join elias for a dinner-theater event featuring norman ...finally, curiosity getting the best of me,...

EASTERN LONG ISLAND AUDUBON SOCIETY – From the Barrens to the BaysFormerly Moriches Bay Audubon, established 1967

September/October— Vol. XXXVIII No. 5

Join ELIAS for a dinner-theater event

featuring Norman Smith’s presentation on Snowy Owls

Wednesday, October 16, 6:00 pm

Cocktails, Dinner, Raffles & Funat the newly renovated Suffolk Theater on

Main Street in Downtown Riverhead.

For more information see page 5

See page 3 for Field Trips & Meetings

Please keep your membership current! Check the date on the mailing panel for your expiration date.

THE OSPREY September/October 2013 2

Byron Young

Riverhead has initiated the process forsubmitting a redevelopment plan forthe Grumman Property (EPCAL).

The first step in the process was a draft-scoping meeting held a few weeks ago tosolicit comments from the public. I applaud Riverhead for the openness ofthe process through its first step and thepromise to keep the process open forpublic input.

For those of you who would like to re-view the documents available please visitthe Town of Riverhead’s website at “Townof Riverhead NY. Gov.”Once on theHome Page for the Town of Riverheadlook for the link to the EPCAL Redevel-opment on the right side of the page.After clicking on that link you will find allof the documents that were available forreview during the draft scoping session.

The Town Board and their consultantswill now be reviewing the comments received in preparation of a final ScopingDocument which will then be broughtback for public review and comment.Once the scoping process is complete anEnvironmental Impact Statement will bedeveloped. How long this will take is anybody‘s guess. The process of complet-ing the necessary documentation, submit-ting for public and governmental reviewwill take a good deal of time and willhopefully address our concerns. Shouldany of our concerns not be addressed weshould have ample opportunity tosubmit comments at a public meeting or in writing.

The good news here is that I think theTown of Riverhead has heard from thefolks who want to preserve some of thisproperty for the benefit of nature. It isour job along with our fellow conserva-tionists to make sure that they do. As was pointed out by several speakers atthe Draft Scoping Session we do notwant Route 25 in Riverhead to look likesections of Route 25 further to the west.

More to follow stay tuned.

The Pres ident ’s Corner

EPCAL Redevelopment Plan

Annual Seed Sale FundraiserSaturday, November 9th from 9:00 am – 3:00 pm Start the winter off with plenty of seed! The birds will thank you all winter long!Please have your order form in by October 23rd. This is a fundraiser for EasternLong Island Audubon Society and for the Quogue Wildlife Refuge. Bay Gardenswill be in the Nature Center selling bird related gift items! Please pre-order yourseed. Order forms will be available at the Quogue Wildlife Refuge, as well as onthe following websites in October: www.QuogueWildlifeRefuge.org andwww.EasternLongIslandAudubonSociety.org. Made possible with the generous assistance of Eastport Feeds.

Qty Description Price Total

____ 25 lb Black Oil Sunflower $26.00 ___________

____ 50 lb Black Oil Sunflower $45.00 ___________

____ 20 lb Fancy Flight Premium Wild Bird Mix $18.00 ___________

____ 40 lb Fancy Flight Premium Wild Bird Mix $30.00 ___________

____ 20 lb Niger Seed $28.00 ___________

____ 11.75 oz Suet Cake $2.00 ___________

Orders need to be picked up on SUBTOTAL ___________Saturday, November 9, 2013 DONATION ___________between 9:00 am – 3:00 pm TOTAL ___________

Please make checks payable to: Quogue Wildlife Refuge. Please charge my card �AMEX � VISA � MasterCard � Discover

Card # ________________________________________Exp. Date _________

Signature ________________________________________________________

Name __________________________________________________________

Mailing Address __________________________________________________

City ______________State______ Zip_______Telephone ________________

Please return this order form to Quogue Wildlife Refuge, P.O. Box 492, Quogue, NY, 11959

*Orders must be received by October 23, 2013 *Pre-payment is necessary.

Pheasant Meadows Bluebird TrailBeth GustinAlthough our bluebird trail in East Moriches did not attract any Bluebirds again this year(second year in a row), we did have another successful Tree Swallow season. The swal-lows nested in four of the eight nest boxes with 10 birds fledging.

I also observed a Red-winged Blackbird nest during the nesting season, as well as YellowWarblers, Common Yellowthroats, and Willow Flycatchers. What appeared to be ayoung Red-tailed Hawk was being chased by about 30 blackbirds the last time I visitedthe property in July, and I also startled a young buck with stubby antlers.

Thank you to the Suffolk County Historical Society in Riverhead for hosting ourAugust meeting at the Museum. The display of Dennis Puleston’s artwork runsthrough September 28 and is well worth a visit.


