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Home My WebLink AboutFebruary 12, 2004 - Mother Nature's sound bites � . O The Suffolk Times February 12, 2004 �•/� � � a ure s soun 1 es �� ,��y �„� 'µ�� ,,� �'�Wi �, ,. � iAam�An�;�, �N U i mNi��„ w�� ,�Mll4��w A�r � ,1��"M"�µy "� M �'�7P i�nrltli v9�Y.��."'�+,wn9,'d•. .1��.,;�:=:�,.• ��n �ittlY ', n� � � �� , �r rl�� I q ��{y ��v�q'I ,�e� . .. . 4 � � �� li'� ��x� r � q� h "� , � e . , � ��. I ,i ' . .. p , +rv� � 3 � .. � d.' � �, ""� �M,'��i�w .�,� ;�p � . ,.. �'�,�"'� m w�,� �r M� � ,�c�, � ,�.w �"�' :^ p,�.`�,wi� �' '""�" ,#".��"w"� ,..& "'"�� u �u �w�r'm .�rr rp�' ,�'ry�."�� °��` �;pwr"'""� .a u. ' /N' 3� ��. '� �'� ��y ��w��,� ��4.,. „��. �� . 1�: � �ry �� ` Q�1' � ��19 t� ��I!, : 1 �r '�Id�'��°RK � +/ ��' �s� �j� � '' �� t��ki�•, � ��a�� '� r �r�!j�v�� M � ��,�� at� 1 "� �' x ��; 9'� :�. A' � ,� i WL?'R1:(�OING'I'O.IUMP 7COUriC� �l hll by Paul Stoulenburgf� hl4/�� li�l l� �lN��i�Njll� � �� ihr � ��V'q� � "d�. tI11S WCLIC IICC'c1USt W(', f]i1VG' SOIIlE,' �l��tii �i�i��y��:�% %�n��/�� r��i�rilp�/i.�/�� (��r��d�� i ��ti�,��l n ilr!�6'j i r�l�ll 6 'blil�,�41�� l�i�ti��bh��l�i ii,�'l�j��'�/�l� ��l�r��N�/� I I / pn interesting short commentaries on ;�%/�,��"��,�r��l�, v; l y�µ�r, ,yl,�'y��,,3��'N,�%, �'��'�ti�(%�';,'4,,,',�;�u��r,,�lj��i u' a� �+if��',. > �1,4ir�� l i�l�i i'tlrr,';,i��9i�yl�r�'�1��1�1� /�i��i �i�l��l�li��il�, �lo��:.;��!'� � ,' what s going on around us.George ,,,�iti�l,,��'�,��rurPr,r',i�"'rl��;�1,��;;��''/rl�l�i�r, ��1',�n,��ra,fli��ri�a;l�4r;��lti��"��j�r�,�,,w�p i , i Above: Today J F�� 1��n, N� ii ll�r��m��Hl�Ili :��;�n ��l��l�il�� !l��/��li��lli ll�,l�j � , called from Riverhead with a heart- ;%�i��"H�i�%q/�,'��l ' ,��,�i� ��k�� ,��;b,�li, �i;;��1/��;,��l��i%r��r,�r��,��'"�, ,; ;, Riverhead's 7-Eleven '4dY/�ii��r�A, �� „y��n �0 ��' ��1��'ll�/� ��wi��N��i�� warming story.The temperature was �, ,�� „�,�. �, ` ,,/', 1��„r,��l,��y��,�� is situated at this very '��' ��lI/l l�k�ti'��l�l��/��„w,V G, �,�, in the single digits ... and so the story �� 1�� ° �h�u�� , spot, where once yel- begins.Seems he went out to the ��w �r'�'" ��" '��"� � �� >°�,ti � �� low flowering king wood pile and saw a little screech owl ��';;�� '"',�, y F�,, ��,��, devil bloomed. Left: �,�;�� , .' ,� � � � ,a��,,,; perched on a log nearby.Four hours i��li.," ^� �� One of these unusual %�u� `+0 � '"""`�' ��""� burrfish —or as 18tP�1'Ile T'P�tUI'l]eC�. /�j�;/ �/' ��u � ' � r�r ^"" ' �OGUS u%"'% � ,��'� "'� � '�"" some call them, or- The owl was still � � * P �,��""' �� ,�� ,,.,v�r� cu ine fish —was sitting there,but � ,� ,9 P OlY � by then it was � � ��"��' beac�h�lt has�he bil- looking pretty -�" �� ' NAT�RE sad.George � '� �r��, ,� �°� � ity to swell up to pro- by Paul p,cked it up.Yes, � � � �� ' � �� tect itself from preda- StOutenburgh he just walked �' tors, much like our over and picked local blowfish. it up and carried it into his warm barn, where he put it in a cage to protect it and left. in�lividual spines over iLs entire body.It does have the ability to blow itself up like blowfish,so in that respect it A few hours laten c� returned to the does mimic the once-numer- barn and found thc owl looking much ous and easil cau ht blow- Grac es are oppartunists.They better,so he gave it some pieces of fish.Blowin themselves u have a strong pointed beak for prob- fresh meat.Later,when he returned, g p ing.Look at the list of just some of the with water is their defense foods the grackle lives on. I quote the meat was gone and the owl was mechanism against preda- from"Life Histories of North . looking even better.In our telephone tors.They would make a American Birds,"by A.C.Bent: conversation he told us he had decid- rett s in mouthful. ed to keep the owl in for the night as p Y p Y "Their food consists largely of ani- it was still very cold and,besides,he Debbie called because she thought mal matter,such as grasshoppers, wanted to make sure it was strong it might be interesting for young peo- caterpillars,spiders,beetles,cutworms, enough to be released.The next day ple to see this fish,so we gave her the larvae of different insects,remains of he fed the owl more fresh meat.Now telephone r,umber of the local school small mammals,frogs,newts,crawfish, it was time to let it go.That evening h science coordinator.Hopefully they'll small