Sounds of the night

Screech Owl paid us a visit last night; I could hear it calling outside our bedroom in the middle of the night -- the downward slurring sound (like a horse neighing) and the low trills). Earlier in the evening, not long after sunset, there was an early Katydid that made a few calls to remind us that August is almost here.

Sounds of the night! I have been looking at and listening to a "Guide to Night-singing Insects of the Northeast" by one John Himmelman. This is a field guide (with illustrations) that includes recordings of some 69 species; a dozen or so occur only from New Jersey south but many of the others are potential LI residents. The pictures and descriptions of these insects are quite detailed but not very helpful since you hardly ever actually see any of these beasts but the recordings are very helpful. The two easy ones are the chirping Fall Field Cricket (there is also a Spring Field Cricket with the same 'chirp') and the Common True Katydid. But there are a lot of new ones to be discovered. There is, for instance, a late-afternoon call that goes on into the darkness and is very similar to the Dog-day Cicada but lacks the crescendo and decrescendo that introduces and finishes off the cicada song. I always thought it was some kind of variant of the cicado but now I think it might be the Robust Conehead Katydid. There is also a high-pitched whine that I hear both day and night that is likely to be the Carolina Ground Cricket. I believe, although I am not certain, that the ground crickets sing both day and night and, although Himmelman doesn't say so, that ought to be true of the Carolina Ground Cricket as well as its congeners.

I'm good at identifying bird songs but the insect songs are a whole new new set of challenges, a whole new aural world to conquer -- or, at least, to get to know!

Eric Salzman

bit of a ruckus, big accipiter

A bit of a ruckus this morning among the jays and crows at the head of the marsh was followed by a large raptor flying out, along the woodland edge just in front of the trees and then vanishing into the woods. It was a big accipiter with a long tail, a bulky striped body and broad wings. I got no impression of color on the breast striping and my first thought was that it was a young Goshawk! That would have been a Wow! However the striping was horizontal and this fact (plus the probabilities) would point to an adult female Cooper's (the reddish coloration of the breast striping being not always so obvious). I went searching for the bird in the direction of its flight but I found nothing. It might have continued on to some other location but even if it perched, it could be well hidden inside the woods and difficult to find (unless discovered by the jays and crows).

There are at least four Green Herons around -- probably two adults and two young (I never did find the nest but it must have been somewhere in the area). Also the faithful Yellow-crowned Night Heron was in the pond -- at least until I arrived.

Eric Salzman

that Bartok Song Sparrow song again

A few years ago we had a Song Sparrow that had a very original signature song that started with a descending series of chromatic notes -- down the scale of white notes and black -- before the typical final flourish (most Song Sparrows begin their songs with repeated notes). We called them Bartok Sparrows after the Hungarian composer who was fond of those falling chromatic note sequences. The birds seemed to have passed on their musical predilections to several succeeding generations before this musical idea disappeared from the local sparrow repertoire. Now, after several years of absence, it has reappeared in the form of an alternate song of a particular male sparrow (he's always in the same spot so I assume it's always the same bird). Will it catch on again? We'll see.

A quiet midmorning -- previously notable only for the Song Sparrows and the chuck and cluck of a flock of Common Grackles -- was transformed by a song contest between two Carolina Wrens. These birds are still defending their territories on each side of the house and they are the most sexually active of all the local birds. The other day, I found a complete nest constructed under the cover of our propane tank. This nest, which wasn't there only a few days earlier, must have been built in a very short time. There were no eggs inside the hollow side opening; perhaps it was only a dummy nest (male wrens of different species are known to build dummy nests perhaps to forestall other males from using potential nesting holes). Whatever the intention, I had to clear it out before anything more serious took place. It certainly didn't seem to stop the birds which appear to be in full court press (hence all the singing) with nest building and egg laying not far behind. This would be at least their third brood of the year!

A Lesser Yellowlegs came bopping in over the marsh and landed in the muddy marsh opening in the middle while I was standing a few feet away. No other shore birds appeared but the usual herons and egrets are around including Great Blue and Green Herons. On the creek, Forster's and Least Terns continue to dominate with occasional visits from Royal and Common Terns.

