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

March/April 2010 — Vol. XXXV No. 2

NATURE PROGRAMSMonday, March 1, 2010beginning at 7:15 pm

Reptile ConservationProjects, USAPresented by PeterWarny

This illustrated presentation will discussvarious field ecology projects to conservereptile populations in both rural and urbanlandscapes.

Topics depicted include habitat manage-ment and monitoring, exotic and invasivespecies, parasites, predation and researchon both common and rare species.Areasdiscussed include: Long Island, the eastcoast and mid-Atlantic, Piedmont,Appalachi-ans Mountains, Louisiana marshes, Missis-sippi River and Florida sandhills.

PeterWarny has been involved in reptileecology and conservation for over 30 years.He travels extensively to reptile conserva-tion field studies and is currently involved inprojects in Florida, Pennsylvania, North Car-olina and Canada.

And yes, he will be bringing a few live guestswith him.

Monday, April 5, 2010beginning at 7:15 pm

Horseshoe CrabsKim McGowan

Kim McGowan of the NYSDRC will give usa program about the status of the horse-shoe crab on Long Island.The eggs of thesecrabs are an important food source for mi-grating birds as they travel north to theirbreeding grounds.

Thanks go to DanWilson for recommendingthis program to me. Let me encourage anyoneelse to let me know of any person/programthey think would be interesting to our member-ship! Bob Adamo

Meetings are held at QuogueWildlifeRefuge.The directions are on the website.There is a nature chat at 7:15 pm, a meet-ing at 7:30 and the speaker at 8:00 pm.

If this is January,There Must be BirdsOut There!!Eileen Schwinn

The hobby of birding meansdifferent things to differentpeople. Some view birds from

the warmth of their living room orkitchen. Others travel to far away andexotic places to observe.And somebecome obsessed with keeping lists.Why, some people even fall into allthese categories!

Every “lister”(those who write downand keep track of the birds they see)finds it a challenge once the number ofbirds seen goes into the hundreds.How to keep the hobby fresh and ex-citing?Well, begin each January with awiped-clean slate! No birds, no list!Begin again! The adventure repeats!

This January, in a friendly little compe-tition with some folks in Connecticut,we all set out to reach a specific goalby January 31st.Those in CT—90birds in CT.Those on LI—100 in NY.We live on the shoreline—more birdspossible. My birding neighbor and I in-formally decided to combine our ef-forts this year, and bird most of themonth together—more eyes to seethe birds and less gas used to travelabout.We each had time scheduledout of state, so we knew there was alot of ground to be covered to reachour goal.

Jan. 1—after recording the backyardfeeders, we drove to Southampton tostart the day looking at the rare-for-Long Island Black Guillemot, which hadbeen seen in the company of Long-

Continued on page 6

Earth Day CelebrationSaturday,April 17th from 10:00 am to 3:00 pm

Come and celebrate nature and our lovely planet at the Refugeduring this all day affair!The day will include guided nature walks,

live animal presentations, crafts for children, environmentalexhibitors, and self-guided kayaking and canoeing on Old Ice Pond.

This celebration is offered by QuogueWildlife Refuge andEastern Long IslandAudubon Society.

A great day for all ages!No reservations necessary. Rain or shine.

THE OSPREY | March/April 2010 2

From the FieldPatchogue Lakes: On Saturday, Janu-ary 9th seven intrepid birders braved the °temperature with 7° wind chill for this an-nual outing.

Swan Lake in East Patchogue was the firststop. Because there are springs feedingthis lake, the water here stays open. If youare out and about this winter stop by. Itcan be worth a trip. Some of the highlightswe encountered: Ring-neck Duck, Gadwall,American Coot, Ruddy Duck, CommonMerganser, Redheaded Duck,AmericanWidgeon, Great Blue Heron, Lesser Scaup.

Hooded Merganser and Pied-bill Grebe.At Patchogue Lake along Roe Blvd.Thehighlights included: Belted Kingfisher, Pied-bill Grebe, Northern Shoveler, NorthernPintail, Ring-neck Duck, Hooded Mer-ganser.

ANDY

MUR

PHY

Among the many ducks that winter on LongIsland, this male Gadwall, seen on Swan Lake,can appear drab from a distance. Up close,the male reveals a remarkable pattern ofintricate markings.

Field TripsJohn McNeil

I had to cancel our Eaglefest 2010 fieldtrip because of impending snow.Althoughvery little snow fell here, the NationalWeather Service predicted hazardousdriving conditions, so thinking of ourmember’s safety I decided to cancel thetrip. Next year I’ll have a snow date.Wewill venture up on our own if necessary,to view the Eagles along the Hudson River.

Now on a happier note, I have begun tothink of spring field trips. Soon the cro-cuses will be popping and spring migrationwill be here. I have some exciting fieldtrips planned. In March I am going to doan old favorite.We will visit Belmont andArgyle Lakes and theWest End of JonesBeach, hoping to catch some north-boundmigrants. In April we will travel along theNorth Fork to view Ospreys and anyother species that decide to pop in. InMay I have planned a full month of birdingto fill your quest so please come alongwith our trip leaders for these excitingadventures.We are going to visit theWilliam Floyd Estate in Mastic, Hunters’Garden,Terrell River County Park, Hal-lockville Farm and Maple Swamp andmaybe more.These are excellent birdingspots and your trip leaders are very ex-cited to share the pleasure of birding andthe spring migration. In June I want to visitDoodletown Road at Bear Mountain StatePark again, but this time I am going to goup the day before and if you want to joinme, will can have dinner, kick back andsample a few of our favorite libations (in-formal usage) while talking of birds andbirding conquests.