mollusks,fish.While it must be o �,ned the door to the ca e so the he able to preserve it and let the stu- admitted that Indian corn,oats,and 1�' g dents see an unusual fish. wheat are also eaten to some extent, owl could return to the wild.The tem- I've seen these burrfish before. perature had risen to 20 degrees, When I was teachin in Green ort much of the vegetable matter found in much warmer than when Geor e first g P thcir stomachs consists of the seeds of g some of my students who worked the ��c�xious weeds such as ragweed, found the bird. ba s occasionall brou ht one in to What an interesting experience for y y g smartweed and others.Fruit is used show me.The burrfish is armed with a hut sparingly,and usually consists of George—to find a half-frozen little sin le broad incisor tooth that can owl and be able to help get it g mulberries,blackberries and occasion- through one of our worst easily crack open small clams,mus- ally cherries.One of the gravest winter cold s ells.We were sels,snails and all kinds of shellfish charges against them is the destruc- P for its meal.Its range is Florida to tion of eggs and the young of smaller ��lad he shared his"rescue" Ca e Cod.It's not a common fish and stor with us. p birds,especially those of the robin." y not one you'll find in the local fish I can vouch for their barbarism to It was interesting talking market,but it surel is an interestin with George.We discovered y g ncsting birds,for along the hedgerows a connection between our one.We find these oddities in fish 1 usually have one or two i-obins nest- families that went back traps or occasionally in scallop ing,and I can tell when the robbers man ears,to when Bar- dredges.Sometimes they're found �i�-� there because the robins are call- y y dead along the beaches like the one �ng and flying about trying to protect bara and I both worked in River- Debbie's son found.One never know head.VVe knew his uncle,who was a what mi ht be found when out beach- their nests.But they're no match for g the big,aggressive grackles that take f�armer.That was when there was no combing. their eggs or even their young. hospital,no traffic circle and no 7- Ed called me from Southold the Eleven. Can you believe this? I once other day to report a large flock of Grackles flock together and we see took a picture of Barbara holding common grackles that landed in his �'-��it masses of them in late summer our son in the middle of a yellow as they prepare to go south.The pur- i�ield of flowering king devil,right neighbor's yard.Grackles are some- plc grackle usually chooses evergreens where the 7-Eleven is now! That was times taken for small crows,but with such as the red cedar to nest in.The 50 years ago.Need I say more? their long tails,glossy purplish sheen voice of the grackle is nothing to write Another call was from Debbie,who and that yellow eye,you can t mistake home about.INs a harsh,unmusical them.Usually we think of them,along call I hear in the fall as the rackle asked about an odd kind of fish her �yith red-win ed blackbirds,as the first g son found on the Sound beach.By her g works its way through my back woods. description of this small spiny fish arrivals from the South,sometime in It's then I hear the leaves being about five or six inches long I con- the middle of March or early April,so thrown about as they go through look- cluded it was the burrfish or,as some this flock has probably been here all ing for acorns or anything that moves. people call it,the porcupine fish, winter traveling from one feed area to �ey miss very little.I remember once because of the spines that completely another. on the south side,north of cover the body.Some might think it Southampton,seeing a grove of trees was a puffer or blowfish,which we where blackbirds of all sorts roosted. uscd to have in great quantities,but As I watched them come in to roost instead of the rough sandpaper-like �Th@ VOIC@ Of� for the night,I could see branches of ski�� of thc hl��wfish,thc hurrfish has the grraCk�e the trees literally bend down as more and more birds landed.I'll,never for- IS IlOthlllg'' t0 get it � write home So if you see large flocks of black about.� birds with long tails,you're probably seeing common grackles that have wintered here and been clever enough to find berries ar a corn field or,in Ed's casc,thc nci�hbor'� bird fcccicr.