The Chesterfield crane is gone. If it had remained any longer I'm sure the Ospreys would have started to construct a nest on top!

Eric Salzman

from one side of the bay to the other

I took my granddaughter Juliette to her swimming lesson at Tiana Beach yesterday morning and hung around watching the birds just off the east end of the town park. The tide was very high -- Dune Road was flooded most of the way down -- and there were many fewer shorebirds than had been seen a week earlier. The dominant birds were still Short-billed Dowitchers with fair numbers of Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers plus Sanderlings, Ruddy Turnstones, Black-bellied, Piping and Semipalmated Plovers. There was a group of about a dozen Royal Terns and a few Common and Least Terns plus the usual gulls (including Laughing Gulls) but no Forster's Terns. Also American Oystercatchers and Willets. At one point, a flock of plump long-winged, short-billed shorebirds came silently by; I'm fairly sure they were Red Knots.

Belted Kingfishers have been on the creek for the past two days. This bird, formerly common on Weesuck Creek, used to breed in the sand quarries north of East Quogue but I believe that they no longer do so, probably because of the continuing expansion of the sand mines. Yellow-crowned Night Heron continues to frequent the pond edge and there are at least two Green Herons and a Great Blue Heron in the area. Forster's Tern is now regular on the creek including birds that are clearly flying juveniles.

On the marsh, Seaside Dragonlets are everywhere with many identifiable females (all black) and males (with varying amounts of yellow). The only other common dragonfly (in much smaller numbers) is the Halloween Pennant which may be breeding here. Among land animals only Raccoon (often active and noisy in the daytime) and Box Turtle are often seen; there are deer but they are way down in numbers. Notable by their absence are the Muskrats (their burrows on the west bank of the pond were all caved in by Sandy) and Cottontail Rabbits (also possibly victims of the storm).

Eric Salzman

a new breeder for the bay?

Things have come to the point where, at least in recent days, Forster's Terns are more common on Weesuck Creek than Common or Least. For starters, their calls are noticeably different from the Common Tern and generally come in single syllables (the Common Tern usually says 'keee-eer' in two notes). This makes it easy to tell when they're flying up the creek. This morning, right after the rain, it was even easier because there were several Forster's in several plumages perched on top of a boat and on dock pilings at Aldrich Boat Yard (just north of us) and fishing nearby. These included a bird or two in adult breeding plumage (yellow/orange bill with a black tip, full black cap, light gray mantle with flashing white primaries), adult non-breeding and possible first year birds (both with black face patches) and two perched juveniles with brown backs being attended by an adult with a fish.

I have never seen juveniles in such fresh plumage before and I have the idea that it does not last long, making it clear that these were very young birds indeed. The presence of fledglings with brown backs together with adults still in breeding plumage suggests very strongly that Forster's Terns are breeding in the area, mostly likely on the other side of the bay. In recent years we have been seeing adults and young birds that come up from the west and south in late summer but these post-breeding birds have already lost both their black caps (the adults) and brown backs (the youngsters).

Have Forster's Terns been formally confirmed as breeders on the East End? They are very likely breeding at Cupsogue on Moriches Bay and I suppose these flying young (possibly only fledged a few days) could have come over from there. I suspect that it is more likely that they are from the south side of Shinnecock where there are many tern-nesting islands. In any case, Forster's is the most southerly in range of all our medium-sized terns and its range expansion north (and, on LI, to the northeast) is yet another symptom of climate change!

A striking visitation of the morning: an adult Yellow-crowned Night Heron running up and down on our neighbor's dock just outside the mouth of our pond. The tide was pretty high but I am not sure what our friend was doing on the dock -- perhaps using the hard wood to help mash up a delicious crab (we have Blue, Spider and Fiddler; I've only tasted the first-named but I think the heron dines on all three).

Eric Salzman

Red-faced me

My face is red.

There was a big racket down at the water yesterday afternoon and I raced down in my bare feet to look for the Bald Eagle that I was sure must have been the cause of all the excitement. It took me a while to find anything but eventually I spotted it sitting on a dead tree on the opposite shore of the creek. So I ran back to the house for the spotting scope and alerted everyone that there was a Bald Eagle on the creek. Of course, by the time I got back to the pond and set up the scope, the Bald Eagle had metamorphosed into an Osprey. Amazing!