I am working on an an email notificationlist. If you would like to subscribe pleasesend an email to: birdwchr@gmail.com, inthe subject line state.“Subscribe” and inthe text your name and email address.Then you will be placed in my email list toreceive time sensitive messages.

I would to remind each member to checkthe mailing label for your membership ex-piration date. Please renew.And to thosemembers who have renewed, thank youfor your continued membership support.

That’s it for now and good birding.

John

Saturday, March 6, 2010,Meet at 8 amTrip Leader: John McNeil

Belmont Lake, Argyle Lake,Ocean Parkway & the West End ofJones Beach and Robert MosesState ParkBy this time, the earliest of the north-bound spring migrants will have alreadyarrived in the area.We can expect to findsome of these: Red-winged Blackbirds,Grackles, Cowbirds and Killdeer. Mostly,however, we will see birds that have win-tered on the Island.Among these, we areespecially hoping to find such species asRed-necked Grebe, EurasianWigeon, Red-head, Harlequin Duck and Purple Sand-piper. Meet in the east end parking lot atthe old Home Depot store along the Sun-rise Highway at Route 112 in Patchogue.We will leave the parking lot at 8:00 am.Bring a lunch as we will not return untilaround 5 pm. For more details, contacttrip leader John McNeil at 631.281.2623at home or on the day of the trip, by mo-bile telephone at 631.219.8947 or sendemail to birdwchr@gmail.com.

Saturday, April 3, 2010Meet at 8 amTrip Leader: John McNeil

Osprey Along the North Forkfrom Riverhead to Orient PointMigrating Osprey return to Long Island inthe middle of March. For our April trip, wewill visit Osprey nesting areas from River-head to Orient Point to see how manybirds have returned and are starting tonest. Our route brings us by most of theknown Osprey nests on the North Fork.Other spring migrants that are oftenfound on this trip areTree Swallow, PineWarbler, Great and Snowy Egret. Lingeringwaterfowl can also be expected.We willleave from the parking lot of the CountyCenter along Route 51 in Riverhead at8:00 am. Bring a lunch as we will not re-turn until around 5 pm. For more details,contact trip leader John McNeil at631.281.2623 at home or on the day ofthe trip, by mobile telephone at631.219.8947 or send email to birdw-chr@gmail.com,

Intrepid birders at Roe Blvd.: John McNeil,Andy Murphy and Larry Sturm.

THE OSPREY | March/April 2010 3

Eileen Schwinn

Once upon a time (Dec. 27, 2009),a group of four friends (two from Con-necticut, one from Nassau County, andone ELIAS member) took a day trip toEastern Long Island, in search of a littlefresh air and a few good birds.Their daystarted in fog and inclemency, but endedin a RealWildlife Adventure.

After a side trip to Sebonac Inlet to see ashort-term visitor fromThe North (aBlack Guillemot), the four hit the highwayand proceeded to Montauk Point—theirreal destination for the day.Time wasspent in the wind and cold, viewing outfrom behind the closedVisitor’s Center,and the usual ocean-loving waterfowl andgulls were observed.After a few hours,the friends began their trip back home,with plans to check out well-known bird-ing spots in and around the Montauk area.Ditch Plains, Lake Montauk, Montauk Har-bor—all interesting but predictable.A triparound the campground at Hither HillsState Park collected no birds, but did at-tract the attention of a Security Guard,who promptly and efficiently informed thefour that they were in an area which wasClosedToThe Public (tho’ they felt it wasquite inadequately marked as such...)Ready to call it a day and head west, onemember of the group insisted on one laststop to view the Ocean.

The three others grumbled—hadn’t therebeen quite enough OceanWater seenfrom all the other stops made thatday???— but gave in.They left their carLEGALLY in the Park, and walked down tothe shoreline, almost as the sun was set-ting. After checking out what looked likean interesting piece of driftwood, SheWhoInsisted On Stopping noticed a little “thing”left by earlier waves. “A Dovekie!”, calledout another of the group. And yes, itWASa bedraggled-looking, size-of-a-baked-potato bird, just standing there! The groupwatched as suddenly a wave overtook thelittle bird and tumbled it! Obviously, thisbird was in distress—but what could thegroup do?While one member raced backto the car for a towel —and a camera—another calledTheWildlife Rescue Centerof the Hamptons, in Hampton Bays, (631-

728-9453 (WILD) to ask if they had anysuggestions as to how to care for thisoverwhelmed little sea-loving and livingalcid.Told that the Center would remainopen until the group arrived with its pre-cious cargo, the Four Friends picked thebird up carefully, wrapped it in a towel,placed it in a small box and tucked a blan-ket around it (to prevent rolling around ateach street corner), and proceeded todrive as fast as legally possible to the Res-cue Center.

Arriving 50 minutes later (and well afterdark) the Dovekie was handed over tothe waiting wildlife rehabilitator.TheDovekie looked a little more perky thanwhen he was placed in the box, and as he

nipped at the attendant’s hand, the groupwas told,“That’s the third one we’ve got-ten in today. But I gotta tell ya, we haven’thad too much luck in saving these guys inthe past.They are so waterlogged, their“waterproofing” is gone. We’re trying anew method of treatment with thisbatch—you never know...”

And with that, the four friends left,somberly said their good-byes, and wenton their individual ways home.The prom-ise was made to follow-up with the Cen-ter the following day and to share anynews—good or bad.

Well, most stories DO have Happy End-ings, and this one is no exception! A callmade the next mid-morning to the Cen-ter revealed that the New Method ofTreatment was successful, and all threebirds, including JoLeen RichMan (whichis was the group named their Dovekie)had just been released back into theocean!! Calls were made, and sighs of re-lief were heard.The Four Friends—and

JoLeen RichMan—are happy to share theirstory with you—and will hopefully LiveHappily Ever After for aVery LongTime.