MeetingsMonday, September 16, beginning at 7:15 pm

A Fierce Green Fire:The Battle for a Living PlanetOn Sept.16th, thanks to Ridge Barnett, we will be showing themovie A Fierce Green Fire: The Battle for a Living Planet. This isthe first big-picture exploration of the Environmental Movement. Itwas chosen in 2012 for both The Environmental Film Festival inWashington, D.C. and The Sundance Film Festival in Park City, Utah.This film depicts many of the “green” efforts (spanning over 5decades) by grassroots citizens, as well as by global activists, includ-ing: Halting dams in the Grand Canyon; Battling 20,000 tons of toxicwaste at Love Canal; Greenpeace trying to save whales; ChicoMendes and the rubber-trappers saving the Amazon; Addressing cli-mate change, and the promise of transforming our civilization.Thisprogram sounds like it should not be missed !

Monday, October 7, beginning at 7:15 pm

Birds of Riviera MayaLinda Sullivan & Dianne Taggart

On yearly sojourns to my Mayan Palace Timeshare resort near Playadel Carmen, I have always enjoyed the lovely beaches, pools andculinary delights that Mexico has to offer. I have often been tanta-lized by a glance of a colorful wing high in a tree or a bright yellowsomething or other flying over the pool. On early morning runs, Ihave heard the buzz of a hummingbird or the hoot of an owl.

Finally, curiosity getting the best of me, I invited Dianne Taggart tojoin me on my February vacation in 2012. That year the vacationgoal was to see and identify as many of the birds as possible. Muchto my delight, we managed to see an impressive number of speciesand witnessed some curious behavior as well. THEN we went tothe beach, the pool and the restaurants!!

On Oct 7th we would like to share the photos and video clips wecaptured on this mission of curiosity! We mainly birded the resortproperty, which is extensive, with many undisturbed areas awaitingfuture development, as well as the manicured lawns and planted gar-dens.

One day we did venture into Playa del Carmen to visit an aviarywhich housed native birds. At the aviary we managed to get someclose up shots of birds that had proven difficult to get close to backat the resort.

An especially rewarding encounter was a bitter territorial battle be-tween two mockingbirds. Dianne shot video while I shot photos.This sequence alone is worth coming to the meeting to see! Youwill never look at mockingbirds the same way again!

We are excited to share our experiences and photos with you all.We appreciate the warm reception our presentations have receivedin the past. Looking forward to a big turn out again this time.....andwe promise not to disappoint! Vive Mexico!

Field TripsJohn McNeil

The cool weather is right around the corner, and fall migra-tion will soon follow. I know you hate to think that the fall iscoming, but it is, sooner than you think We plan to meet theearly “snow birds” (not the trailer driving kind either) as theymake their way south. Saturday Sept.14th, I will be your guidefor Smith Point County Park to catch the air currents as weobserve raptors along the shore. In October, join Eileen on a journey to Fire Island’s Sunken Forest looking for late migrants as they flutter along our coast.

Won’t you join our leaders as they guide you into the fall migration.

Sat., Sept. 14th, @ 8:30 AM

Smith Point County ParkTrip Leader: John McNeil

We will meet at the western end of the Smith Point CountyPark parking lot. Please watch the weather and wear appro-priate outerwear. Don’t forget to bring binoculars andscopes. We start at the upper deck of the Ranger Station andthen hike out into the Wilderness Area. Songbirds, waterbirdsand birds of prey are all migrating. This is an exciting time ofyear to be out on the barrier beach so come on out! Formore details, contact me at 631.281.2623 or on the day mycell phone 631-219-8947 or e-mail me [email protected].

Sat., Oct. 5th, @ 10:30 am ferry from Sayville

Sunken ForestNational Wildlife Refuge, Fire IslandLeaders will be members of the ELIAS Board of Directors

The Sunken Forest on Fire Island is a rare maritime holly for-est, the only one on the east coast. The harsh growing condi-tions support a variety of rare plants. As you look down fromthe secondary dunes into a lush canopy of trees you will seewhy it is called a sunken forest. We hope to catch the migra-tion of song birds and raptors along the shoreline.

The ferry to Sailor’s Haven leaves the Sayville terminal at10;30 am, the return trip leaves Fire Island at 3:00 pm. Wewill meet in the parking lot. Be sure to get on the ferry toSailor’s Haven. The cost is $13.00 per person. The ferry takesabout 20 minutes each way.

Bring water, and lunch. The walk will be along the 1.5 mileboardwalk that meanders through the Sunken Forest.

