EASTERN LONG ISLAND AUDUBON SOCIETY – From the Barrens to the Bays Formerly Moriches Bay Audubon, established 1967 January/February, 2008 — Vol. XXXVIII No. 1 Nature Programs Its Time for Our Winter Ducks… Brian O’Keeffe a look back, and the best places to look now Larry Penny, Chief, East Hampton Natural Resources Join us for nature programs and mem - bership meetings at the Quogue he winter season is upon us and the outnumbered Blue-wings, there was hardly Wildlife Refuge. Everyone is welcome. winter waterfowl are drifting in flock a Ruddy, Hoody, Wigeon or Wood Duck. (Directions are on our website.) Tby flock. It's always a mystery how There were very few Canada Geese and 7:15 pm – Nature Chat many of the divers and dabblers will return quite a few Mute Swans. Maybe, I saw one 7:30 pm – Chapter News each year. The Natural Resources Depart - Brant every ten years. Black Ducks were the 8:00 pm – Speaker or Main Event ment has been counting the non-breeding most commonly hunted duck on the North ducks, geese, swans, grebes and loons once a Fork at that time. January month for more than fifteen years. We start Then and nowadays on the South Fork it No members meeting. in October, sometimes not until November was and is quite a different story. Canvas - and continue to March, at which time most Monday, February 4, 2008 back are regular. Otter Pond in Sag Harbor of the winter resident waterfowl are already has had Canvasback every year since the mid Shaibal Mitra, Assistant Professor of leaving. The waterfowl counts vary from 1970s, never more than ten or twenty, but Biology at the College of Staten Island, year to year, which is a function of a lot of they are perennial. I remember doing the will give a program titled "Avian events: the success of the breeding season, Orient Christmas Bird Count with the late Vagrancy to Fire Island: Insights the weather, the availability of winter food, Roy Wilcox one late December. We had the into the Composition and Conserva - and the like. Sag Harbor to Morton Wildlife Refuge terri - tion of Avian Communities. " Shaibal I grew up in Mattituck thinking that there tory. One of our first stops was Otter Pond has studied birds in the northeastern would always be tons of Scoters, hordes of which is tidal but receives a lot of fresh United States and around the world Mergansers, lots of Butterballs and Old- groundwater feed and fresh water from a for more than twenty-five years. From squaws, ahem, excuse me, Long-tail Ducks. stream to the south which enters the pond 1996-2000 he operated a major bird- There weren't a lot of Mallards in the 1940s by way of culvert. There were quite a few banding station at the Fire Island and 1950s on the North Fork, I don't re - “cans” in the pond on that chilly morning, Lighthouse, on the South Shore of member any Gadwalls, Pintails or Canvas - both sexes and immatures. Then Roy called Long Island. backs. Teals were quite scarce, Green-wings out a Redhead. We looked and looked over each bird carefully, but could see nothing but Canvasback. However, Roy had a very fine reputation and had been doing winter bird counts since the days of the Great Depression. Counts were more informal in those days. We were not going to disappoint Roy or disagree with him. The best place to see waterfowl in East Hampton in Hook Pond which sits behind the ocean dunes in the Village. It is a fresh pond with a rich bottom flora of water cel - ery, leafy pond weeds and other subaquatics. Fed mostly by groundwater, there is some run off, but it doesn't generally freeze over until mid-January or February. The stream Continued on page 11 Feeder Survey dates ) Jan. 12-18 & Feb. 16-24 ) see page 10 to participate THE OSPREY - January/February, 2008 2 In this Issue Field Trips Nature Programs 1 Time for Our Winter Ducks 1 Saturday, January 5, 2008 Saturday, March 1, 2008 Field Trips 2 Lakes Around Patchogue Orient Beach State Park Campers Needed 2 Trip Leader: John McNeil Trip Leader: MaryLaura Lamont Meet at 9:00 am at the Swan Lake Club Meet at 8:00 am in the parking lot of the Waterfowl Workshop 2 House at Swan Lake in East Patchogue. County Center in Riverhead, off County Road 51. See our wintering waterfowl around the Reports from the Field 3 Lakes in Patchogue. Your trip leader John We will carpool through the North Fork to McNeil will guide you around the area for visit various spots along the way to Orient NYSOA Meeting 4 either a half or full day excursion. Telephone Point. We will spend most of our time at John if you need additional