PS—You might also remember a more re-cent “fall-out” of Dovekies here on LongIsland in mid-January. If anything, keepyour eyes open while walking or viewingthe shoreline following any nor’easterwhich hits—you may have the opportu-nity to be part of your ownWildlife Ad-venture.

JoLeen RichMan—The Story of a Dovekie PHOTOSBY

ROBINFISHM

AN

The Four Friends—Eileen Schwinn, Joan Becker,Richard Becker and Robin Fishman

THE OSPREY | March/April 2010 4

Thoughts on Global Warming’s Effects on Long Island Larry Penny

Warming, along with rising sea lev-els, will have quite an influenceon the future of Long Island’s

flora and fauna.We have already witnessedthe establishment (reestablishment?) ofmany species which happened here ontheir own or were “replanted”.TheWildTurkey is the best example of the latter.In a little less than 20 years after its rein-troduction here it has become far morecommon than the native Bobwhite andthe Ring-necked Pheasant, introducedhere before the turn of the 19th century.The House Finch, Starling, House Sparrowand Mute Swan have all been around for avery long time; they also needed help ingetting here.

It’s the southern birds that have gottenhere and established on their own in thelast half a century that may be the precur-sors of the many new ones to come upand set down roots in the current cen-tury. It’s not easy to separate thosespecies that are responding to milder win-ters in the north and those that are justextending the range, regardless of temper-ature changes.The Red-belliedWood-pecker, CarolinaWren,TuftedTitmouse,Cardinal, andTurkeyVulture, Glossy Ibisand American Oystercatcher are themore successful of those range extendersthat may owe some of their success hereto a long-term warming trend.

Long Island habitat will undoubtedly un-dergo considerable change, as well.Whenthe English and Dutch first settled LongIsland, the forest was more like that ofNew England, with several different birchand willow species as well as hemlock,spruce, and other conifers which have re-treated to the north and have been re-placed by Appalachian species includingseveral oaks, pitch pine, beech, eastern redcedars, hickories and the like.We expectto see more southern oaks, redbud, per-simmon, short-leaf pines, magnolias andthe like. It won’t happen overnight, but,barring some cataclysmic happening suchas an unforseen spate of volcano erup-tions and earthquakes, it will happen.

Where we expect to see the most changein habitats in the next fifty years is in wet-

lands. Since the glaciers retreated 15,000years ago, the water level has been rising.Tidal wetlands have been migrating shore-ward and freshwater wetlands have beenexpanding.Take Accabonac Harbor, for ex-ample, in the hamlet of Springs on theSouth Fork. Its underpinning is retreatalmoraine, stones, soil, and bouldersdropped as the glaciers melted away tothe north.The seas in the form of Gar-diners and Napeague Bays, have been ris-ing and advancing shoreward for morethan ten millennia.The salt marshes havebeen migrating shoreward similarly. Goout a few hundred feet into the bays fromLouse Point on the southeast side of Ac-cabonac Harbor’s inlet or Gerard Pointon the north side and dig down.You willfind old salt marsh peat.The originalmarshes have drowned leaving only thepeaty substrate.The living marsh now cir-cles the inner shores of the harbor.

You will see huge glacial erratics exposedhere and there.About ten years ago, Os-preys nested on one of them.You will alsosee several hummocks, treed islands of“fast” land being slowly taken over by therising seas.As long as the topographylandward remains gentle, the salt marshwill be able to continue its landward mi-gration unheeded. But put stumblingblocks in its path, such as bulkheads andraised foundations, and marsh migrationwill come to an abrupt halt.The risingwater will drown the marsh, and what wasmarsh will become shallow water.

This is not science fiction. It is happeningall over Long Island, most notablely inJamaica Bay where the amount of saltmarsh has be disappearing at an alarmingrate. Steps can be taken to reverse thisdrowning. Fine sediments dredged fromthe bay bottom can be sprayed onto theexisting marshy islands to increases theirelevations artificially, allowing them tokeep up with sea level rise.

Freshwater wetlands, especially those atvery low elevations along the coastal plainare another matter.They are fed by thefresh water table, the top of the ground-water or upper glacial aquifer as it isknown. Beneath the fresh groundwater in

many parts of the plain, especially on theNorth and South Forks, the saltwater fillsthe interstices of the subsoils. Saltwater isdenser and so buoys up the lighter fresh-water resting upon it and interacting withit.The Napeague isthmus on the SouthFork, and East Marion and Orient on theNorth Fork, will become largely wetlandsie. a mixture of salt and fresh marshes.Dry kettles will become wet, bogs andfens will become ponds, ponds will be-come larger ponds. Some forests such asthe white pine/pitch pine forest of north-western East Hampton, just east of SagHarbor, will become wetter and wetter, asthe water table over much of that area isonly a few feet below grade. Residentswith basements are constantly pumpingthem out.

Fort Pond in Montauk (area wise thesecond largest pond on Long Island) hasnever been higher.A small island in itsnorthwest corner where the botanistNormanTaylor found basswood treesgrowing 85 years ago, is almost completelysubmerged. Only the trunks of dead treesstill stand in homage to what once was,but will never be again.

We should anticipate an increase in birds,including southern birds, associated withfreshwater wetland habitats, such asParulaWarblers, Gnatcatchers,Tree Swal-lows, Bitterns, Sora Rails, but a decreasein species using salt marshes as their pri-mary habit such as Clapper Rails, SeasideSparrows, Sharp-tailed Sparrows,Willetsand the like.

