– Field Note by Justine Kibbe August 30, 2017.
Late August, Fishers Island Recreational Bike Path, 06390.
Summer has flown. Shadows are getting longer; the towhee bird is not singing “drink your tea” but a sounding cicada reminds me of warmth that is nearly tinged with melancholy. I do not know where summer goes, or why this particular one has felt so fleeting, but as I pedal and coast now around Oyster Pond heading from the Big Club beach towards Race Point, I have just enough time to recollect, and find summer again.
I remember now – I laughed with early summer when a neighbor called to tell me my Significant Otter was swimming in June’s deep rain puddles right outside my cottage.
I saw summer in the smiles of IPP’s youngest nature lovers back in July while sharing local stories of Silver Eel Cove’s snoozing Black- crowned Night herons.
I also heard summer early that same month when the Conservancy hosted Doug Tallamy and Adam Mitchell who toured and talked about the unique conservation work taking place in the Parade Grounds along Fort Stretch. I’m still learning with Islanders just how invasive plants like black swallow wort and kudzu vine alter the quality of habitat for insects; and how that might affect the birds that depend on insects and native plants for food. Summer showed me the simplicity of planting milkweed as just one example towards success in bringing monarch butterflies back home to the Island. Just now, on this very bike ride I have seen more fluttering monarchs than I have in 5 years of monitoring!
I found summer’s joy and shared it in between August’s morning hours where young Island Sentinels learned how to monitor sea grass meadows from atop their paddle boards within Hay Harbor.
I laughed again, with midsummer, when I was asked to name the very local 4 ft. sand shark observed deep inside West Harbor – that somehow we Islanders have all become intimate with the same exact wildlife on a tiny island. Summer came with mink sightings (over 30 remarks!) and for the first time in over a decade, fishermen off shore spoke of waters swarming with mackerel. From a sturgeon sighting off Chocomount to a pod of dolphin north side off Clay Point Rd., summer pointed out that Fishers Island is blessed with healthy seagrass meadows.
I found summer taught me simple lessons in patience, but tougher ones in diplomacy and active stewardship. I found too though, that this particularly ephemeral summer gifted the Island and its community tribes with more respect and better practices towards conservation.
I hear the noon whistle now as I round the bend at Duck Pond and head west. If I pedal faster uphill I’ll make Race Point in five. The wind picks up, the leaves on the trees do indeed appear to clap their hands and it feels like a wondrous summer – still.
Tent Caterpillars
Featured Habitat, HabitatHappenings on the Parade Ground: Tent Caterpillars – part of the natural process.
Look around the Parade Ground and the Fishers Island Conservancy’s Demonstration Garden next to the Movie Theater and you will see many nests of tent caterpillars in the cherry trees. The caterpillars and their tents get bigger and bigger and there are fewer and fewer leaves on the cherry trees. Should we be concerned and rush out to eliminate these pests? No! Sit back and let the birds do the work.
This came in from the Conservancy’s naturalist, Adam Mitchell:
As Tom Sargent pointed out, Baltimore Orioles eat them, as do Blue Jays, Chickadees and Nuthatches. The orioles have a unique way to consume the tent caterpillars – they skin them! This helps get through the all the hair the caterpillars have. The adult caterpillars, however, are actively consumed by many birds and bats, so they are a welcome addition to the island.
Article and Photos Provided by JT Ahrens.
Feral Cats
Featured Habitat, HabitatIn the early 2000s, feral cats were a huge problem on Fishers Island, with numbers estimated to be in the hundreds. Contributing to the problem were residents and visitors who allowed their un-neutered cats to roam and breed, or left them behind when departing the Island.
Feral cats can destroy songbird populations, plus there were rumors of Island feral cat attacks on pet cats and dogs, and aggressive behavior toward children.
Responding to the problem, the Fishers Island Conservancy developed a humane response by instituting a volunteer-managed program of trap, neuter and release on the Island’s West End. Additionally, birth control pills were available to caretakers of the three main colonies of cats.
Feral cat “hot spots” were said to be the Transfer Station, the “ordinance” building near Silver Eel Pond, North Hill around to Walsh Park, near the American Legion, Pickett landfill, west of the first hole of Hay Harbor Club golf course, behind the Z&S Station, and several locations an the East End.
Fishers Island no longer has a feral cat issue. After a few years of successful catch, neuter and release, it is thought that coyotes brought an end to the problem.
Five past Noontide
Field Notes, From the Field– Field Note by Justine Kibbe August 30, 2017.
Late August, Fishers Island Recreational Bike Path, 06390.
Summer has flown. Shadows are getting longer; the towhee bird is not singing “drink your tea” but a sounding cicada reminds me of warmth that is nearly tinged with melancholy. I do not know where summer goes, or why this particular one has felt so fleeting, but as I pedal and coast now around Oyster Pond heading from the Big Club beach towards Race Point, I have just enough time to recollect, and find summer again.
I remember now – I laughed with early summer when a neighbor called to tell me my Significant Otter was swimming in June’s deep rain puddles right outside my cottage.
I saw summer in the smiles of IPP’s youngest nature lovers back in July while sharing local stories of Silver Eel Cove’s snoozing Black- crowned Night herons.