Not that there weren't some other nice birds around: Yellow-crowned Night Heron, Green Heron, Great Egrets in numbers, a Royal Tern or two, several Forster's Tern in adult and juvenile plumage, Least Terns and the usual gulls and crows. An Eastern Kingbird appeared on the shore and perched for a while before taking off across the creek; this species, which formerly bred on the property, has been scarce in recent years -- in fact, this was the first one this year.

Eric Salzman

post-Sandy Germander

My daughter Eva has been down at the pond in the evenings where she has seen flocks of what she thought might be bats or swifts. When I went down last night, all I saw were swallows (mostly Barn) and Purple Martins but they indeed put on an astounding aerial show above and around the pond, over the marsh and the nearby woods.

A Red-bellied Woodpecker has discovered that he can make a rousing rattle by hitting on the house gutter. One of them was at it this morning, accompanied by two other birds -- a female and a fledgling. The other woodpeckers were active as well: Flickers at the edge of the marsh, Hairy and Downy in the nearby woods.
Several Great Egrets and a Great Blue Heron were roosting in the trees at the edge, waiting for the tide to fall.

Germander or Wood Sage is blooming around the edge of the marsh. I was worried that Sandy had wiped out this rather delicate wild flower from the mint family (it has a rather striking pink flower with the stamens cutting through the upper lip); this should be the variety littorale which grows by the shore and there are a few rather hardy-looking specimens coming up. Queen Anne's Lace is blooming widely along with other aliens or garden escapes (Rudbeckias of the Black-eyed Susan types).

Eric Salzman

Royalty on the creek

I could hear the call while still in bed early this morning: the first Royal Terns moving up Weesuck Creek. There were two or three Royals at Tiana Beach the other day but this was the first time this year that they were seen and heard on this side of the bay as these big, orange-billed terns reconnoitered up the creek making their characteristic rippling sounds. I expect to see them by the third week in July; in other words. they were right on schedule. Royal Terns breed south of us so, unlike the shorebird migration which started at the beginning of July, this is a 'reverse migration'; the birds move south to north as they spread out along the coast with their newly fledged young looking for fresh fishing grounds.

A rarely seen mammal turned up -- literally -- the other day. It's easy to tell when there are moles around (I'm not talking about the CIA or NKVD variety but the common Eastern garden species) but you only rarely see them above ground. This one, as soon as he saw me, burrowed right back under and disappeared.

I also found Rocky Raccoon on a new daytime perch in one of the surviving oaks near the head of the marsh. His old favorite perch in a big Pitch Pine was lost when Sandy tore off a big branch and eliminated the high crotch which was long his favored sleeping spot.

Eric Salzman

the start of another hot day

A female or young hummingbird -- a Ruby-throated no doubt -- showed up this morning at the head of the marsh. This is the place where I normally see hummingbirds but I am not sure if this is a local bird or an early migrant. I have never been able to confirm hummingbird nesting around here although it does nest in our area.

All four woodpeckers (Downy, Hairy, Red-bellied and Flicker) continue to be active; the Hairy and Downy appear to travel together -- not entirely surprising considering how closely they resemble each other. Also the White-breasted Nuthatch (a kind of honorary woodpecker) is still around, giving itself away with its occasional nuthatch honks.

As for waterbirds, the two Osprey (the young couple) spend every night side by side at the top of the Chesterfield crane which continues to sit on its barge just outside the mouth of the pond. A single Green Heron is usually out there somewhere and calling suggesting that there is a nest nearby. Spotted Sandpiper has been on the pond for the past week or so; like the hummingbird, this could be a local bird (they are rare nesters on Eastern LI) but I suspect that it may have come in with the early July shorebird burst that brought in hundreds of Short-billed Dowitchers and other birds down at the shore.

A strange chip sound turned out to be a young Catbird (easily identified by its 'smile' mark on the bill and its streaky plumage). Lots of other young birds around: Robins, Orioles, etc.

Eric Salzman

SOFO/ELIAS walks

Two ELIAS walks in two days!