Likewise, salamanders and frogs shouldprosper. Fiddler crabs and ribbed musselswill have a hard time of it. Phragmites willrun rampant.

If you would be interestedin becoming the program director

or have ideasabout future nature programs,

please call Eileen at 631.728.8342or another board memberlisted on the backcover.

THE OSPREY | March/April 2010 5

CONSERVATIONCOLUMNBeth Gustin

“Nobody can do everything but every-one can do something”

According to the Natural Resources De-fense Council (NRDC) the average Ameri-can throws out 68 pounds of clothingevery year.This puts lots of stress on ouralready bulging landfills.There are manyways that you can dispose of your un-wanted clothing more responsibly.

• Bring your clothing to a drop box spon-sored by a charity.We’ve all seen these inour local parking lots. Some of the cloth-ing ends up in the charity’s thrift store butmuch of it is sold to global traders whothen sell it to vendors in less-developedcountries such as Zambia, Nigeria,Guatemala and Haiti.

• Dress for Success accepts women’s busi-ness attire which helps lower incomewomen dress for the professional work-place. There is a drop-off center at theBrookhavenTown Hall.www.dressforsuccess.org

•Soles4Souls donates used shoes to peo-ple in over 125 countries.There is a drop-off location at Timberland at Tanger OutletCenter.www.soles4souls.org

• Shoe4Africa allows you to send yourused running or other athletic shoes topeople in Africa.www.shoe4africa.org

Nike recycles athletic shoes of any brands.The shoes are turned into surfaces forrunning tracks, indoor gym tiles and play-ground surfaces.

Patagonia takes back and recycles any ofits own clothing brand items as well as anybrand that is made of Polartec.

And remember

Be mindful when you purchase clothing tobuy things that you’ll wear more than afew times. Return clothing that you decideis not quite the right size or that youdon’t like as much once you get it homeso that it doesn't end up sitting in a closetbefore just being discarded anyway. Useold t-shirts and socks as cleaning rags.

Remembering PegMargaret Carahar, a board member of both ELIAS and QuogueWildlife Refuge, died

after a long illness this February. Greatly saddened byher passing, many will remember all her good deeds.

Peg was a one hundred pound bundle of energy, generosity,and determination.

Until her illness slowed her down, she was the busiest personI have ever known.A few years ago, she was still working atBOCES, serving on the SouthamptonTown Zoning Board,chairing a committee for the League ofWomenVoters, andserving on both the Audubon and Refuge boards, not tomention birding, biking, gardening, baking, golf, and regulartrips to the gym. As busy as she was, she could always becounted on to help with special Audubon and Refuge proj-ects, At one point, when we heard ShelleyVakay was underthe weather, it was Peg who promptly organized a group torake the leaves from Shelley's yard.

When she made up her mind that she wanted to do something, nothing short of a naturaldisaster could stop her. Last March while we were sharing a house in Florida, she was usingoxygen most of the time.When we played golf, she would disconnect it long enough toswing.Without the oxygen, she said it was hard to concentrate on hitting the ball, but thatdidn't stop her from playing golf every chance she got.

It's hard to believe she's gone, but she certainly left her mark.

Shirley Morrison, Former Osprey Editor

From Kaler’s PondNature CenterJay Kuhlman

The first Library meeting took place onJanuary 24th discussing planting nativespecies for wildlife. Seventeen people at-tended.

Our next talk will be at the nature centeron March 21 at 1:30 and will be LocalDucksTalk andWalk.This will featureidentification of the local and winteringducks. First field marks and then a walk toKaler’s Pond and the head of theTerrellRiver. Other nearby areas could be visited.

Plans are ongoing for tree planting forKeith Romaine, a past board, member whopassed away recently.

From Quogue Wildlife Refuge

The Long IslandMineral & Geology SocietyWednesday March 10th at 7:00 PMJoin us in the Nature Center for a greatslide presentation offered by the LI Min-eral & Geology Society. Learn about LongIsland’s formation and why we find whatwe do on the beaches.View samples ofrocks, fossils, and minerals, take a lookinto a stereo microscope to view the min-erals in Long Island sands, and check out aneat demonstration of fluorescent miner-als. The president, vice president, and edi-tor of the Society will be discussingactivities, programs, and the Annual GemShow offered by the Society.This is a freeprogram for adults and teens, but pleasemake a reservation. Call QuogueWildlifeRefuge at 631-653-4771.

THE OSPREY | March/April 2010 6

TheCommonEiderSomateria Mollissima

Carl Starace

tailed ducks on Peconic Bay.There wereperhaps 6 other birders there when wearrived shortly after 10 am—all peoplestarting with clean slates as well. Foundthe bird, and off again—now to EastHampton and the Bridgehampton area.Check, check, check. Home for lunch—look at the rare bird internet sites—WHAT! A Snowy owl in our ownbackyard of Shinnecock Inlet!!!!!! Back onthe road again after lunch. Our spousesKNOW we’re crazy.“Have Fun”, they sayas we leave. Check. May as well driveDune Road.

End of Day 1—51 species.

Jan. 2—Orient Christmas Bird CountDay—not ideal conditions but a new areato explore and maybe, just maybe, see abird or two NOT spotted the day before.YES!

2010 total—63.

Jan. 5—another trip to Dune Road—Justfor “fun” this time, and oops—add an-other bird to the list—Clapper Rail!

