HomeMy WebLinkAboutFlorida April 23, 2005 - Florida's feathered friendsAt Suffolk riiut. Serving Long Island's North
Fork since
1857
Florida'
s feathered
friends
Focus on
Nature By Paul Stoutenburgh
What a pleasant
surprise when we were invited to travel with
our host to a
vacation in Florida.
We hadn't
been
to the land of dreams for years and
were looking forward to it. Our destination was a vacation island on the
west coast, about midway up the state. Of course, like most of
Florida's west coast, it is a winter - getaway place
for the
snowbirds,
who flock
there to
take advantage of the lovely beaches and
mild temperatures. Luckily we flew out of theIslip
airport, so we missed the madness of the west end. We were amazed
to see how the once - small air terminal had changed
and expanded. it6k 441.t. The wood stork
is our only North American stork. Standing
3 1/2
feet high, it is a hunter ofshallow
fresh waters, where anything that moves is fair
game. Times /Review photo by Paul Stoutenburgh It reminded me of years ago, when there was a group that
wanted to establish
an airport up along the Sound. Luck was with us and we won that
hotly contested
battle. Few will remember the years of concem. How lucky
for Southold Town that there were those who cared and spoke
up to
stomp out the airport fever. Lucky for Riverhead, too, for there was also a proposal for
an airport somewhere in the vicinity of Northville Tumpike. I think most will agree that potatoes
and grapes were much better choices. Our trip down was smooth as glass. The
only rough spots were when we went through the layer of clouds that blanketed the whole
eastem seaboard. High above, it appeared to be a mystical white sea of fluff. Two and a
half hours later, we dropped out of the sky, bounced a bit as we
passed through the white
fluff, and
landed in the busy terminal of Tampa. Everyone was wearing shorts, and my long pants
and light jacket now seemed out of place. In no time, we were speeding
along the busy expressway toward our destination, one of the islands that
face the Gulf of Mexico to the west and the inland waterway to the east. We arrived at our destination
anxious to stretch our legs. The emerald- colored Gulf was but a block away. No
sooner had we stepped out of the car than we were bombarded with bird
calls, mostly foreign to
me. Later I'd identify them as coming from the common fish crow, found
along the Florida beaches. We get these coarse - sounding crows occasionally on our south side beaches and onlyrarelyalongour
north
shore beaches. This fish crow is much more tolerant of people than is our
common crow.
The Suffolk Times I Florida's feathered friends
Later we'd see mockingbirds, the same type as we have guarding our bent' bushes
from outsiders, and with good reason, too, for without its berries as its food supply it
would surely perish.
After we got in our vacation home I had time to sit outside and observe more closely
the calls from other members of the tropic races. Probably the most boisterous of all
was the over - powering jabbering of two or three pairs of Eurasian collared doves.
It seemed as if they were arguing about who was going to be the head of the
household, with much flying about and chasing one another. They won the prize for
loudness.
These collared doves are another example of how introduced species take over and
push aside the native species. This dove looks very much like our mouming dove,
with the exception that the collared dove has a black ring halfway around its neck.
Then I heard the familiar call of the red- bellied woodpecker. It had landed on the
shaggy side of a palm tree and was busy probing for insects of one sort or another.
Here was an example of a native species that in my lifetime has moved north to call
our area home. They've also found our suet to their liking.
We see lots of other birds that move northward each spring to raise their young.
Florida and the Gulf states provide that temperate climate for those transients to find
enough food to make it relatively easy for them to survive.
Later, as I sat on the back porch in a quiet back yard, I was jolted out of my wits by
six green parrots fighting over whatever parrots fight about. I can't possibly describe
what was going on. It was a haze of ever - changing green wings and screaming
bodies. I wonder if they really knew who was winning or who was in it just for the
sport of it. It's unbelievable to see some clinging upside down, others diving in to get
in the fight, all screaming as loud as they can.
Then off they flew, taking their antics and screaming calls with them. I saw this noisy
gang later in the afternoon, and thank goodness they were a block away in someone
else's back yard.
It reminded me of a glimpse I had of a green parrot once before on Gardiners Island,
of all places. Somehow one got blown up during a storm and found its way to
Gardiners Island. It was the first time I had ever seen one of these small, all -green
parrots.
Back on the North Fork, I'd say the most common bird would be that tough rogue of
the blackbird family, the starling. Here on the Gulf of Mexico, the laughing gull comes
in first. They are still in their smart attire — black head and contrasting white. We
hardly ever see these small gulls in their most attractive plumage, yet we see the
laughing gull in ever - increasing numbers in their dull mottled immature dress all
winter long.
Here they have become so numerous and bold that the restaurant people have to put
up strings of special monofilament lines over their outside dining tables to prevent the
gulls from swooping in and taking the food right off customers' plates.
We experienced that sort of problem when we camped at Hither Hills State Park in
Montauk, where the herring gulls swooped in and took the food right off our grill.
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