Today's 'walk' was along Dune Road starting at Shinnecock Inlet where the bird of the day was a large shearwater just off the Inlet jetties fishing with gulls and terns; bowed wings, white underwings outlined in black and a mottled brownish upper side without outstanding white indicated a Cory's Shearwater. There was also a distant Northern Gannet in juvenile plumage and two Black Scoters right by the near jetty.

Stops at the old Ponquogue Bridge, Tiana Beach, Pike's Beach and the Pike's Beach overlook produced pretty much the same birds seen all week: many Common Terns, a very few Forster's Terns, good numbers of Short-billed Dowitchers, Least and Semipalmated Sandpipers, Sanderlings, a few Black-bellied Plovers, a few Ruddy Turnstones, lots of Willets and Am Oystercatchers, several Piping Plovers and a single Semipalmated Plover, the regular gulls (including Laughing Gulls), Glossy Ibis, many egrets of both flavors, two or three Great Blue Herons and a flying Little Blue Heron, the latter being the first one I've seen this year. The day's list also included Yellow Warbler and Common Yellowthroat, Boat-tailed Grackle and a continuing movement of swallows along the barrier beach.

One bird of note that I forgot to mention the other day was a Bobwhite, calling persistently at Tiana Beach as it worked its way through the dune vegetation. This once-common species has become a rarity on Long Island, its last stronghold in New York. It was great to hear one calling even if we never actually saw it.

Saturday morning was the 2nd annual joint walk by SOFO (South Fork Natural History Museum) and ELIAS (Eastern LI Audubon Society) in SOFO's back yard -- the big meadow adjoining the Greenbelt between Bridgehampton and Sag Harbor. This meadow, which has a checkered history as farmland and a vineyard, is being restored to pristine condition under the auspices of the Friends of the Long Pond Greenbelt. This is the second year that I have led this walk and, with both SOFO and ELIAS people signed up, it had almost two dozen participants. Once again, the star performer was the Indigo Bunting, a beautiful bird which continues to sing well into the summer; there is no better spot on LI for this species. There were at least three or four birds on territory, spread all around the meadow and singing persistently. At least one female and a young bird was also seen.

There was also a nice list of familiar woodland edge and meadow birds including all three mimids (Mockingbird, Brown Thrasher, Gray Catbird), three warblers (Common Yellowthroat, Yellow Warbler and Blue-winged Warbler), both wrens (Carolina and House, both singing vigorously), three swallows (Barn, Bank and Purple Martin), Cedar Waxwings, one flycatcher (Eastern Phoebe), three icterids (Red-winged Blackbird, Baltimore Oriole and Brown-headed Cowbird), two raptors (Osprey and Red-tailed Hawk), a couple of over-flying gulls, at least two Chimney Swifts, several overflying Double-crested Cormorants, Mourning Dove, Song Sparrow, Cardinal, Am Robin, Am Crow, and Blue Jays.

Eric Salzman

In search of the Elegant

Went with Eileen Schwinn to Dune Road yesterday and again today (with our house guest Mark Grant) in search of the true and the elegant -- that is, the fabled Elegant Tern, originally seen at Cupsogue and later also at Tiana Beach. After some brief stops at Shinnecock Inlet and a couple of other places along Dune Road, we pulled into the bay parking lot at Tiana and set up at the eastern end of the town park facility. The wooden boardwalk at this point looks over a large stretch of salt marsh. The area between the boardwalk and the salt marsh, where the bay extends almost to paved road, has long been a popular area for Horseshoe Crab nesting and hence a required stop-off point for many shore and water birds that eat Horseshoe Crab eggs. Last year, when my granddaughter Juliette had swimming lessons here in the town park, I sat in the little gazebo and watched the shorebird migration which was notable for the presence of several Whimbrels, flying high and calling and also dropping into the somewhat distant marsh. The ocean came over the dunes at this point during Sandy and formed new sand flats that are bird friendly and easily visible from the boardwalk. At one stroke Sandy transformed this spot into a birdwatcher's delight.