Eileen Schwinn would like to know how who to expect soplease give her a call at home: 631-728-8342 or cell: 516-662-7751 to let her know. Or email: [email protected]


Beth Gustin

Here on eastern Long Island we areblessed with miles of gorgeousbeaches, both on the ocean and

bays. As all of us who spend time onthese beaches know, they are often lit-tered with well, litter! The litter getsthere in different ways, whether inten-tionally discarded on the beach, or end-ing up on the beach after being tossedoff of a boat or thrown out of a car win-dow, or even accidentally ending up onthe beach, like helium balloons that have escaped.

Regardless of how garbage gets onto ourbeaches, it is unsightly and can harm seaturtles, seals, fish and of course birds thatfeed in the marsh, on the beach, or in thebays and ocean.

On September 21, why not join thou-sands of other folks who care about ourbeaches, oceans and bays by participatingin the International Coastal Cleanup! Asthe name indicates, people around theworld pick up trash on their localbeaches. The event is organized byOcean Conservancy, and since it beganalmost 30 years ago, the Coastal Cleanuphas grown to over 500,000 volunteers.Some interesting facts about the 2012Coastal Cleanup:

n People from 97 countries participatedand picked up trash along the coastsand also along inland waterways.

n Over 2 million cigarette butts werepicked up!

n 6 of the top 10 most common typesof trash were made of plastic includingbottles, lids, straws, and food wrappers.

n Some of the more interesting itemsfound were lottery tickets, candles, andsports balls.

n Over 10 million pounds of trash werepicked up over 17,000 miles.

We can participate through our localmarine advocacy group, American Lit-toral Society. They have an extensivegroup of volunteers, leaders and manybeach cleanup sites on Long Island.

Check out these websites to learn moreand to sign up to participate in theCleanup on September 21.littoralsociety.org Click on Programsthen NY State Beach Cleanup or oceanconservancy.org

Even if you don't want to participate inthe organized International CoastalCleanup, make a commitment to spendan hour or so picking up trash on yourfavorite beach. As we all know aboutconservation, it is often a combination ofmany small efforts that can make a bigdifference.

Jay Kuhlman

First for the Kalers Pond AudubonCenter. The summer nature programshave gone well, the gardens also did

well attracting butterflies, moths andRuby-throated Hummingbirds. Look forour fall festival with a presentation featur-ing live animals, either birds and/or rep-tiles. The date is being decided now.

Butterfly count. I have been doing aNorth American Butterfly Association JulyFourth butterfly count for the past fiveyears with Steve Biasetti. Numerousmembers of ELIAS have participated in-cluding Andy Murphy, Aaron Virgin and mywife Susan. We go out at a reasonablehour, 8 am, and cover Central SuffolkCBC territory. It is usually hot but re-warding. We have seen up to 35 speciesand have that great feeling the ElliotPorter described as “a moment of discov-ery” when many beautiful swallowtails,like Black,Tiger and Spicebush, and Hair-streaks, like small jewels, are discovered.Then there are skippers, like fall warblers,small, fast rather cryptic making them dif-ficult to identify.

There are also many birds in the fieldsand of the forest edge habitat. Their callsadd a great background for the day. Thisyear at Cranberry Bog County Park look-ing for Appalachian Brown, Least Skippersand Mulberry wings, Steve and I heardand saw a fast moving school of Alewivesbeing chased by something. At first think-ing a large bass. After a while a browndog shaped head popped up and thenswam above the surface across thestream. We were stunned and ran throughthe differential IDs. mink, muskrat, riverotter. After discussing it and thinkingabout what we had seen decided it had tobe an otter, our first on Long Island. Wehad both been to the presentation byMIke Bottini about his study of River Ot-ters on Long Island at a conference at theBrookhaven Lab in the Spring. Steve re-ported to Mike and a week later anotherperson saw an otter near the same site.

Let me know if you like to participatenext year.

Kalers Pond & Butterfly Count

C O N S E R VAT I O N C O L U M N

BEACH CLEAN-UP“Nobody can do everything but everyone can do something”


ELIAS Presents

Norman Smith’s presentation on Snowy Owls, a dinner-theater event at newly restored The Suffok Theater in Riverhead.

On October 16 ELIAS will take overthe newly renovated Suffolk Theateron Main Street in Riverhead. We are

looking forward to an exciting and funevening. The Suffolk Theater, in addition tobeing a regular theater, can be set up as adinner theater, so that is what we areplanning — dinner, a bit of theater, a raffleand an engaging presentation about SnowyOwls by Norman Smith, Director of theBlue Hills Trailside Museum and The Nor-man Smith Environmental Education Cen-ter in Milton, MA. Cocktail hour will startat 6:00, dinner and presentation will follow. The cost is $50.00 per personwhich includes dinner.

