These September afternoons have been stellar.
Cloudless sky has me lost in blue, rays of light glint off a spinnaker rippling in gusts at Race Point then bounce back curling in the waves of Queen Anne’s lace swaying here.
The choir of Crickets!
The “bizzzz” of Bumblebee, the “whizzz” of Dragonfly the sigh of Government Bell bouy…..
Wild Firewheels with radiant petals nestle the shifting shadows of autumn.
Come.
Sit on the Parade Grounds.
Nature marches forth here.
Summer, I glanced and saw you at five past Noontide.
Summer, I heard you whiz by on wings of Dragonfly
Summer, your scent wafted by both sweet and bitter
Summer?
Is that you I felt?
I have been privileged to live in several different cottages here on Island both during winter and summer months. It’s a whole new learning of different habitat for local wildlife and for myself-new birds to identify in the yard, new and quickly becoming familiar faces to wave to during a much longer bicycle commute, fumbling to find different light switches (at night) memorizing and dodging different sprinkler systems (in morning) and with all the change, I remember to keep my Naturalist sense of humor too……
A couple field notes back I was thrilled at the prospect of a coyote den under floorboards of a back bedroom. I didn’t think it was entirely impossible, as I was convinced I heard a small canine voice bark whenever I came home. So real was this Wild Kingdom vision in my thoughts that Larry Horn was asked for advice….even he thought snarly baby raccoons was more probable, and promptly dimmed my dream of writing “My Side of the Island” with a falcon holding steady on my handle bars and neighborly coyotes returning my lost (but still chewed) glove.
For weeks, I heard this “baby-something” yapping in the early morn and late eve and then its lonely midnight crying during thunderstorms.
When Julian from Z&S crawled around the dirt space under the cottage confirming no such den- only a petrified acorn on a windowsill, I began to tap walls and flash lights under broken shingles imagining I am now coaxing a hungry chattering squirrel trapped and constantly calling for Mama!
Then there were late night Googles of animal sounds from barking rabbits to growling rodents, and I can’t forget the many scat photos I collected and listed on Favorites.
Most of all I envisioned a wildlife rescue, so I kept up with roadside consulting with Race Rock Garden Co.’s Carl Scroxton and anyone else who would listen.
There must have been a bit of prayerful thought too as my last rescue attempt was laughingly described to Karl Eirikssen of Church On The Rock. I told him “Now I am hearing this strange barking all times during the day!”
Shortly afterwards, Karl came to investigate and climbed down into the dark under the cottage.
“There is a small puddle down here and look who is in it!”
He handed me a beautiful and ever so patient frog-an uncommon Northern Leopard frog which deserves its very own field note.
I quickly released my friend, my wild menagerie…..
For now, the croaks on me!!!
There it was, rising like Mount Kilimanjaro up out of a tiny cove Sound side.
Without missing a beat I dubbed the site “Mount Kilimanguano”. This poop-capped rock is a rest for local Cormorants reaching their great ascent of over population and its resulting overload of nitrogen “dumping” grounds.
Just peer through your binoculars at South Dumpling and you’ll see the bare bones devastation nesting Cormorants have caused.
While I am not making these sea birds out to be villains-I realize they are high on some eradication lists out there- over the decades Cormorant colonies have dealt a blow to our Fishers Island Sound.
The Scoop: Highly acidic content of guano changes soil chemistry, kills vegetation, and irreversibly damages nesting trees. Increased erosion results, especially on sand spits and barrier beaches.
The Scoop: Cormorants are opportunistic-vying for nest territory-competing with our (remaining) local Common and Least Terns.
The Scoop: Cormorants are adaptable foragers-feeding and feeding! on a variety of fish species.
The Scoop: Cormorants along with their poop are documented in abundance at all 12 sites monitored here on Fishers Island.
Back in June 1975, our premier Island Naturalist Ed Horning published a small pamphlet: Fishers Island Birds. Its intention was to document the distribution and occurrence of bird species between a five year period from 1970-1975.
Nearly 40 years later I am savoring each moment of data that Ed jotted down.
Very much like monitoring Island sites today, the guide mentions familiar, local Island habitat, rare and common bird species documented seasonally, plus a map so any birder might expect to note an observation again.
A bit of natural history that back then recorded trends in species population data.
Take Ed Horning’s note on Common Eider: In 1970, sightings were rare and if they did occur it was only between December and January. But during the five years that Ed “monitored” habitat like Race Point, 6-10 ducks were sighted!
Imagine now, all these years later Common Eider are even more common!
In fact they congregate south side at Isabella and Chocomount and stretch north side now from the castle down….nearly all year!
Monitoring local Common Eider ducks in 2014, I noted they swam still long enough to see them change WITH the seasons.
Lately, I have been listening very intently to things that go “thump in the night”.
This eerie intermittent growling….
It’s not my stomach, because I have had a midnight snack.
No dogs hiding under the bed.
I toss and turn a bit. In my wildest wildlife imagination maybe there is a litter of Coyote pups in a den under this cottage? The lone Coyote’s tracks I document followed me back from East Harbor and “gifted” me!
I see so many Rabbits on the Island that I tend not to notice them-I really do, but it’s just not like counting Harbor seals. I think if Rabbits all hauled out on big rocks off Hungry Point I would have a better chance at getting a realistic number!
I am grateful though, that Harbor seals don’t dart out in front of me while bicycle riding The Recreational Path.
Rabbits build “warrens” or burrows with connecting tunnels.
And I am learning that just like with the abundance of “everything else” Rabbits do-they “talk” a lot!
For this Barn Swallow Dad…
Helped diligently feed his brood, then
Gracefully flew off to The Golf Course!
The scent of a new born blossom,
The skin of a well worn tree,
Smooth stones ever becoming
Sand,
Oh, Blue Sky!
The eons have been good to you.
Walk the Wrack Line by all means up at The Big Club Beach.
You will see tiny sand flea crustaceans (Amphipods) hiding beneath strands of Eel grass and hopping off rich colored Kelps. These creatures are an important food source for shorebirds weaving in and out of the waves in this tidal zone
Tread lightly here too.
The other afternoon I observed a Piping Plover pair-“members” wading on the Wrack Line enjoying lunch.
A threatened species, the Piping Plover population has declined with increased human development and recreation along coastal habitat.
Beachgoers should be alert to this Plover’s defining of territory boundaries.
The birds will often flap around feigning a broken wing to distract “enemies” from nesting grounds. Mostly though, adult Piping Plovers will walk then stop, walk then stop again to avoid detection-blending into the beach background.
**Please remember to keep all dogs on leash during this nesting season!
After an evening of documenting mating Horseshoe Crabs in East Harbor (this is the month to view Limulus Love!) sneaking up on a rare pair of Piping Plovers at The Big Club, and then nearly tripping over an Eastern painted turtle laying her eggs-I arrived home feeling a little tuckered out. Maybe I am taking this Island “monitoring” too seriously, I thought.
But then I burst out laughing as I looked up to see this Tree Swallow perched on the computer monitor!
Evidently, I am not the only one……….