South Fork Natural History Society Museum walk

This morning's SOFO walk -- billed as "Breeding Birds of the Meadows and Woods" -- was focused on the open fields in back of the SOFO Museum in Bridgehampton. This area, formerly a vineyard (and hence known as Vineyard Field), is surrounded by oak woods and is part of the Long Pond Greenbelt that runs from Sagg Pond and Sagg Swamp in Sagaponack all the way north to Sag Harbor. The area contains a chain of ponds and wetlands -- mostly kettleholes from the last glaciation fed by groundwater -- surrounded by upland woods. Vineyard Field has been the object of a major effort to restore it as a grasslands habitat, including the rooting out of many (but not all) invasive plants. As it stands, however, it is not really a grasslands but what is traditionally known in these parts as Oldfield -- open farmland with invading trees. A better term might be 'savanna'-- the correct term for a meadow or grassland with emergent bushes and trees. Although there's a tendency to associate savanna with Africa, it's a real and well-defined habit in many parts of the world, Eastern North America and even Long Island definitely included. Some of my favorite birds are partial to savanna habitat and, curiously enough, even as woodland and grassland species decline, many savanna species -- once common, then later routed by the conversion of savanna to farmland -- are now making a striking comeback. These were some of the best birds of the morning: Indigo Bunting (at least three males seen, with two of them singing on widely separate edges of the field), Orchard Oriole (the name itself suggests its habitat preference) and Warbling Vireo (a major comeback species and also recognized by song). Another feature of this habitat is its popularity with swallows, nesting on the museum buildings (Barn Swallows), bird boxes generously scattered about (Tree Swallows) and a group of gourds (which have, after years of trying, finally attracted a small colony of Purple Martins); Bank Swallow was also seen. Prominent flycatchers in this habitat are Eastern Phoebe and Eastern Kingbird (Eastern Wood-pewee was in the woodland at the far end of the open meadow). Kingbird, a famously pugnacious flycatcher, was seen first thing in the morning escorting a high-flying but potentially dangerous Cooper's Hawk off the premises. Other raptors were Osprey (two or three seen flying across) and Red-tailed Hawk, nesting in the vicinity and heard a number of times but not actually seen. And, of course, the more familiar birds of meadow habitat -- Northern Mockingbird, American Robin, Red-winged Blackbirds and Common Grackle, all seen in numbers. Cedar Waxwings were seen several times, not in their usual small flocks, but singly and in pairs; they are, no doubt, starting to nest even as other birds are finishing their nesting duties and watching their fledglings take off. Not many actual forest birds were seen or heard. There was singing Red-eyed Vireo, Baltimore Orioles with noisy young, and, oddly enough, Blue Jays in the woods where they are almost certainly nesting. Missing were the more-or-less expected 'T-birds': Towhee, Thrasher and Thrushes.

In addition to the birds, there were two or three Box Turtles and a number of butterflies including Monarch (there's a lot of Common Milkweed and Butterfly Weed in the field), Common Wood-Nymph, Pearl Crescent, sulphurs and a Halloweeen Pennant, a striking dragonfly with striped wings.

There was a nice turnout which included Frank Quevedo, the new director of SOFO.

Eric Salzman