Norman Smith, who will be doing thepresentation, has worked for the Massa-chusettes Audubon Society since 1974. Asa self-taught naturalist, he has studied

birds of prey for over 35 years. He has re-habilitated injured birds and successfullyfostered over 1,000 orphaned hawk andowl chicks into adoptive nests. His ongo-ing long-term projects include trappingand banding migrating hawks and owls atthe Blue Hills Reservation, bandingnestling hawks and owls, and doing re-search on Snowy Owls and other raptorswintering at Boston’s Logan InternationalAirport. He has also traveled to Alaska tostudy Snowy Owls in their native tundrahabitat. His research work has been pub-lished in National Geographic, NationalWildlife, Ranger Rick, Yankee, MassachusettsWildlife, Bird Observer, Birding, Sanctuary,Geo, Nature, Grolier Encyclopedia, Owls of theNorthern Hemisphere and Owls of the World.

The raffle prizes are coming in and will in-clude a boat trip on the Priscilla from the

Maritime Museum, prizes from Wild BirdUnlimited in Oakdate, Eastport Feed,South Fork Natural History Museum,wine tastings, signed photographs andsigned Dennis Puleston prints.

We will be introducing a special editionof an ELIAS calendar with photos of localbirds by Byron Young available in a verylimited edition.

Watch for your invitation and pleasecall Sally Newbert at 631-2816001 orEvelyn Voulgarelis at 631-727-0471 formore informationand/or reservations.


Across1 Alternate name for Nightjars from the strange belief that

they sucked the milk from these animals3 Clapper ____, elusive, salt marsh bird 5 ______ Warbler, the one with a black necklace 6 A common thrush9 ____ Turnstone, a common orange-legged shorebird11 ________ Oriole, not the Raven, for you football fans13 ________ Wigeon15 ________ ____Owl (2 words), scarce in boreal forests17 Black-_______ Plover19 King or Common21 Consisting of contrasting colors, most often black

and white22 An uncommon blackbird24 A heron with a white belly and thin neck stripe25 ___-necked Stint, a rare visitor this summer from Asia27 Some have horns, some ears28 ______ Warbler, yellow face with black cowl30 ______ Blue Heron32 ____ Dove, aka feral pigeon34 _______ Loon, a surprise visitor from the left coast last

winter36 Canada _____. Its hard not to see one of these.37 _______ Grosbeak41 Football team from Baltimore (singular)43 ____ Eagle44 The more dominant color on the head of an American

Wigeon compared to a European46 Monk ________47 Blue ___, probably at your feeder, right now48 A good place to see the Golden type is Franklin Mtn,

NY during migration50 Uncommon Kingfisher in Texas51 American _________, brightly colored, thistle eating bird

Down1 ____ Catbird2 A large flock of these starlings is known as a

murmuration, this happens in autumn3 __________ Duck, these should be put around fingers 4 Northern ________7 A bird of prey8 The only all white gull with black legs.9 ___________ Grosbeak, May is a good time to see these

at North Fork Preserve10 _________ Jaeger12 Teacher, Teacher, Teacher14 _____ Egret15 Black or Yellow Crowned16 ______ Duck, a surprise visitor last winter 18 ____ Sparrow. seen at Captree last year20 Cormorant that migrates in irregular Vs, the one

without the white hip patch23 Lesser ______-legs26 A bay duck with a white head patch29 _______ Oriole31 Northern _______, maybe we’ll get another visit to

Montauk from Europe this November33 Northern ____ a visitor to Staten Island this June38 _______ Phoebe, _______ Bluebird, _______ Towhee,

you get the idea39 One species of this family has a two toned bill, hence

Pied-Billed (plural)40 Northern ______, a large, plunge-diving sea bird, large

numbers can be seen off the South Fork in the winter42 ______ Thrush45 ____ Swallow47 A Goatsucker can also be called this: Night ___.

An Autumn Puzzle by Tom MoranEastportFeeds,Inc.

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Get InvolvedWould you like to submit

an article or a photo?

We would like

to hear from you. Contact:

[email protected].

Answers to last issue’sJuly/August puzzleA Summer Puzzle by Tom Moran


On July 16th Congressman Tim Bishopwas joined by a coalition of electedofficials and environmental advocates

to announce the introduction of his newbipartisan bill aimed at preserving criticalbiodiversity and preventing further devel-opment on Plum Island by eliminating thecurrent requirement in law that the islandbe sold at public auction.

Legislation passed by Congress in 2008mandates the public sale of Plum Island,with the proceeds intended to partiallyoffset the $1.2 billion cost of the pro-posed National Bio-and-Agro Defense Fa-cility (NBAF) in Kansas. At a pressconference in Orient with the 840-acre,federally-owned island in the background,Bishop said that Plum Island's value as aresearch facility and wildlife conservationarea far exceeds any revenue that thegovernment would realize from a publicsale. Bishop’s "Save, Don't Sell Plum Is-land" legislation will permanently decou-ple the future of Plum Island from that ofNBAF.

