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Home My WebLink AboutFebruary 26, 2004 - Getting ready to think spring The Suffolk Times • February 26, 2004 s e ln rea . . o ln s rin CAN You iii�.i.ii�vi: rr? In less than a month our osprcys could be return- ing.Not all ospreys move up into our , yr� , — -+� � � „ � � arca.Many will stay right in Florida. `. ' �i „�p '� � � . + �1�18T'S Wll� 1'8tUT1] t0 Y�lell 18St yeaT�S ��-� ' ' i l��a.�''9"�� 'm, �'r � � ' � �M �y � i� n � nest along the route north. �� a �� x a i,r ' ��,; % ' > � It's pretty remarkable to think that ��`+uWu �, ' ' � ,�" "� ' ' � , in the fall all °` ,,�^ � �� , ��' ��° � % �+�,� � p �, � ��` ospreys go their �, "�° ' , " � � � '°" � � w�� " F�C V$ separate ways. �� u�� .�. ,._ � �� n �,{ � '� ��i � .�� .i�k� ��1�, r i , J, �. ��., ON Some will wintcr ,,� �' �: �� % �� ,_ `" ,� as far away as r`� ,� � � dF' � , � � w � x � � � �". NATURE the Amazon in , "� ; �� " ,, � ` „ : by Paul South America, �� " `�' '�, �'�' � r �� ; Stoutenburgh �lr% "� a��,� � u�H�„��, µ��" .:� � ��'" �,� � � then in the ,r � -- spring they �" " �� uu �"� ��,�" � �, return and mect � `� �"' � �'" "� up with their mate,whom they '��'� �� u^ � °�'w � r _ .� �� haven't seen all winter.Their arrival is ��,'�,�,N �; �xu /;' ,�, , � �, � - usually around the middle of March. �/��'��%; �"x� ��',, , ` i w� r , _ � , �� They then refurbish last year's nest � i,;,� ��'� ��ti��,, � � �� %� '��%`�' ,.,�r�� •d and raise their young.Their arrival ,p , ��M ��'' � � � ` �,� tells us that the flounders,the eels � �� / ' � � � � V / � �" � " and the alewives are in our local " ", ��'�', � .�„�� ,� �� ; �n �� . � W$t8T'S�USt Ill t1I17e tOT'tillf.' OSpT'eyS t0 �� a�� a ��,�� r� � r+ N �"r �� /r%/) dine on them. ,r�� , �q� In less than a month from now the r„p".; � bar, ^ �'� � P �,, 'r A skunk cabba e will be startin t0 S}lOW Timcs/Revicw photo by Paul Sloutenburgh g g The mourning cloak is one of the few butterflies that remains a butterfly itself in the wet and swampy areas. throughbut the winter. On warm, sunny days during the winter this butterfly This large,leafy plant gets the jump will come out of its hibernation and flit around as if it were spring. Then as on all the others in the sense that it soon as it cools down,the butterfly will find a crevice under the bark of a tree can actually thaw the frozen ground and promptly go back into hibernation. around itself to allow the flower head and leaves to come up early.Therefore it has the benefit of the sun before the leaves come out on the trees.The plant is then pollinated by the first insects that fly.All this takes place in late February and early March. One of the best places to see skunk There are many rewards in taking a walk through the woods,particularly on one of the warmer days of late February or early March.We occa- 'I'here are other changes taking sionally have one of those delightfully place around this time of year.The warm days when the sun comes out starling that visits your bird feeder and tries to warm the earth.IYs then and grubs away like a hog is starting cabbage is in Moore's Woods,that lit- you might be privileged to see a to change its color.Its speckled body tle-appreciated treasure of botanical mourning cloak butterfly exercising of winter is now slowly changing to a wonder.The only person who thor- its wings and trying to pretend that blackish-purple sheen.And the dark, oughly knew this area was Roy warmer weather is here.The mourn- pointed bill that it uses so efficiently Latham of Orient,who used it as one ing cloak is one of the butterflies that is changing to yellow.All these of his laboratories for collecting the stays a butterfly throughout the win- changes are made to enhance the wonders of the plant and insect and ter.It protects itself under the bark of mating game.And to think there were animal world.Moore's Woods,for a tree or�in some crevice where it can no starlings on the North American those not familiar with it,is the tract get away from winter's cold. It's a continent before 1890,when a hun- of land owned by the Village of dark brownish-black butterfly with a dred European starlings were let Greenport.It's west of Moore's Lane, eige or ye ow edge around its wings. loose in Central Park.It's from those just outside the village.It runs from It's a joy to see in the middle of win- hundred birds we now have starlings Route 48 down to the Main Road. ter. in every state,including Alaska. It's here we find many vernal Back to Moare's Woods,where we �ey've evo(ved especially power- ponds.These are small,shallow ponds find a deep drainage ditch that was ful muscles in their beaks,which open that have collected rainwater and act dug years ago by hand in hopes of wide and close when they're feeding as breeding areas for the elusive sala- making the area mare useful.But no, o that when they probe into the manders.They mate and lay their eggs '�1<�ore's Woods sits atop a day area arth the bill opens like a pair of scis- soon after the ice has thawed. In the likc those that crop up here and there �oI"s exposing the hidden food below. summer many of these ponds dry up. �ilung our shores.We see it outside It is this special feature that helps the It's difficult for people to realize how Greenport,where they actually dug tarling to surv�vc in the cold and important the woods and vernal this clay and made it into bricks. wintry narth. ponds are,whether they're in �'here were at least two brickyards � If you watch Riverhead or Southold.The are the The woods Y that I know of.My patio is made of closely you backbone of our heritage.Usually we bricks with the names of both yards and vernal can see this think of our heritage as being associ- on them:SANFORD and SAGE.We pands are the special tech- ated with the first settlers.This is true, see these outcroppings of clay occa- baCkbOne Qf nique work- but it's also true that the woods and sionally along our Sound cliffs,on the ing as they farms and marshes and creeks and west side of Robins Island and the our heritage. feed on your bays are part of our heritage as well. east side of Gardiners Island.All back lawn. We still have much of that heritage these areas have this clay that is The trait here,in our bays and creeks and impervious to water. many oi�us are concerned about is the farmland,but it's hard to find any Wasn't it just last week I read in the starling's habit of invading our wood- large tracts of only woods. paper about a man who was building lands to nest in.Many a woodpecker It's difficult to get people excited his house and all went well until he has been driven out of his hard- about a walk in the woods,for most tried to put in the septic tanks? He hit earned cavity nest by these starlings. have become so disconnected from clay and had to go to great depths to They also take over our back-yard the soil that the woods have become break through it to get into sand for hird boxes to nest in.We're seeing almost part of history,something thcy drainage.It's this clay that underlies more and more of our native birds almost fear.This is natural,for any- Moore's Woods.Perhaps that very � lose their nesting sites to these thing you don't understand you shy clay is what has saved this master- aggressive bullies. away from.We become trapped in piece of the natural world. Yet,there's something good to be our modern world of gadgetry and said about starlings and that is that electronics and have little or no way they eat vast numbers of damaging of getting close to the natural world insects such as Japanese beetle grubs. that surround: But on the opposite side of the coin, they also play havoc with the grape grower's grapes and the farmer's ripe corn.