an addendum

In spite of the fact that I already signed off for 2012, I did also say that I might occasionally file on something of interest. Perhaps this post falls into that category.

The release of two of my Labor/Naxos CD albums -- "The Nude Paper Sermon" and the four pieces that make up "Wiretap" (Helix, Wiretap, Larynx Music and Queens Collage) -- took place right in the middle of Hurricane Sandy! These are music-theater works: a big one for actor, Renaissance ensemble, singing voices and electronic sounds (with Stacy Keach and the Nonesuch Ensemble conducted by Josh Rifkin) and four shorter works, also featuring voices in various forms.

Even though they've just been released now, there are already some great notices. The best one is William Gibson's article in the current issue of "Signal to Noise"; I can send anyone who's interested a complete copy. But you can also get more information, hear excerpts, read reviews and find out how to order from the Labor Records site .

There's also background on these releases and the earlier "Civilization & Its Discontents" on my web site .

Hope everyone survived the storm(s) in good shape.

Cheers!

Eric Salzman

goodbye to 2012!

2012 still has a couple of months to run but our May-November East Quogue sojourn is over for the year. We survived Sandy but now have packed up and moved back to Brooklyn.

A quick rundown of this year's most notable bird events would have to include the several sightings of Bald Eagles both in the spring and in the fall, the number of rails passing through the marsh (mostly only heard but including Virginia and Clapper Rails and, most probably, Yellow Rail), a number of species new to the property (Rusty Blackbird, Short-billed Dowitcher, Olive-sided Flycatcher, Pine Siskin) or rather rare (Wilson's Snipe, Caspian Tern, several Philadelphia Vireos). The influx of large numbers of Red-breasted Nuthatches, Pine Siskins and American Goldfinches was striking and might be an advance cohort of northern finches. Plenty of Yellow-rumped Warblers, Dark-eyed Juncos and White-throated Sparrows came in towards the end of October setting the stage for an interesting winter to follow (by others, not, alas, by me).

From time to time, I'll post occasional items that I hope will be of interest in the coming months. Otherwise see you next spring!

Eric Salzman

Mike Bottini asked me to post the announcement of the first Long Island Natural History Conference which will take place Friday, November 16, and Saturday, November 17. The Friday session will be in Berkner Auditorium at the U.S. Department of Energy’s Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, NY, and will comprise a dozen presentations by leading Long Island wildlife biologists and naturalists and a keynote presentation by Peter Alden, author of the Audubon Society's regional field guide series.The conference is open to the general public and promises to be the largest regional forum for researchers, natural resource managers, students, and naturalists to present and exchange current information on the varied aspects of applied field biology (freshwater, marine, and terrestrial) and natural history of Long Island. It will serve as a premier venue to identify research and management needs, foster friendships and collegial relationships, and encourage a greater region-wide interest in Long Island’s natural history by bringing together people with diverse backgrounds. The conference is a project of the newly formed Long Island Nature Organization, committed to promoting nature studies on Long Island by sponsoring specific projects, providing opportunities like the conference to increase communication among wildlife researchers, managers, and the general public, and building a web-based clearing house for Long Island Natural History information. To view the conference schedule and to register, go to LongIslandNature.org

Sandy

Hurricane Sandy hit us pretty hard starting on Monday, the 29th of October, with a good-sized morning high tide in which the pond and marsh overflowed their banks. The electricity went out about 3:30 in the afternoon (the phones went out later) and the winds kept increasing all day with boffo hurricane gusts and a second high tide after dark that pushed the water about two-thirds of the way up the open field toward the house. Oddly enough, the clouds mostly dissipated revealing the full moon that was not only collaborating in this apocalypse but also lighting it up. A setting for a scary early Hallowe'en opera.

Well the water did not reach the house but the dawn's not-so-early light revealed the piles of wrack and debris covering the area and stretching from one patch of woods to the other. However there was surprisingly little tree damage around the house (I'll have to survey the general damage to the property later on when things are more accessible).

I did manage to do a little birding in the morning but my conclusion is that Sandy caused a lot of trouble with few rewards. Unlike Irene (which produced some wonderful tropical and pelagic birds including a Bridled Tern right on the creek), there was no real exotica in sight. I did see a Lesser Blackback Gull riding out the storm along with the Laughing, Ring-bill, Herring and Greater Black-back Gulls perched on what remained of the Aldrich Boatyard docks and there were several raptors in sight: a Cooper's Hawk and two or three Merlins (chasing, of all things, Rock Doves a.k.a. Domestic Pigeons, and reminding me that Merlins used to be called Pigeon Hawks!). There were flocks of Dark-eyed Juncos and various sparrows investigating the tidal wrack for whatever it was that they were able to find. Blue Jays were also investigating the tidal wrack, apparently finding acorns that had been blown off the trees.

The tide finally fell back on Tuesday afternoon and by Wednesday we were able to pack up and head for the city as originally planned.

Eric Salzman