details at 631- Orient State Park and Orient County Park. Luncheon at 281-2623 or e-mail [email protected]. Some of the birds we sighted last year in - State in the subject line, “Field Trip Patchogue” clude: Wood Duck, Green-winged Teal, Indian Island Golf Club 5 Greater Yellowlegs, Harrier, Kestrel and Os - prey. For more information MaryLaura may Big Sky 6 Saturday, February 2, 2008 be reached at 631-722-5542 White-winged Crossbill Montauk Point Please join us for these exciting field trips! in Shirley 7 Trip Leader: John McNeil All levels of naturalist — including begin - Meet at 9:00 am at the parking lot by the ners — are most welcome on Eastern Long Kaler Pond Events 8 Lighthouse. Island Audubon field trips. Conservation Column 8 Montauk Point is our easternmost spot on Long Island to see large numbers of our All trips are free to attend. Seed Sale Report 8 ocean species of birds that fly from the outer ocean backs. Colder is better, so bring warm Feeder Survey cloths, long johns, mittens and a warm hat. Make sure you wear several pairs of socks so Report Forms 10 that your feet do not get cold. Now, if only the concession stand sold Starbucks! Time Winter Waterfowl Membership Application 12 permitting we will check out other hot bird - ing places around the area. Bring a lunch Workshop and a hot drink to warm your insides. Please telephone me at 631-281-2623 if you On Saturday January 19th, 2008 , from Campers Needed! are going to attend or e-mail me at jpmc - 9:00 am to noon, Fire Island National [email protected] , stating in the subject line, Seashore is sponsoring a Winter Waterfowl “Field Trip Montauk.” This way I will have a Workshop at Smith Point Wilderness. It will Each year ELIAS sponsors up to four stu - tally of participants and a call back tele - be lead by MaryLaura Lamont, an ELIAS dents in grades 7 to 12 who wish to spend phone number if I have to cancel because of Board member. It is open to the public. one week in a Department of Environmental weather. Meet at the Smith Point Visitor Center at Conservation Summer Camp. Campers Please note that this is a 1 ½ to 2 hour ride 9:00 am. choose between two camps in the Adiron - from Shirley, depending on traffic. I have to dacks, one in the Catskills or one in western Participants should dress warmly and bring point out that there is road construction New York. Time is running short. Applica - binoculars to see the various kinds of water - after Sunrise Highway ends at Southampton tions are due by January 25 . An application fowl that spend the winter here in the bays and before the road changes to Montauk form appeared in the Nov/Dec. Osprey. It is and along the ocean. Observers will learn Highway. Please leave enough time for also available online. Call Evelyn at 631- about the three species of Scoters, Mer - travel. 727-0417 for more information. gansers, Loons, Bufflehead and other ducks in the area. Call trip leader MaryLaura Lam - ont at 631-722-5542 for more info. THE OSPREY - January/February, 2008 3 Reports from the Field November 3: November 17: JONES BEACH STATE PARK SMITH POINT PARK & POINT LOOKOUT Quite a crowd gathered in John McNeil Smith Point Park to enjoy a The rain did not dampen four beautiful crisp day. And what a intrepid birders for making the day it was. We started in the rounds of Jones Beach State parking lot with Horned Larks, Park and Point Lookout hot and a female Ring-necked birding areas. Sally Newbert, Pheasant. Proceeded to the Tom Moran, Diana Rohan and tower that overlooks the ocean, myself explored the various where there was an array of parts of Jones Beach and Point activity, Gannets flying and Lookout for later fall and early diving, rafts of Black Scoters, winter migrants. Some notable (some spotted White-winged species observed were: Gannet, Scoters,) a small group of Snow Northern Harrier, White- Geese flew by and a Red- winged and Surf Scoter, White- throated Loon was also spotted throated Sparrow. flying by. At Point Lookout: Ruddy Proceeding to the Bay we en - Turnstone, Sanderling, Semi - countered a flock of Bufflehead, palmated Sandpiper and rafts a lone female Hooded Mer - of Scoters off the jetties. ganser and several Swans. At Robert Moses State Park, The brush was alive with Myr - the rain was coming down fast tle Warblers (ok, ok, just Yellow and hard so we abandoned our Rumps). Carl Starace, the field trip at noon. Before leav - leader, pointed out the abun - ing, I took a drive over to the dant bayberries that the birds western parking lot of Robert eat.