I also heard summer early that same month when the Conservancy hosted Doug Tallamy and Adam Mitchell who toured and talked about the unique conservation work taking place in the Parade Grounds along Fort Stretch. I’m still learning with Islanders just how invasive plants like black swallow wort and kudzu vine alter the quality of habitat for insects; and how that might affect the birds that depend on insects and native plants for food. Summer showed me the simplicity of planting milkweed as just one example towards success in bringing monarch butterflies back home to the Island. Just now, on this very bike ride I have seen more fluttering monarchs than I have in 5 years of monitoring!
I found summer’s joy and shared it in between August’s morning hours where young Island Sentinels learned how to monitor sea grass meadows from atop their paddle boards within Hay Harbor.
I laughed again, with midsummer, when I was asked to name the very local 4 ft. sand shark observed deep inside West Harbor – that somehow we Islanders have all become intimate with the same exact wildlife on a tiny island. Summer came with mink sightings (over 30 remarks!) and for the first time in over a decade, fishermen off shore spoke of waters swarming with mackerel. From a sturgeon sighting off Chocomount to a pod of dolphin north side off Clay Point Rd., summer pointed out that Fishers Island is blessed with healthy seagrass meadows.
I found summer taught me simple lessons in patience, but tougher ones in diplomacy and active stewardship. I found too though, that this particularly ephemeral summer gifted the Island and its community tribes with more respect and better practices towards conservation.
I hear the noon whistle now as I round the bend at Duck Pond and head west. If I pedal faster uphill I’ll make Race Point in five. The wind picks up, the leaves on the trees do indeed appear to clap their hands and it feels like a wondrous summer – still.
Demonstration Garden Moment
From the Field, Video Snippets– Video Snippet by FIConservancy Naturalist Justine Kibbe, February 15, 2018
Curious Oyster Catcher
From the Field, Video SnippetsAlongside Elizabeth Field Airport Fishers Island, sitting on a sandy sanctuary, a banded American Oyster Catcher visits me- with a tiny Killdeer just passing by!
– A Snippet from The Field by Justine Kibbe August 25, 2017
Hummingbird’s Spirit
From the Field, Video SnippetsBalanced atop a wobbly ladder, I am awe inspired with the truly delicate world of these two nestled Ruby-throated Hummingbirds.
– A Snippet from The Field by Justine Kibbe August 25, 2017.
Little Blue Heron Juvenile
From the Field, Video SnippetsA juvenile Little Blue Heron still wearing white plumage dances a bit during lunch: “leaping frog’s legs” in Madeline Pond, Fishers Island.
– A Snippet from The Field by Justine Kibbe August 25, 2017.
Japanese honeysuckle
Invasive Plants(Lonicera japonica)
Description: A perennial, twisting vine with opposite leaves that can be deciduous or evergreen. New growth will have red, fuzzy stems, whereas older stems appear tan. The flowers are white, late spring into summer, then turn yellow and bear a sweet-smelling fragrance. Black fruits develop in the fall.
Impact: This invasive was introduced in New York in the early 19th century as an ornamental that didn’t become a problem until nearly two centuries later. It’s main impact is how fast it grows, twisting and climbing over native grasses, native shrubs and even into trees. If not controlled, a mature stand of Japanese honeysuckle can girdle, choke and kill woody vegetation. Although the berries provide a food source for birds, the nutritional quality of the fruits is poor.
Management: Young shoots (this year’s growth) can be removed by hand and should be removed before June. Large swaths can be controlled with a combination of mowing (once in early summer and again in late summer) and painting stems with a topical herbicide. Mowing alone can control the invasive after multiple years. Management should occur before the plant fruits in the fall.
Japanese knotweed
Invasive Plants(Fallopia japonica)
Description: This plant has large, heart-shaped leaves and jointed, hollow stems that resemble bamboo shoots. Its ability to grow over six feet by summertime adds credence to being called “bamboo” by residents. They develop large clusters of white flowers by August, although they do not reproduce by seed.
Impact: Japanese knotweed grows so rapidly that they prevent just about anything else from growing near them. But the roots (rhizomes) are the real danger, as even a single splinter from the rhizome will regenerate the plant the following season. Shredding or composting dead knotweed, as well as driving over treated areas, can contribute to its spread throughout the Island.
Management: Management is possible, but will take multiple summers to reduce knotweed on your property to manageable levels. They key is reducing the plant’s storage of food in the root system. Cut or mow down plants in June to keep regrowth short. By August, apply foliar herbicides to reduce the plant’s ability to store energy in the winter. Plant material should be bagged or burned, not composted. Continue these steps each summer as you starve out the root system and create space for your plants.
Autumn olive
Invasive Plants(Elaeagnus umbellata)
Description: The olive’s leaves can be seen from a distance by their silvery sheen. Autumn olive has green on top and silver underneath, whereas Russian olive is entirely silver. All leaves appear scaled when up close. Young stems are silvery with brownish or orange scales that make them appear speckled. Some stems may bear large thorns. They have fragrant, yellow flowers in the spring and develop speckled red berries in the fall.
Impact: Both olives alter the chemistry of the soil where they grow, changing the kinds of plants that can enter and grow in the community, and helping the olives to persist. They also shade out younger trees by retaining their leaves into late fall. The leaves are undesirable by herbivores, including deer, and although the fruits are eaten by wildlife, they provide little nutrition.
Management: Since the tree spreads widely by seed, removing the plants before they fruit will help limit their spread. Cutting or mowing without herbicidal treatment, however, will only encourage regrowth in autumn and Russian olives. Paint cut stems when possible. Foliar sprays can be used in early spring, when the plant is leafing, or in late fall to minimize damage to native vegetation.