Bishop’s bill was introduced in the Houseof Representatives with Congressman JoeCourtney (D-CT) and CongressmanMichael Grimm (R-NY) as cosponsors.Companion legislation is slated to be in-troduced in the Senate by SenatorRichard Blumenthal (D-CT).

Bishop has consistently fought againstfunding for NBAF, arguing that the massivenew facility is unaffordable given the na-tion's budget constraints and would dupli-cate many of the research functionscurrently served well by other existing fa-cilities, including Plum Island. Bishop saidthat the Plum Island Animal Disease Re-search Center will continue to operateuntil at least 2020 and that no potentialsale would take place before that date.

Last month, the federal General ServicesAdministration (GSA) released a Final En-vironmental Impact Statement on the saleand continues to prepare for a potentialpublic auction, claiming that up to 500new homes could be constructed on theisland. Residential development isadamantly opposed by Bishop, otherelected officials representing Southold

BISHOP INTRODUCES LEGISLATION:SAVE, DON'T SELL PLUM ISLAND

Town, and environmental groups. TheSouthold Town Board has endorsed an“adaptive re-use” plan for the islandwhere research work would continue inthe area already devoted to that purpose,with approximately two-thirds of the is-land’s diverse landscape preserved as aconservation district.

The “Save, Don’t Sell Plum Island” legisla-tion text notes that over $23 million infederal funding has been spent on facilitymaintenance and upgrades at the currentfederal research campus on Plum Islandsince January 2012 and that “Plum Islandcontains cultural, historical, ecological, andnatural resources of regional and nationalsignificance.”

Congressman Bishop said: “Plum Island isone of the natural treasures of the North-east and my bill would eliminate thewrongheaded requirement that it be soldinto private hands for a fraction of its truevalue to our nation. If the federal govern-ment did not already own Plum Island, itwould be seeking to purchase it for con-servation as prime habitat for rare birdsand plants as well as a research campusideal for the study of biology and botany,alternative energy development, or other

scientific disciplines. Elected officials, envi-ronmental advocates, and the entire com-munity speak with one voice in support ofmy legislation: save, don’t sell Plum Island.”

According to Bob DeLuca, President ofthe Southold-based, Group for the EastEnd, “it's hard to imagine a worse ideathan selling off one of this Nation's pub-licly owned natural and historic treasures,simply to satisfy an ill-advised accountinggimmick intended to hide the real costs ofa billion dollar bio-defense laboratory thatwe may not even need. Thankfully, Con-gressman Bishop has seen this charade forwhat it is, and has taken the lead on thisimportant measure to stop the sale ofPlum Island to the highest bidder, andkeep this remarkable island in publichands," he said.

Oystercatcher Farm D/B/A

THE FARMERS MARKET FARM STAND

Proprietors: John and Patricia Carson76 Montauk Highway, Westhampton, NY 11978 (631.375.0612)

(just west of Buoy One Restaurant)

Featuring Blue Duck Bakery Breads & PiesAnd the finest - fresh seasonal local produce -

including our own hand-pressed lemonade, fruit jams,

raw honey, maple syrup, chowder, fruit and savory tarts.

In other developments the Town ofSouthhold has changed the zoningfor Plum Island, which now wouldbans residential housing making itless desirable for development.

There are some reports a mastodonskeleton has been found on the Island, making it an important archeological site.


Kathleen Heenan

Twice a week during the spring and fall Itravel to areas of the Bronx to teach a2 to 3 hour class about birds to 2nd to

5th graders. I happily do this under theFor The Birds program, sponsored byNew York State Audubon. Chuck Rem-mington, vp director of field support forAudubon Centers and education in theeastern region, had the idea to teachyoungsters about birding in 1997. Workingwith Wendy Paulson, a Central Park birdguide for The Nature Conservancy and along time nature teacher in Barrington, Illi-nois, and Gini Stowe, a parent educator, anature guide and Audubon board member,he developed the school based programand wrote the birding curriculum, combin-ing other subject matter: art, history, writ-ing, geography and math. The mission wasto teach birding to young children inunder served schools and to spend atleast half the time outside. The programwas launched in 1999 with Wendy andGini as the first lead teachers in schoolson Staten Island, the Bronx and Manhat-tan. FTB has since expanded to all four(and soon to be five) NYC boroughs andto communities in Westchester and Nas-sau Counties and upstate New York.

