Sunday November 4 @11:00 this morning I rode  my bicycle up to the Big Club. The golf course is closed now and hunting for pheasants is in progress. I hear shots sounding and note both pheasant and coyote tracks on the beach. The remains of cactus plants are evident here as well as on  other Southerly facing sites-except for Isabella. I have asked about this unusual find –I am told the plants are found in Georgia and the Carolinas.

Baby Sand Dollars have continued to grow larger-I find a larger specimen hidden in the white sands.

I travel farther up Island and climb down on the South shore of boulders. The water is completely calm and flat and I am looking for spouts of passing whales. A large seal bobs up and down spying at me. I am assuming because of its almost 7 ft. length and horse shaped head it is a Gray seal. He is just as curious as I am and for 20 minutes dives and returns to the surface always keeping an eye on me. I can hear his exhale. It is just so still today, hardly a ripple. I spot a Loon as I am leaving-a lonely song follows me.

 

Saturday November 3: Hungry Point, my first look at the Island’s northern side since “Sandy” I think this site is the most diverse and active for my wildlife viewing. There is still enough sand area left that I can make out raccoon tracks heading inland. Another “new” beachscape as the shrubbery has been up rooted or shoved back.

Friday November 2: Late afternoon on Chocomount Beach. There is a dramatic change in the topography here. The debris field is not as “heavy” with trash accumulation as seen on South Beach. I do note the trash has been shoved back as far as across the pond on the western tip. Mounds of rocks minus ANY sand make my favorite spots unrecognizable.

Thursday November 1: It is late morning and I have trekked down the once dirt road that leads to Race Rock (Point).The road is blocked with a “CLOSED sign now, I have a tough time getting through even riding on my bike. Like most of the circumference of the Island, it looks as though topography of beaches has shifted dramatically-here it has jumped onto the airport runway. The Ocean’s ferocity poured onto the dirt road access. The marine debris field is enormous, loaded with huge logs and shredded tree limbs, trees, telephone poles, and ripped docks. I am swamped in eel grass and sink with each step. There is trash of all types and from who knows where. My senses are shocked by the foreign seascape in front of me.  A mountain of rocks and sand has been shoved down the runway where race Point “broke down” and collapsed during the storm. I do note cactus here in the tide line and more than a few “treasures” or “ another man’s trash” perhaps from the old Fort Wright dumping station.

My senses are a bit overwhelmed at the enormity of change that has occurred on the beaches of Fishers Island during the aftermath of this hurricane. Mostly because I have been out and about exploring and monitoring them weekly (sometimes daily) over the last year and a half. Like someone ferociously shook the “Etch o Sketch” picture…. 

South Beach @ 1:30pm -2:45pm: I am noting that in the past it normally took a half hour or so to walk and monitor this beach site. This afternoon I have spent over an hour just surveying the enormous mass of the debris field.  I note tons of trash, lumber, and seaweed. There is an endless mass of tiny plastic particles and Styrofoam. Plastic everything from cigar holders to tampon applicators, bottles to kid’s toys and lawn furniture, crib toys, shoes, highway signage, commercial fishing gear, tires from tractors and cars, an ice machine! Hundreds of golf balls, even interestingly enough- cactus plant remains along the tidal line. I spot familiar coyote tracks along with the 4 neighborhood crows. There is hardly a breeze today. Quiet.

Hay Harbor @ 4:45pm: The tide is low and there is a calm breeze over the Island. I notice that part of the old dock has been uplifted and washed away-its foundation visible. The tidal line and debris stretches towards the lower parking lot. While there appears to be drastic change in the coastal topography for this season, I sense the wildlife community has taken “Sandy” all in stride…2 Blue Herons continue to argue for their territorial rights with the Cormorant flock out on the rock “clumps”. A lone Coyote leaves tracks along the inner harbor sands, the ferry (back on schedule) heads for New London

2012 has been a fantastic year for the Fishers Island Conservancy. The Conservancy has continued to fund and expand our existing programs while taking on several bold new initiatives thus further expanding our mission.

While we continue our core responsibilities of mosquito control, beach monitoring and clean up, water testing on and around the island, invasive plant education and control, and continued outreach within the Long Island sound community, the Conservancy has launched and funded our grants program to stimulate and encourage environmental research education and related studies.

Starting this fall, we awarded one of our first grants to an island resident, Justine Kibbe . She will serve as our resident naturalist and will be responsible for observing, monitoring, collecting and recording data related to all things environmental on Fishers Island from weather observations to wildlife sightings and tracking. Through her field observations, we will get a concise picture of what is happening environmentally on Fishers Island and what we can do as a community to enhance and protect our precious ecosystem. We look forward to sharing this information with all of you.

We are very excited to announce that the Habitat Committee, whose restoration work is in evidence around the grasslands at the airport and parade grounds, has been brought under our charter. With the help of volunteers and other island support, more than 35 acres have been reclaimed, plowed and over seeded with native grasses. Not only has this resulted in an overwhelming victory against invasive species such as Japanese Knotweed and Kudzu but we have seen an increase in birdlife not enjoyed on Fishers Island for years. Late last summer, the grasslands provided a cornucopia for migrating warblers and other birds as they stopped to feed on seeds and insects before heading to warmer climates. Listening to their varied and lovely calls is a true delight. I hope that it is only a matter of time before we hear the once familiar call of the Bob White quail. As I write, there are plans to expand and enhance the Parade Grounds / Airport grasslands project thus continuing the Conservancy’s commitment to the natural environment.

Lastly, once again we have teamed up with other island organizations and individuals to spearhead a coastal study of the south side of Fishers Island. This study will give us an idea about the trends in erosion patterns of our vulnerable south coast and how we can prepare for potential changes to our fragile shores. Stay tuned as this project evolves.

As you can see the Conservancy has been very busy this year and we show no signs of slowing down. We have dramatically increased our commitment to Fishers Island so as we close out our year, I ask you to please consider making a generous gift to the Fishers Island Conservancy. A gift to the Conservancy is a gift to Fishers Island, a truly special place that deserves our love and support.

Cheers and thanks.

Tom Sargent
Preisdent, Fishers Island Conservancy

 3:20pm: The wooded area surrounding the house where I am living has started to explode. Trees are snapping and toppling left and right. Branches whip at the windows as leaves are plastered against the glass. A blanket of humid sea air has swathed the house as the furious winds funnel through the gulley in the forest outside. I smell salt and raw wood. 

East Harbor@1:50pm: Fishers Island Sound appears to be bridging with Long Island Sound-waters have now surged onto the golf course.

 

 3:12pm: Electrical power is out on Fishers Island