a Murder of Crows redux

Whenever I hear a Murder of Crows, I drop whatever I'm doing, grab the binoculars and rush out to see what the crows have discovered. The last time this happened, I never saw the object of their loud anger and decided it was probably a marauding cat. The previous time it turned out to be two adult Bald Eagles so you never know. Yesterday it was a small furry creature slinking through the grass and tumbled shrubs near the pond shore. Oh dear, another cat. But no, it was a small, somewhat ratty Red Fox!

Another note in the mammal department: Rocky Raccoon (or, more likely, his successor) has been taking his daytime siestas in the high crotch of a big old Pitch Pine just like his old man did. The occasionally noisy nighttime forays of this creature (or his confreres) set off the unfortunate middle-of-the-night barking bouts from Rimsky, our Wheaten Terrier.

The Quogue Wildlife Refuge held its annual BBQ last night and I went with my granddaughter Juliette for a kayak ride around the old ice pond. This is one of the most beautiful and unspoiled spots out here -- a veritable fairyland of water, green islands and shores (Fairy Dell is the old name for the portion of this watershed that lies south of the LIRR tracks at the head of Quantuck Bay). Quite a number of wild flowers are in flower here, notably White Azalea also known as Swamp Honeysuckle, a wetlands specialist and, if you can get close enough to it, a very fragrant plant. In drier areas, Common Milkweed and Common St. John's Wort are in bloom. The Refuge is an excellent locale for native vegetation (including orchids, sundews and pitcher plants).

Eric Salzman