Currently, the director, Haley Main, andtwo assistants run the NYC program andlead teach with 8 volunteer lead teachersand many more assistants. Volunteers arerecruited by word of mouth, ads in theNYC Audubon newsletter and theAudubon web site for NYS. New volun-teer informational training meetings areheld every September. Several times a yearworkshops are held. These have includedtours of the Museum of Natural History,techniques to manage a classroom andcanoe trips on the Hudson River at Con-stitution Marsh.

Audubon charges the schools a small feefor the program. Schools choose a 4, 8 or16 week program, one or two bird walksin Van Cortlandt Park, Central Park,and/or Jamaica Bay are included.

Each child receives a name tag, an FTB

journal and a bird guideabout NY State birds. Thechildren answer questionsabout the lessons in theirjournals, do drawings ofbirds, name the bird andlabel the body parts. Theart work is often remark-able because of the chil-dren’s talent and the effortof their art teachers tocreate bird pictures in dif-ferent mediums. The photoright of the three dimen-sional Red-tailed Hawk isconstructed from recycledclassroom paper, an exam-ple from the the AmparkSchool.

I first became involved inthe NYC program in 2001through Wendy Paulsonwhom I had met on birdwalks in Central Park. After meetingWendy I started assisting in the class-room. Presently, I teach at two schools inthe Bronx.

Because of all the parks in NYC, the op-portunity to easily walk to areas for bird-ing is ideal. The past few years I havetaught at the Ampark School, half blockaway from Van Cortlandt Park, and at PS65 near the 35-acre St. Mary’s Park (apoorly maintained park, but its over-grown trees and shrubbery brought inhunting Red-tailed Hawks, nesting war-blers, Scarlet Tanagers and Baltimore Ori-oles). PS 107 is only a block fromSoundview Park. At each school we walkoutside after a short lesson in the class-room. The children love going outside,leaving their overcrowded school rooms.Last fall at both schools my students sawMerlins hunting, and in the spring we ob-served courting and nesting behavior in-cluding nests built on lamp posts, underair conditioners and even a robin’s nest ina tree snag with blue wrapping ribbon.

We start our program with a lesson onwhat makes a bird a bird. We move on toidentification through field marks (weoften play a game called stump Ms. Kath-

leen as the students describe field marksand I try to identify the bird). Further les-sons include adaptation of beaks and feet(or to tell what a bird eats, observe itsbeak), To learn about migration childrentake various roles in a play as they travel,as a migrating bird, from South America toperhaps as far away as the MaritimeProvinces. Pigeon watch is a two-classprogram developed by Cornell’s Lab ofOrnithology to teach the seven morphs ofpigeons and their behavior. Bird calls andsongs; and how birds get their namesround out the program. After the first les-son we start with the neighborhood birdwalks so the children get to know theusual suspects and frequently catch sight

For the Birds in New York City Public Schools

continued


There is still time to signup for the 66th Annual

NYSOA MeetingNovember 1 - 3 in

Union City on Long Islandwww.nybirdersconference.org

of Red-tailed Hawks kiting around. In thespring we look at web cam sites that arefollowing nesting eagles and hawks.

Recently we started a habitat enhance-ment project with some funding from aNew York City garden club and the BronxParks Department. We did a planting toattract birds in front of the Soundviewschool. With help from the custodian, (heis watering it this summer) the soil wasrot-o-tilled so the children could plant theflowers etc. (see photo, left).

Students often do a writing and researchproject on a favorite bird. They make birdbooks containing information about, andpictures of, their birds. The birds aredrawn, body parts are labeled and infor-mation is included about the birds behav-ior, location, what they like to eat. Oftenthe drawings include bird’s habitat.

It is not easy to teach a class of very ac-tive and sometimes troubled, needy chil-dren but the rewards are many. In additionto the satisfaction of observing the chil-dren’s excitement as they learn aboutbirds and experience the outdoors, mythank you letters and drawings havegrown into a large stack over the years.Let’s hope these young students, authorsand artists constitute the next generationof birders.Kathleen Heenan is an ELIAS member who livesboth in NYC and on the East End.

Highlights of the Summer Walks Sally Newbert

July 13th at The South Fork Mu-seum of Natural History a turkeysurprised everyone when it flewout of the brush. The field had sev-eral nesting Indigo Bunting, a Pur-ple Martin colony, a CommonYellowthroat and Cedar Waxwings.

On July 14th starting at Shinnecock Inlet stopping under the Ponquogue Bridge, thengoing onto our most productive stop on the bay side of Tiana where the new Sandy-created washover beach was favored by Skimmers, Common, Royal and Fosters Terns,Ruddy Turnstones and Short-billed Dowitchers. Then, on to Pikes (right) where therewere Oystercatchers and a flyby Little Blue Heron.

