A record-breaking heatwave did not deter nearly 450 people who attended FIConservancy’s annual Sunset on the Beach, Sat. July 20, 2019 at the Fishers Island Club Beach Club.
Archive for month: July, 2019
There are several quiet coves on the western end of Fishers Island where Eider Ducks feel quite at home and appear to be thriving this July.
I often think of our late Island Naturalist Edwin Horning’s sightings and field observations. Between 1970-75, he witnessed only eight ducks at Race Point, and only during winter months. But now I see how this diving sea duck, once thought of as a “rare” visitor from the northern tundra, has truly acclimated to climate and available healthy habitat.
This summer, you’ll see Eider Duck families nestled below the cliffs near the Naval radar station south side, or foraging just outside Silver Eel Cove’s ferry slip (Little Stony) and preening in the sultry air on beaches of Sanctuary of Sands.
From the Field, Field Note by Justine Kibbe, July 26, 2019
It has been a banner year for Fishers Island’s returning shorebirds!
Island Sentinel Marc Rosenberg took a great shot of a dusky smoothhound in shallow water off the Hay Harbor Club sailing dock in July.
The dusky smoothhound or smooth dogfish is a hound shark species. FIConservancy Naturalist Justine Kibbe reported seeing one last year and several in Hay Harbor, when she was a child.
Although these fish may appear menacing, they do not bite their food.
They differ from other sharks because their flat, blunt teeth are used to crush and grind food, like clams, marine worms and squid, rather than bite. They are relatively small and slender, about 48 inches long, but can reach up to five feet.
These fish are sometimes incorrectly labeled “sand sharks”, which are larger sharks also known as sand tiger sharks, grey nurse sharks or ragged tooth sharks. They are found worldwide in temperate and tropical waters, whereas the the dusky smoothhound is native to the entire Eastern Seaboard.
2019 Island Sentinels (l-r) Alexa Rosenberg, Marc Rosenberg, Nicholas Danforth, Gardner Thors, Nicolas Hall, Betsy Conger and Wilson Thors.
Have you been hearing more about the Fishers Island Sentinels lately? Sponsored by FIConservancy, they are a group of young students, passionate about the environment, who fan out across the Island to observe, learn and communicate the natural wonders of Fishers Island.
“The Island Sentinel program was established to promote the idea that local traditional knowledge can and should be bridged with science,” said Justine Kibbe, who founded the Island Sentinel program in 2013. “Younger generations of the Fishers Island community are empowered with the capability and capacity to contribute to the preservation and conservation of its own lands.”
FIConservancy pays annually for year-round, summer and/or magnet students at FI School, who become part of a committed team mentored by Justine. They collect data, walking or bicycling to 10 Island sites, including Dock Beach, South Beach, Hay Harbor, Silver Eel Cove, Race Point, Isabella beach, Chocomount beach, East Harbor, Middle Farms pond, and the Fishers Island Club beach.
Among the Sentinels’ observations are weather, wildlife, seaweed, marine/human debris, human presence, current activity at the site, and any general changes or inconsistencies. The Sentinels record data, which is collected in a database currently being developed for access on the Conservancy’s website.
A pair of American oystercatchers has been spotted recently in the area near the airport known to the Island Sentinels as the Sanctuary of Sands. They return to the Sanctuary almost every day. Above is a watercolor illustration of one of these birds by Sentinel Alexa Rosenberg.
As their name suggests, the diet of an oystercatcher consists mainly of oysters, mussels and other bivalves. Recognizable by its black head, white and brown plumage, and bright red beak, the oystercatcher is about the size of a crow. These birds are uncommon on Fishers Island and are found only along the coast so keep your eyes peeled!
Audubon has identified the American oystercatcher, which is protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act, as a climate-threatened bird. Its population totals a mere 11,000 birds on the East Coast.
Alexa Rosenberg, Fishers Island Sentinel
The Thors front yard is now home to about seven fast-growing third generation monarch caterpillars!
Devouring no less than three stocks of milkweed, they will soon move into their chrysalides and transform into butterflies.
Such a sight and process in my own front yard is not an everyday occurrence, and I’m curious to see where these creatures end up.
Wilson Thors, Fishers Island Sentinal
2018 Marine Debris Tent
“Conservation on Parade” is back! Enjoy the Free Family Event Sat. Aug. 3, 3-6 p.m. at the Parade Grounds. Enter through the Demonstration Garden.
Learn about local wildlife through hands-on discovery. Have an up-close visit with a bird of prey, touch turtles and snakes, meet frogs, see and touch feathers, furs and many other natural items.
Don’t miss face painting and an even bigger ice cream truck, and stop by for wine, beer and lemonade.
Also, in case you missed it, there is a second opportunity to see, “Take Back the Harbor”. The 39-minute film will screen in a continuous loop at the movie theater during “Conservation on Parade”. The documentary follows students from the Harbor School in New York City as they work in New York Harbor and travel to Fishers Island to learn about growing oysters as part of the Billion Oyster Project, an unprecedented program to restore once-bountiful oysters to New York Harbor.
It was a cloudy quiet day on Fishers Island, as grass and dirt rested between soft rain showers. As I rode down the hill west of the oyster farm, I spotted an idle shape above me, a bird perched on one of the Four Corners’ telephone poles.
At first glance, I thought it was the bird all of us on Fishers know and love—the Osprey. As I passed the pole, however, looking back to admire the animal’s summer coat, I spotted the telltale…tail of a hawk.
Rust red feathers emerged from under the bird’s closed wings. Only then did I know for sure that this was not the Osprey but in fact a Red-Tailed Hawk waiting and surveying for its dinner.
Gardner Thors, Fishers Island Sentinel