Jan. 6—After scouting out the NY RareBird list, a trip to Nassau County is inorder, with stops in Massapequa, Baldwin,Pt. Lookout, Jones Beach, and BelmontLake. GREAT DAY—we have a friend whoruns the Nature Center at Jones, and wewere able to access the shoreline quiteeasily—highlight is seeing another SnowyOwl and a thousand Dunlin along theJones Beach jetty, seeking protection fromthe strong winds.

Total—up to 84

Jan. 11—another trip to Belmont Lake—we missed a few birds on the earlier trip -and Connetquot Park. Check, check. Bird-ing alone for part of afternoon to theEPCAL area—what a shame if that area ischanged forever—and again, the team ef-fort in the later part of the afternoon.

Total - 95!

Jan. 12—A favorite—ShelleyVakay’s backyard! Add QuogueWildlife Refuge—Super

If this is January…Continued from page 1

Continued

It has been an especially good winterfor viewing this large, stunning lookingduck on Long Island.The large rafts of

Common Eider, usually seen at MontaukPoint, are in place, but so are numbers inthe hundreds further west at Shinnecock,Moriches and even Jones Inlets.

The word “eider” comes from an Ice-landic/Old Norse word “aedr”.The“down” in eider down is also from theOld Norse word,“dunn”.The female ofthis species nests in colonies all aroundthe far northern parts of our globe. Hereon the eastern seaboard they are foundon the rocky coasts of Labrador, Green-land and Iceland.As the female builds hernest she plucks feathers from her breastto create the lining to keep her chickswarm. For generations some farmers inIceland have left food for the Common Ei-ders and kept watch over them in orderto collect the eider down once thenestlings have fledged. Eider down haslong been known to be the lightest, soft-est and warmest down in the world, It isused to fill fine quality quilts and pillows.

The Common Eider is found in flocks atall times of the year.They tends to con-gregate by rocky shorelines, jetties andseawalls where they feed on mussels,shellfish, barnacles, crabs, and small fish.They usually begin to appear in smallernumbers in our ocean waters by mid-No-vember. In March they begin migratingnorth.The Common Eider has a uniquelook. Its face is slightly wedge-shaped, longand sloping.There is a jutting bump on theforehead.Their bodies are wide andsomewhat humped, just a touch smallerthan a Brant but bigger than the largeWhite-winged Scoter.Adult males haveblack caps, long and round tipped bright

yellow bills and a lime-green blush acrosstheir napes.Adult male bodies are black-sided and white backed/chested.The “FirstWinter” males are somewhat differentwith a pale brownish head, dark face andgrayish bill.The chest is white with somewhite also evident in the wing.The back isprimarily dark as are its sides.The winterfemales that we see are overall a dark ru-fous in color.

Personally, the Common Eider will alwaysremind me of the cold waters off coastalMaine. It was January and I was in Bath,Maine. I had talked my skiing buddy into abrief stop for a try at some seabirds. I re-member the beach being snow covered,the sky bright and clear. It was about mid-afternoon as my friend Martin and Iwalked towards a massive rock, the size ofat least two houses, about 100 yards offthe beach.The tide had gone out andsome people had climbed up to gaze outto sea.We had soon set up the scope andtook turns scanning a large raft of Com-mon Eider and some Black Guillemots. Itdidn’t seem like a very long time, butwhen we turned towards shore, thingshad changed dramatically.The 100 yards ofwet sand was now covered with a dark,fast moving ocean.We had a decision tomake.We chose to drop down off thatrock.We pushed hard against a tide thathad quickly reached our hips. Reaching theempty beach we quickly ran for the park-ing lot, and on to the nearest laundromat.Would I climb that rock again at any timeof year for a view of a splendid raft ofCommon Eider? I think you know the an-swer. I’ve already experienced Bath, Maine.GoodWinter birding to all…Carl Starace

THE OSPREY | March/April 2010 7

Larry Sturm has shared his thoughts on thecurrent (and past) state of affairs.With histongue placed firmly in cheek he submits thisfor your edification (or amusement).

Well the State of NewYork at thedirection of the Governor has fi-nally scraped the bottom of the

barrel or actually in this case the “cream ofthe crop”.Allow me to expound on theoutrage that has been proposed by electedofficials.

We all remember the 90’s here on LongIsland when our power company of “no-choice” (LILCO) wanted to assess the citi-zens a “solar charge”.Allow me to clarifythat incident. LILCO felt that since nuclearpower (regardless of how you pronounce“nuclear”) was not going to be the choiceof the citizenry.“Solar Power” was loom-ing on the horizon and it looked as ifLILCO was going to be left out of the“profit picture”.They felt that if they al-lowed residents of LI the ability to use thesun without recompense to them it couldlead to a financial disaster. Imagine home-less executives wandering the streets,standing by 7-11’s across the counties ofNassau and Suffolk hoping that somekindly contractor would hire them! Alas,their fears went awry even though thereare hundreds of PSM’s (Personal Solar Me-ters) in warehouses in Hicksville.Their at-tempt at having the State require thosedevices for individuals (especially at ourbeaches and public pools) was thwartedby the ACLU in a very close judicial deci-sion. LILCO however, recovered throughthe use of a “surcharge” on anyone whobreathed air.

Fast forward now to the current financialcrisis that has enveloped our country.Un-employment has risen, houses are in fore-closure, members of congress have to shareprivate jets!This has caused many of ourelected officials to rethink all the options.

Our visually challenged Governor, DavidPatterson, has “seen the light” or at thevery least has had it described to him. Itseems one day one of his aides mentionedthat he saw an unusual bird on the way towork that day and attempted to describe

it to the “Governor unelected”. An in-quiry, by said governor about the numberof individuals who actually “bird”, resultedin a startling revelation.“Millions bird eachand every day!” The result is now in theworks. Never, ever, ever tell a politicianthat millions of people are doing some-thing for FREE!