On August 17 we went out to Cupsogue. On our way out to the flats, some returningbirders reported an Upland Sandpiper in the marsh. We got there just in time for somegood scope views. Marbled Godwits (right)were more cooperative and were feeding very close to the beach. We spotted about 26 species.

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I admit to a certain fasination with River-head’s EPCAL. It has a seedy quality in someplaces, a certain mystery when you find theold bunkers, and a wildness in others. Thebirds still make their homes there. At my lasttrip I found Meadowlarks, Kestrels andGrassshopper Sparrows. Last winter therewere hunting Northern Harriers, even with allthe Sandy damaged cars. A few years ago theShort-earned Owls spent the winter. So Iwatched with amazement when a railroadtrack was built. Armed and unfriendly guardshung out at the community center. The con-struction equipment had out of state plates.That’s all gone now, but the rail to almostnowhere is completed. So I was surprised tofind this article in the Riverhead News-Re-view. You be the judge –- what do you thinkof the new rail line? Oh, did I mention parts ofthis property are grasslands, now a rare habi-tat on Long Island.

This article is used with the premission ofTim Gannon.

Sally Newbert, The Osprey Editor

Rail spur in Calvertonhas just one customerafter $5.5M stimulusprojectBy Tim Gannon

The $5.5 million restoration of the railspur into the Enterprise Park atCalverton was hailed by politicians

with hard hats and shovels when the jobwas first begun in May 2010, but threeyears later, only one company is actuallyusing the rail spur.

Paul Victor, president of New York and At-lantic Railway, which handles freight on theLong Island Rail Road, said the companyhas only one active customer using therail spur, Eastern Wholesale Fence.

When the spur was completed in 2011,two Calverton companies, Eastern Whole-sale Fence and Metro Biofuels, were ex-pected to use the spur, which terminatesnear those companies’ locations on thewestern side of the EPCAL.

Since then, however, Metro, which also hadoil terminals in Brooklyn, has declaredbankruptcy. The business, including theEPCAL site, was acquired by the RedApple Group, headed by billionaire JohnCatsimatidis, who also bought the Cono-coPhillips oil terminal in Northville.Thenew company is called United Metro.

Mr. Victor said that, so far, the new com-pany has not reached out to New Yorkand Atlantic about using the rail spur.

United Metro representatives could notbe reached for comment.

On the other hand, Mr. Victor said, thearrangement with Wholesale Fence “hasworked out precisely as we hoped .” But,he added, “We were hoping to have twoanchor customers.”

Riverhead Supervisor Sean Walter wascritical of the rail spur’s design when itwas under construction, saying it was de-signed to serve only two businesses. Hehad proposed building a new siding off thespur, heading toward the center of the in-dustrial park, where it would serve morebusinesses — a plan that did not come tofruition.

“I think the ultimate goal is to try to havebusinesses at EPCAL locate either onproperty to the south that we are subdi-viding, where the rail could fit right intothat property, or to try to run it up Bur-man Boulevard, where there are a lot ofbusinesses,” Mr. Walter said Friday.

But, he added, any changes to the rail spurwould need additional federal funding orfunding from the private businesses thatseek to benefit from it.

The rail spur restoration was funded with$4.8 million in federal stimulus funds andadditional money from the state.

“The town is not going to pay [to extendthe rail spur],” Mr. Walter said. “I’ve heardpassing interest, or people saying theythink it’s a good idea and they’d like to useit, but nobody has come to me directlyand said, ‘We need this. When can we getit?’ So right now, it’s just serving one busi-ness.”

Another existing EPCAL business that’sinterested in extending the rail spur is Is-land International, which is in contract to

purchase property on Burman Boulevardwith the intention of building facilitiesthere, Island Green Steel, that will makemetal studs for use in construction.

Although he hasn’t reached out to townofficials, Island International president TimStevens told the News-Review he’s hopingto have a new rail siding extendedthrough the east side of buildings alongBurman Boulevard, which would feed theIsland Green Steel building at 400 BurmanBoulevard, along with the adjacent LidoStone building, and possibly four otherbuildings to the north, he said.

But the land from which he proposes tohave the spur extended is currently underthe control of the U.S. Navy, which is stillconducting cleanup activities to removepollution from the land. Officials with theNavy, which used to own the formerfighter jet plant property, have given notimetable for completion of the remedia-tion work.

Use of a rail spur would take trucks offthe road and allow materials to beshipped by rail, Mr. Stevens said.

“Direct delivery is key in our business,”Mr. Stevens said. “Our master coil steelexceeds weights of 60,000 pounds percoil and total freight car loads will exceed250,000 pounds per car. We always try toachieve maximum efficiency when movingthis kind of weight and limiting excesscranes and trucks.”

