Fairy dust?

Green fairy dust everywhere: all over my wet boots this morning, covering the surface of the pond like pond scum, on all the windows of the car. As I drove down a narrow back road through the pine barrens, two police cars came barreling along in the opposite direction surrounded by a halo of green dust!

Fairy dust? Well, not quite. Pitch Pine pollen has suddenly matured and the onset of dryer weather and a good bit of wind have combined to circulate the stuff throughout the landscape -- even pollinating a few pines along the way. In fact, new pitch pines are sprouting in a lot of places where fire or insects have opened up the landscape and provided a perfect entry for these hardy trees to seed in. Judging by the proliferation of our signature tree and its pollen, I would say that our Pine Barrens will remain piney for a while yet.

I went into town yesterday and while I was waiting for the train at Speonk, I heard a fancy, not-quite-recognizable song from the vegetation opposite the station -- but with no chance to find out what it was. So I ran out this morning to try and refind it but, alas, without any luck. Being in the western part of Southampton Town, I went over to the Bald Hill Trail and Hunters Garden to see what I could locate. The dirt road to Hunters Garden has been closed off to vehicles by the county but, as it happened, the gate was open and I could drive in; the members of the Hunters Garden Association were busy setting up the May edition of their semi-annual Eel Chowder. In addition to the Chowder Hunters, most of the local Pine Barrens birds were present in both places (including, notably, Eastern Wood-Pewee, Veery, many Red-eyed Vireos and singing/calling Scarlet Tanager) but not a single migrant.

In fact, there was more unusual activity back home: four Least Sandpipers landing on the shore, Least Terns fishing in the creek, a Yellow-crowned Night-Heron flying overhead, Great Crested Flycatcher out flycatching and one of the great anomalies of nature, a single Cedar Waxwing. There were several warblers: Yellow, Common Yellowthroat, Black-and-white, Northern Parula, a singing Magnolia Warbler or two and one or two other unidentified treetoppers. Alas, before I could track 'em all down, I had to leave for a doctor's appointment and by the time I got back they had shut down or left the premises.

Eric Salzman