By special legislation there will now be im-posed a fee to “Bird”. For all individuals re-siding in the state over the age of 16 anannual fee of $25.00 will be required.Non-residents will have to pony up $50.00 foran annual fee.Transients will be required topay a daily fee of $10.00.

Oh it gets worse. If you wish to bird usingbinoculars there will be an additional$15.00 stamp required and those individu-als with scopes or any other “enhanced vi-sion devices” will be assessed an additional$10.00 to be added to the “bin” stamp.

Oh it gets even worse.Those individualscaught without the proper license will besubject to fines starting at $100.00 andgoing up to $1,500.00. Individuals withoutany “assistive device” caught “gazing” (akabare-birding) may be subject to immediatearrest. Needless to say a “bird feeding” taxis in the works and will be enacted assoon as the governor “sees his way clear”to signing this additional legislation.

There is also talk of establishing a “rewardhotline” so that neighbors can make addi-tional money turning in their neighborswhom they have seen birding.There is apossibility that there may even be a “win-dow tax” in future years to cover the pos-sibility of individuals looking at birds fromtheir homes! This last item might be seento conflict with the “reward hotline”.

The “conga line” of delighted legislatorsfrom both side of the aisle could be seenthroughout the streets of Albany as theydanced their way to the airport to boardtheir jets (not shared) for their return tripto their local districts. Golly they musthave forgotten that their limos were downin the parking garage!

Can’t wait to see what our Federallyelected officials think of this!

L.D.Sturm©2009

Will the last birder leaving NewYork pleasetake a Piping Plover with them!or Our Government at Work

nice bird—a woodcock—made an appear-ance then came back for an encore a halfhour later!!

Total - 98 - so close, so close

Jan. 13—with vacation time looming, andthe birds being harder to come by, wemade a last ditch effort to observe alongthe North Fork, starting in Riverhead. Nonew birds to add in some usually reliableplaces—uh oh will we make it????? Finally,a Kestrel was seen, posted near a barn.100th bird at 11:30 am for my neighbor!!I was now at 99 (we had seen a few birdswhile not out as a team). Check Iron Pier—usually a stray gull..... NOTHING.Nowwhat? Let’s try Mary Laura Lamont’s back-yard—a hot spot for birds. She alwayskeeps well-stocked feeders.As we pulledinto her driveway, and as I was reachingfor my cell phone to give her a call—BAM—my 100th bird popped into view—anordinary Grackle—but whew,WE DID IT—100 birds in only 13 days!! We bothactually ended the day with 101.Vacationscame and went— a little birding after re-turning.

Jan. 31—My total—106 birds (last onefor me was the little Dovekie in TimberPoint Park, the day after I returned frommy trip)

My neighbor’s total—110 birds.

Good birds, good company and great fun!And at least it got me out of the house ina cold and dreary month!!

Continued from previous page

ELIAS is now onFacebook.

Check it Outand Become a Fan.

…There Must beBirds Out There!!

THE OSPREY | March/April 2010 8

Quogue-Water Mill Christmas BirdCountFrom Steve BiasettiThe 61st Annual Quogue-Water Mill(QWM) Christmas Bird Count took placeon December 19, 2009.Thirty participantson five teams tallied 18,583 individualbirds of 114 species (plus 2 count-weekspecies).Among the tough misses wereNorthern Bobwhite,American Bittern,American Kestrel, Killdeer,Wilson’s Snipe(seen during count week), PalmWarbler,Seaside Sparrow, and Brown-headedCowbird. (This marks the first time thatKestrel was missed in the history of theQWM CBC.) On the flip side, a numberof special birds were recorded, includingKing Eider, Green Heron, Bald Eagle,Virginia Rail, Black-headed Gull, Black-legged Kittiwake, Black Guillemot (forthe first time in QWM CBC’s history!),and HouseWren.

From Beth GustinThe Quogue-Water Mill Christmas BirdCount took place on the Saturday of thebig December snowstorm. I was on ateam consisting of Steve Biasetti andthree ladies from Huntington AudubonSociety.The day started out cloudy andquite cold and the snow started just pastnoon as predicted. It made for some chal-lenging yet exciting birding and memo-rable images of the snow blowinghorizontally as the wind howled overthe marsh. In the hours before the snowreally picked up we counted large num-bers of Robins and American Goldfinchesand had some nice sightings of EasternBluebirds (12 total), CedarWaxwings, andGolden-crowned Kinglets.The highlightof the day was an adult Bald Eagle that wewatched fly over a pond at Sears-BellowsCounty Park.And it wasn’t until afterlunch (and wonderful hot cocoa andcookies courtesy of Debbie and Al) atAl Scherzer’s home that we counted ourfirst and only Blue Jay.The experiences ofthe day reinforced the notion that younever know what you’ll get on a CBC—except some fun birding with some reallynice people.

From Eileen Schwinn

NEITHER RAIN,NOR SNOW,NOR DARK OF NIGHT—waita minute, just what are we talking

about here? No, NOT the US Postal Serv-ice! But the dedicated, bundled-up andfun-loving volunteers who participated inthe 110th Christmas Bird Counts! Thisyear saw all sorts of weather—exceptwarm, tropical breezes—during the threecounts I joined.

The Big Snow started during theQuogue-Water Mill count,December 19th, short-ening the day some-what for mostteams. The birdsmay have beenaware of theforecast, be-cause my team,which coveredthe “Mainland”from Quogue toHampton Bays,found the variety andnumbers of birds downfrom previous years.