The Elegant Tern has been a sometime visitor here in recent days and, with thunderstorms predicted for the East End on both days, Tiana seemed a better (safer) bet than the wide-open mud flats of Cupsogue. What's all the fuss about this tern? The normal range of the Elegant Tern is on the Pacific Coast from California (mainly southwestern CA) to Peru and Chile. Apparently one of the birds, heading north to the breeding grounds took a right tern (errr, turn) at the Panama Canal and ending up in the Atlantic.

Well, wherever that bird is now, it wasn't at Tiana Beach either afternoon. There were three Royal Terns (somewhat larger cousins of the Elegant) and several dozen Common Terns plus Herring, Great Black-backed and Laughing Gulls. Also a small flock of Black Skimmers (some actually skimming in approved Skimmer style), a few peep (Semipalmated and Least Sandpipers), Sanderlings, one or two Black-bellied Plovers, Ruddy Turnstone, numbers of Willets, an Am Oystercatcher or two, several Piping Plovers (including young ones) and hundreds of handsome dowitchers (as usual, mostly Short-billed but with one or two possible Long-billed mixed in). There was a definite movement of swallows both days, mostly Barn and Tree but with a few Bank mixed in.

Yesterday and this morning (in between the raindrops) was notable for the appearance of numbers of young Baltimore Orioles. These fledglings announce their liberation from the nest with a persistent triple-note call that is easy to recognize. They generally forage high but yesterday, as I took a time out on a neighbor's porch, one of them appeared in a bush in front of me right at eye level. 

Eric Salzman

One good tern!

A tern came flying up Weesuck Creek this morning that was noticeably larger than a Common (or Forster's) Tern but seemingly not as big as a Royal Tern. Not to be coy about it, the Elegant Tern -- originally found at Cupsogue but later seen at Tiana Beach -- is bigger than a Common Tern but smaller than a Royal. And Tiana Beach is visible directly opposite us on the opposite site of Shinnecock Bay. This was a single tern with a longish bill (could not see the color), a slim and definitely elegant silhouette and white secondaries. It was hugging the opposite side of the creek and, as it flew up the creek, was seen against the backdrop of bright sunlight so it was not easy to see detail. I waited patiently in the hot sun (and it was getter hotter by the minute) for the bird to come back down the creek as most of the terns will do. But it never showed up again and I finally left. I don't know how far a tern can see from the air at the top of the creek but it can certainly see Tiana Bay and the eastern portion of Shinnecock. Or, perhaps, in the other direction, the bays west of us, Quantuck and Moriches (the latter including Cupsogue). We already know that this bird is a wanderer!

Okay. Logical speculation takes me just so far. It could have been a Sandwich Tern (about the same size). Or even perhaps a Gull-billed or a Royal Tern whose size I have misjudged (both less likely but still within the realm of the possible). Alas, I'll never know for sure. 

The Hairy Woodpecker family is still in circulation; they stay in touch by calling each other with their loud PEETs. In fact, all four local woodpeckers were calling this morning. Also a Baltimore Oriole (they've been generally quiet for the past weeks). A loud yipping call from the far side of the creek remains a mystery; possible some kind of raptor. A silent visitor was an Eastern Phoebe, an immature that was probably born somewhere in the area.

Eric Salzman

Halloween in July

There's a family of Hairy Woodpeckers making the rounds. I've heard the calls several times but finally got a look at the birds. One of them is a young bird and when I first saw it, I thought it was Downy as it doesn't have the full-sized bill of the adults. However the two adults were nearby and calling loudly; the single loud PEEK, quite different from the calls of the Downy, is the giveaway. We now have all four local woodpeckers -- Hairy, Downy, Red-bellied and Flicker
-- in residence. The only other woodpecker that comes around these parts is the Yellow-bellied Sapsucker which is a winter visitor and regular migrant. Alas, the big Pileated Woodpecker is virtually unknown on LI. Maybe now that we have so much dead and dying standing woodpecker wood, it will deign to pay us a visit.

There were two White-breasted Nuthatches at a neighbor's feeder this morning raising hopes that there might some breeding activity in that department.

