one of the now - extinct passenger pigeons. Thepassengerpigeononcenumberedinthemillions. Loss of habitat, market gun- ners who slaughtered them by the thousands and other methods of eliminatingthemallwerefactorsintheirultimateextermination. we watched a house sparrow work its way slowly out through the opening until it teetered on the edge and then flew off. So that was how we found out where the common house sparro) spends the night. The next day I. awoke before Bar- bara, and this time I was prepared with a flashlight. It was again about six o'clock in the morning. I thought I'd brine a little sunshine to the spar- row with my flashlight. And so turned the flashlight on, pointed it to- ward the opening in the bird box and waited for my artificial sun to work. Sure enough, within 10 minutes there was movement inside the box. I called Barbara to witness my homemade sunshine. We both saw the head pop out, the sparrow look around, squeeze itself through the opening and fly away into the early - morning darkness. We had actually fooled it by the light of the flashlight. It was a fun experi- ment to do and see. That gave us an idea to do an article about the differ- ent kinds of places birds go to spend the night. I've often been asked, "Where do seagulls spend the night ?" We wrote about that years ago, and in our re- search we found that gulls sleep on the water, usually in the shelter of land. It can be blowing a winter's gale out of the northwest, yet if you are in the lee of the land along the bay side you'll find it's relatively calm there. These calm waters behind the land make ideal roosting spots for the gulls. While we are on the subject of water birds, it is interesting to note that ducks also sleep on the water, along with swans and other water Actually, when you come to think of it, it could be freezing outside but the temperature of the open water is warmer. Naturally the gulls and ducks know this and prefer staying on the water. So gulls, ducks, etc. spend their nights on the water, safe from preda- tors. In my travels on the road years ago I became aware that late in the after- noon crows would head to their roosts to spend the night. One of these roosts, which I believe was the biggest in the area, was around what is now the North Fork Preserve in Jamesport Crows from all over the island would home in on the roost. There they would congregate by the thousands. It was something to see. When the wintry wind howled out of the north, the crows would come in low over the frozen ground, pumping away into the wind until they got to the roost. On calmer days they'd fly in from high above and then swoop down just before they reached the roost to join the others until it seemed there were crows on literally every branch and limb of the trees. Another experience I had with crows roosting was in Mattituck. This was years later, when the crow popu- lation was a lot smalleF. It was night- time and I was comine home from work. There was a beautiful, soft snow falling and, as I approached the roost, I thought here was my chance to ex- perience what it was like in a crows' roost at night, particularly when it was snowing. I parked my car and slowly walked into the roost. It was a magi- cal time, with snow coming down. It was as quiet as if I were in church. The only sound was the crows above, quietly murmuring to each other as I walked beneath them. None cried out the usual warning call. They knew I was there and yet not one.flew. That was the last crows' roost I remember, and that must have been 20.to 25 years ago. When winter comes and the ther- mometer drops, birds have to find a warm place to stay out of the cold, and so my bird box, which is a cavity in a tree to them, becomes a prime place to stay overnight. Woodpeck- ers, chickadees, titmice and others all sleep in cavities of some sort or another. The little Carolina wren uses the wood shed to roost in, or she might go in the garage, which is always open. I've found her leaf nest from last year there and, who knows, she might use that. Once inside these protected areas, birds use special muscles attached to their feathers so they can fluff them out, creating air spaces between them that work much the same way as the air spaces do in a down jacket. Birds, like other animals, including humans, all incorporate a variety of techniques that help them get through the cold o: winter. Some birds, like the nuthatch, will roost with other nuthatches. They know that in numbers there is warmth. Starlings, grackles, cowbirds and red - winged blackbirds roost much like the crows do, in great communal roosting areas. Years ago starlings decided to roost in the heart of down. town Riverhead, where it was warm and protected from the wind. There were small trees along the sidewalk and clustered buildings that acted as ideal roosting areas. Every evening the birds would come in by the thou- sands and find a spot where they'd settle down for the night. The problem was that the food they had picked up during the day was digested and passed out into splattering displays all over the sidewalks below and on ev- ery car parked along the street. The birds became a real problem. It's not easy to get rid of birds once they have established themselves. It was finally decided to cut down the trees to get rid of the starlings. This action became a very controversial is- sue; nevertheless it was one way to get rid of the roosting starlings. In the South blackbirds, girds use awhichcanbe starlings or variety of tech - grackles or niques that cowbirds or hel p them getred - winged blackbirds, through the often swarm cold of winter. like bees and roost in trees . so thickly that their combined weight causes the limbs to crack. There are literally millions of them — not thou- sands, but millions of them. They do great damage to the rice fields and other grain fields in the area. There have been attempts to eliminate them by dynamite and by spraying the area with pesticides at night. They even tried using flamethrowers to elimi- nate the masses of birds. Sometimes their actions worked; most often they failed. We have this problem right here in the grape growers' vineyards, where they have used various meth - ods, including placing netting over the grapes. That seems to be the most successful. Probably the greatest communal roosting area the North American continent ever saw was that of the now - extinct passenger pigeon. At one time passenger pigeons swarmed the countryside by the millions, some say even billions. Mari eliminated them by taking over their habitat, unregulated shooting, and the use of nets and traps by market gunners. All this caused the Iendtothenasseneernieeon.