The following week, the Central Suffolkcount was held on Dec. 26th. Deep snowstill covered the open spaces usually sur-veyed, but 34 enthusiastic participants saw105 species, and 17,902 individual birdswere counted on a day which ended intorrential downpours throughout the area.Again, the counting day was abbreviated!

The last local CBC, the Orient count, washeld the day after NewYear’s Day—andagain, snow was in the forecast. Driving tomy assigned area—in Southold—was inpre-dawn snow squalls! The snow waslight, but the day was extremely cold.Anearly afternoon call home (in EastQuogue) relayed the information that thesnow was falling much faster and muchmore heavily than we were experiencingon the North Fork.Again, it seemed as ifthe birds knew something we mere mor-tals did not—although a few really nice

birds—Great Horned Owl,White-crowned Sparrow, BrownThrasher, andBrown Creeper—were seen. Most birdswere tucked away, or spotted close towell-stocked bird feeders in private backyards.The number of species and individu-als was certainly down in my sector fromthe previous year. Because of the deterio-rating weather, my group elected to endthe day early (after stopping for warmsoup in the warm home of a participant!)

So, why go out there in the first place—bad weather, few birds, bad

weather, wet feet, badweather—did I men-

tion the badweather?????Well, we goout there be-cause that’swhat crazybird peopledo —wemake a com-

mitment andtry to follow

through on it.Weknow that the knowl-

edge we gather and the in-formation we share on that snap-shot

day of a Christmas Bird Count has valueto the overall picture of bird life, and per-haps, future human life as well.And it’salways a reminder of the original reasonsfor starting the Counts in the first place—instead of KILLING birds on Boxing Day,let’s COUNT them! Imagine how fewbirds would be left if the “Old” traditionhad continued.

Read the results of all the counts on theNational Audubon Christmas Bird Countpage, and mark your calendars for nextyear. It is fun?You bet!! Come join us nextyear and find out for yourself!

2009 CHRISTMAS BIRD COUNTS

THE OSPREY | March/April 2010 9

From Linda Sullivan atWakodahatchee,Delray Beach, FL

On the road with ELIAS members…From Beth GustinCorkscrew Swamp,Naples, Florida

AYellow-throated warbler and aFox Squirrel at Corkscrew Swamp.

A Green Heron, a Blue-gray Gnat-catcher,Woodstorks and anAnhinga with a fish all useWakodahatchee as a refuge.

March 1 to 10

Pied-billed Grebe*Wood DuckAmer.WoodcockKilldeer*RobinE. BluebirdRusty BlackbirdFox SparrowSong Sparrow*

March 11 to 20GannetBI-cr Night HeronSnow GooseAmer OystercatcherPiping PloverCommon Snipe*Belted Kingfisher*Common Flicker*E. PhoebeFish Crow*Water PipitE. Meadowlark*Bm-headed CowbirdSpotted Sandpiper

March 21 to 31DC CormorantOspreyLaughing GullGreater-YellowlegsTree SwallowGolden-cr KingletSavannah SparrowVesper SparrowField Sparrow

April 1 to 10Great Blue Heron*Great EgretAmer. BitternBlue-wingedTealMerlinPectoral SandpiperYellow-be1 SapsuckerBrown CreeperRuby-cr KingletPineWarblerPalmWarblerWhite-thr Sparrow*Swamp Sparrow

April 11 to 20Green HeronSnowy EgretYell-cr Night Heron

Broad-winged HawkClapper RailVirginia RailSoraUpland SandpiperRough-winged

SwallowBarn SwallowPurple MartinBlue-gray

GnatcatcherMyrtleWarbler"Louisiana

WaterthrushEasternTowhee*Chipping Sparrow

April 21 to 30Little Blue HeronCommon GallinuleBlack-bellied PloverSemipalmated PloverWhimbrelSolitary SandpiperLeast SandpiperDunlinSemipalmated

SandpiperWhip-poor-willChimney SwiftBank SwallowCliff SparrowHouseWrenBrownThrasherSolitaryVireoBlack &White

WarblerWorm-eating

WarblerNashvilleWarblerParulaWarblerYellowWarblerBlack-throated Green

WarblerPrairieWarblerGrasshopper

SparrowSharp-tailed SparrowSeaside Sparrow

*These species havepopulations that winteron Long Island. It is al-most impossible to dis-tinquish the springarrivals.

SPRING MIGRATION TABLEYou have probalby seen the Grackles and Red-wings already, the others are on the way! Thisis a general guide to their arrival times. By theend of April arrivals are often predictalbe towithin a few days.

THE OSPREY | March/April 2010 10

Survey Dates:March 7, to March 14, 2010

Name ________________________

Address ______________________

______________________________

Town ________________________

Phone ________________________

_______Mourning Dove_______Northern Cardinal_______Blue Jay_______House Finch_______Black-capped Chickadee_______Tufted Titmouse_______Downy Woodpecker_______White-throated Sparrow_______Dark-eyed Junco_______House Sparrow_______White-breasted Nuthatch_______Song Sparrow_______Red-bellied Woodpecker_______American Crow_______European Starling_______Common Grackle_______Carolina Wren_______Northern Mockingbird_______American Goldfinch_______Red-winged Blackbird_______Hairy Woodpecker_______Common Flicker_______Rufous-sided Towhee_______American Robin_______Brown-headed Cowbird_______Sharp-shinned Hawk_______Rock Dove (pigeon)_______Gray Catbird_______Yellow-rumped Warbler_______Red-breasted Nuthatch_______Other ______________________