Carl Safina writes me that shorebird migration is already in full swing at his Lazy Point perch with flocks of birds heading west. Have to go down to Tiana Beach or Cupsogue, not only to look for the Elegant Tern and other reported vagrants but also to see what can be seen in the way of shorebird migration.

Good looks at a Halloween Pennant perched in the bushes at the edge of the marsh. This is a species that I associate with open meadows but it also turns up here at the edge of the marsh. What is a Halloween Pennant, did I hear someone ask? It's very distinctive dragonfly with yellow/orange black-striped wings.

Eric Salzman

Dog-days of early July

For the past few days, the creek has been full of Great Egrets on the ground or perched in the dead trees; today they all seem to have vanished with only a single Great Blue Heron and a Green Heron (flying out of the woods in full calling mode) to represent the long-legged tribe. The Osprey pair are still perched on the Chesterfield crane and barge but there is no evidence that they have begun work on their crane nest (wonder how long Chesterfield intends to keep the crane and its barge parked here).

Away from the water, the White-breasted Nuthatch is still working the many dead and dying tree trunks around the perimeter (but no sign of a nuthatch family yet). I heard what I am quite sure was a young Baltimore Oriole calling with the sound of an adult call not long after, and there is a big flock of Tufted Titmice working their way around the property in company with one or two Downy Woodpeckers.

In recent years, there has been some notable spring and early summer movements of migrant butterflies (Vanessa, Monarchs) and dragonflies (Darners) but nothing at all this year. The Seaside Dragonlets, which breed in the marsh, are out and there is a larger black dragonfly about which I have not yet identified. Dragonflies Through Binoculars is still a challenge!

Again a single cicada call rising and falling in mid morning: a different spot, a somewhat different sound and possibly a different kind of cicada than yesterday. Which one is the Dog-day Cicada?

Eric Salzman

The 1st cicada of summer and a great film about the environmental movement

Heard the first cicada of summer early this morning as it briefly tuned up and quickly wound down, one of the earliest (if not THE earliest) dates that I've heard them. This is one of the annual cicadas not the periodical type (which did not hatch out here this summer). Which species is it? Frankly, I have never been able to identify cicadas by their song. I always called them Dog-day Cicadas (today certainly is a dog day) but there are other possibilities: Tibicen tibicen (formerly T. chloromera), Tibicen canicularis (Dog Day Cicada), Tibicen linnei (Linne's Cicada), Tibicen lyricen (Lyric Cicada). Tibicen auletes (Great Dusk Calling Cicada) and Neocicada hieroglyphica (Hieroglyphic cicada) have all been listed for LI but, alas, good as I am with bird songs, I cannot ID cicadas by their songs.

Green Heron still burping this morning. I also found a nest which might belong to this species but it's very high and I can't see if it's occupied.

More flowers in bloom: Chicory or Blue Sailors, one of the native smartweeds, Heal-all or Selfheal (an herbal plant in the mint family), and Asiatic Dayflower (one of the spiderworts).

We had to drop our plans to visit northeast Brazil and are now considering visiting a small cloud forest lodge in  Ecuador owned by our friend Peter Joost. It is four hours from Quito (two from Otavalo), at about 6000 feet altitude so it is fairly cool/comfortably warm,  and reasonably bug-free. You can see it on their web site: El Refugio Cloud Forest Preserve, or El Refugio de Intag Preserve. The lodge is on 75 acres, half forest, and has a main house, other cottages with about seven rooms (maybe more by now) including one cottage with two bedrooms and kitchen; the other rooms all have private bath. Usual price is $66 per person per night including breakfast; other meals seem to be extra but we anticipate some kind of discount if we can put together a small group of four or five people or more. If we did this we could rent a car at the Quito airport and drive to the lodge, and then use the car for local trips too. We already have one friend in Syracuse interested, so we would like to find one or two more at least. We haven't decided how long a trip it should be, but we think it should be at least ten days and probably no more than two weeks total. Starting August 26th we are completely free. September is the last of the less rainy months in the lodge region though cloud forest has light intermittent rains even in dry season.