He said the company will be trying to en-gineer a plan that would benefit both hisbusiness and others at EPCAL.

Mr. Victor said that while New York andAtlantic provides freight services to busi-nesses, it’s up to the businesses them-selves to provide the direct railconnection to their properties.

“We’re like any utility: If you want theservice, you’ve got to pay to connect,” Mr.Victor said.

EPCAL – Riverhead’s strange treasure


Larry Penny

Having looked at and listened to birdssince I first opened my eyes and used myears, 77 years later, I’ve finally decided onmy favorite bird. It’s the first species I everpreoccupied myself with, perhaps, becauseit was a curious about me as I was aboutit. Before I was three I used to walkaround outside the Penny house on West-phalia Road in Mattituck and examine thisand that living thing.

A gray bird with black markings used tofollow me around on my little journeyskeeping well out of reach, mewing itsscratchy call, getting my attention. It wasthe bird I learned by name, the Catbird.We had a small farm when I was a child,we raised chickens, pigs, ducks, goats andthe like, but mostly we raised differentberries, raspberries, boysenberries, straw-berries, gooseberries and currants, amongthem.

I think it was the plethora of ripe berriesthat lured the Catbird to our yard yearafter year. There must have been lots ofCatbird nests and lots of baby Catbirdsbut I never looked for them, I was mes-merized by the adult Catbird that fol-lowed me around calling all the while.

When I was 43 years old I moved into mypresent residence in Noyac in the springof 1979. Wouldn’t you know it, the firstbird I saw in my new yard was a Catbird.Every year since then a Catbird or twohas shown up every spring and disap-peared by the end of September. Afterfeeding on the last pokeberry and or au-tumn olive berry, the Catbirds wouldleave. Unless I saw one on one of the an-nual Christmas Bird Counts by chance, Iwould have to wait until the followingspring to see one.

About five years ago, my wife Julie took toputting out blueberries on the patio tablefor the birds. Well, the Catbirds took tothem right away. This year I started puttingout blueberries on the patio table andthey disappeared within an hour or so, butthe Catbirds would only take the berrieswhen I wasn’t looking.

During the nesting season, the male wouldsing his spattering of this-and-that notes ina continuous string beginning at 5:40 am.He would go on for an hour or two, butthen just before the baby Catbirds fledgedhe became silent. During midday, however,he would be following my footsteps orthose of my wife, calling out for moreblueberries. Once the blueberries wereon the table he became silent, the berriesdisappeared one by one, feeding young, Ithought to myself.

Two weeks ago I found an adult catbird inperfect shape dead in the driveway. Per-haps, it had hit a window. The death ac-counted for the catbird song silence in theearly morning from that time on. The sur-viving adult, the female I thought, cared forthe one fledgling that resulted from thisyear’s breeding. She continued to remindus to put out blueberries until the fledg-ling was old enough to fend for itself.

She comes and visits now and then, but nolonger begs for blueberries. There issomething about the Catbird that speaks

to a longing deep inside my brain. I don’tknow what it is, but I do know at 78 yearsof age that the Catbird is my favorite birdand, I guess, has been so during all thoseyears of looking and listening, from totthrough child through teenager to youngman to middleager to senior citizen.

A Long-Time Favorite

Remembering Jim Clinton, Sr.

Bob Adamo

As I was thinking about Jim, there was one more story I wanted to share with ourmembers. Another example of Jim Sr.'s intrepidness took place on another count,with the weather, albeit, snow this time, bringing out the quiet tiger in him. It tookplace on Dec. 30, 2000 on the Orient CBC. After Gil Raynor became incapacitated,Jim Sr. took over many of Gil’s responsibilities, one of them being the Shelter Island(North Sector) leader. As such, we caught the 6 am ferry out of Greenport, plannedto bird all day, and catch a ferry back after dark and then attend the compilation atMaryLaura Lamont’s house. It had been snowing since about 2 am and continued aswe left Wading River at 5 am. With the questionable weather forecast, Jim did havehis doubts about getting in a full day. Once on the Shelter Island, we found the snowcoming down harder and the wind much stronger.

After a short while, it got so bad that we had to stop, but managed to find refuge inan open luncheonette...where we waited the storm out. About 2 hours later we re-sumed the count, finishing with a Screech Owl – one of our morning misses! Uponreaching MaryLaura’s house for the compilation party, amidst all the snow, Mary-Laura was flabbergasted! Most of her participants had either not started, or pulledout mid-morning. A few had indeed finished their sectors and skipped the compila-tion. We (read, Jim Sr.) had “stayed the course” and now wanted to be fed...whichML was overjoyed to do!

Published by: Eastern Long Island Audubon SocietyP.O. Box 206East Quogue, NY 11942-0206

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