Survey Dates:April 4 to April 11, 2010

Name ________________________

Address ______________________

______________________________

Town ________________________

Phone ________________________

_______Mourning Dove_______Northern Cardinal_______Blue Jay_______House Finch_______Black-capped Chickadee_______Tufted Titmouse_______Downy Woodpecker_______White-throated Sparrow_______Dark-eyed Junco_______House Sparrow_______White-breasted Nuthatch_______Song Sparrow_______Red-bellied Woodpecker_______American Crow_______European Starling_______Common Grackle_______Carolina Wren_______Northern Mockingbird_______American Goldfinch_______Red-winged Blackbird_______Hairy Woodpecker_______Common Flicker_______Rufous-sided Towhee_______American Robin_______Brown-headed Cowbird_______Sharp-shinned Hawk_______Rock Dove (pigeon)_______Gray Catbird_______Yellow-rumped Warbler_______Red-breasted Nuthatch_______Other ______________________

Feeder SurveyJohn McNeil

The Survey will be conducted the 1stweek of the month starting on Sunday andending the following Sunday.

INSTRUCTIONS FORFEEDER SURVEY

� Define an area containing feeders thatyou can see all at once from a window.The area should be one you glance atfrequently during your daily routine.

� Don't include birds seen off premises.

� Predators perching in or swooping

through the count area (not just flyingover) may be counted if you feel thatthey were attracted by the birds at thefeeder.

� Record the largest number of eachspecies that you see in your count areaduring the eight-day count period.

� Do not add counts from previous daystogether. Be specific with the speciesname, e.g. we can't use just the nameSparrow, Blackbird or Gull.

� At the end of the count period, recordyour final tallies and send in the form.

Personal observations and comments arewelcome as are suggestions to improvethe surveys and reports.

Please mail immediately aftereach survey period to:Feeder Survey c/o John McNeil168 Lexington Rd, Shirley NY 11967-3212

Or to send via the internet, go to:easternlongislandaudubon.org and1) Click on: Chapter Projects2) Click on: Feeder Statistics3) Click on:To submit via the internet, etc.

I cannot express my sincere gratitude

for all the responses that I have re-

ceived. I cannot thank you enough.

Right now I am in the middle of doing

a complete summary and putting all

your results into my computer.

The results will be coming soon.

John

RUTH

GURI

NSKY

THE OSPREY | March/April 2010 11

Chapter Renewal& Membership

For $15 a year, you will receive 6 copies of this newslet-ter.You will be supporting our local education and con-servation activities. (Members of National Audubonwho are not chapter members receive one copy of thisnewsletter per year.)

This is a � Renewal � New Membership

Name ________________________________

Address ______________________________

____________________________________

City/State ____________________________

Zip __________________________________

Email ______________________________

Please be sure to include your email. You willreceive an email confirmation, a pdf of thefirst newsletter and occasional updates. And,no we do not share this list!

Make check payable to:Eastern Long Island Audubon Societyand mail to: ELIAS Membership, PO Box 206,

East Quogue, NY 11942-0206

THE OSPREY | March/April 2010 12

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

Address Service Requested

NON PROFIT ORGU.S. POSTAGE

PAIDPermit No. 3

Center Moriches, NY 11934

EASTERN LONG ISLAND AUDUBON SOCIETYFrom the Barrens to the Bays

Serving Eastern Brookhaven,Western Riverhead &The Hamptonswww.easternlongislandaudubonsociety.org

ELIAS Officers & DirectorsPresident:Eileen Schwinn 631-728-8342

Past President:Alfred Scherzer 631-728-2898

Vice President: Beth Gustin 631-874-9424

Recording Secretary:Chris Schmitt 631-727-2860

Correspondence Secretary:John McNeil 631-281-2623

Treasurer: Evelyn Voulgarelis 631-727-0417

Director: Bob Adamo 631-369-1958

Director: Ridgie Barnett 631-288-3628

Director: Dick Belanger 631-874-0101

Director: MaryLaura Lamont

Director: Tom Moran 631-849-4434

Director: Sally Newbert 631-281-6008

Director: Dan Wilson

Committees/ProjectsMembership, Mailing, Field Trips & Feeder Stats:John McNeil 631-281-2623

Programs: Bob Adamo

Liaison - Kaler's Pond Audubon Center:Alfred Scherzer 631-728-2898

Hospitality: Ridgie Barnett 631-288-3628

Conservation: Gigi Spates 631-765-1436

Education: Evelyn Voulgarelis 631-727-0417

Publicity: Sally Newbert 631-281-6008

Webmaster: Annette Oliveira 631-878-5576

Nature Chats: Open

Bluebird Restoration Program:Gigi Spates 631-765-1436

Newsletter Editor Sally Newbert

631-281-6008eliasosprey@optonline.net

MarkYour Calendars

Mon., March 1 Nature Program Reptile Conservation Projects, USAat QWR (pg. 1)

Sat., March 6 Field Trip to Belmont Lake, Argyle Lake,Ocean Parkway & the West End of Jones Beach &Robert Moses State Park (pg. 2)

March 7 to 14 Feeder Count (pg. 10)

Wed., March 10 Presentation by Long Island Mineral & GeologySociety at QWR (pg. 5)

Sun., March 21 Lecture Duck Talk and Walk sponsored byKaler’s Pond (pg. 5) at Center Moriches Library

Sat., April 3 Field Trip Osprey along the North Fork fromRiverhead to Orient Point (pg. 2)

Mon., April 5 Nature Program Horseshoe Crabs at QWR (pg. 1)

April 4 to 11 Feeder Count (pg. 10)

Sat., April 17 Earth Day Celebration at QWR (pg. 1)

Please check the date on your label.If your membership is about to expire pleaseuse the membership/renewal form on page 11 tokeep your membership current.Thanks.