If anyone is seriously interested please let us know so we can start making plans. No shots are needed. Otavalo has a marvelous Saturday morning artisan market, mostly woven goods, and attracts many tourists from Quito. Ecuador is arguably the most agreeable country to visit in South America. We did a long trip in the early 1990s to Ecuador with Peter and two other friends, on our own. Please spread the word to your friends and, if you are with a group, mention it at your next meeting or in your newsletter. There are other lovely places to bird and visit in Ecuador in case anyone wants to travel elsewhere before or after the lodge.

Eric Salzman

Flickers and "A Fierce Green Fire"

Three noisy Northern Flickers consisted of either two adults and one youngster or one adult and two youngsters; I could see one of them feeding another and I'm certain this was an adult feeding a flying, fully fledged young. At least one of the young Osprey pair was back on the Chesterfield crane this morning and the creek was full of feeding, flying, flushing Great Egrets -- perhaps as many as a dozen and a half birds. The American Crows appear to be dispersing but the Fish Crows, perhaps adults and young, are active and calling.

Mark Kitchell's film, "A Fierce Green Fire", is the first and only authoritative history of the American environmental movement and its leaders. The title is taken from an essay by Aldo Leopold about his killing of a wolf and how it changed his life. The South Fork Natural History Museum (SOFO), located on the Bridgehampton-Sag Harbor Turnpike, will show the film on Sunday July 28th at 7 pm. (At 5 pm, biologist Judith Weis will be presenting a talk which will also be worthwhile),

One of the personalities featured in the film is David Brower, who brought the Sierra Club to national prominence and later founded Friends of the Earth; he  was Lorna's mentor and hired her as regional representative for Friends of the Earth, plays an important role. .If you want to understand the history of environmentalism in this country, it's a must-see. Here's the press release about the film:

"A FIERCE GREEN FIRE: The Battle for a Living Planet is the first big-picture exploration of the environmental movement – grassroots and global activism spanning fifty years from conservation to climate change. Directed and written by Mark Kitchell, Academy-Award nominated director of Berkeley in the Sixties, and narrated by Robert Redford, Meryl Streep, Ashley Judd, Van Jones and Isabel Allende, the film premiered at Sundance Film Festival 2012 and has won acclaim at dozens of festivals around the world.

A FIERCE GREEN FIRE chronicles the largest movement of the 20th century and one of the keys to the 21st. It brings together all the parts of environmentalism and connects them. It focuses on activism, people fighting to save their homes, their lives, the future – and succeeding against all odds. The film unfolds in five acts, each with a central story and character: • David Brower and the Sierra Club’s battle to halt dams in the Grand Canyon • Lois Gibbs and the Love Canal residents’ struggle against 20,000 tons of toxic chemicals • Paul Watson and Greenpeace’s campaigns to save whales and baby harp seals • Chico Mendes and Brazilian rubbertappers’ fight to save the Amazon rainforest • Bill McKibben and the 25-year effort to address the impossible issue – climate change Surrounding these main stories are strands like environmental justice, going back to the land, and movements of the global south such as Wangari Maathai in Kenya. Vivid archival film brings it all back and insightful interviews with activists shed light on what it all means. The film offers a deeper view of environmentalism as civilizational change, bringing our industrial society into sustainable balance with nature. It’s the battle for a living planet."

Eric Salzman

Fork-tailed Flycatcher here and gone

Here's another photo of the East Hampton Fork-tailed Flycatcher from Terry Sullivan clearly showing the longish tail (without white tips), gray back plus white wrapping round the neck. Fork-tailed Flycatchers breed from Mexico all the way to Argentina. The southern birds fly north to the tropics for their winter (which is now) and apparently some of them overshoot, ending up in North America! The breeding male has one of the longest tails in comparison to body size of any bird so this bird would be a female or, more likely, an immature with a shorter tail (still on the long side). Apparently the bird was seen on May 25 and not since; they typically appear one day and are gone the next -- presumably heading north still looking for their winter Amazonian refuge.

The Osprey pair were back on the Chesterfield crane which is still sitting on a barge in the creek. At any rate, they haven't started building their nest on the crane (or, as far as I can tell, anywhere else). I had a brief look at a hummingbird (species unidentified). White-breasted Nuthatch is still around. A Great Blue Heron with lots of white in its plumage is probably a different immature bird than the one that was here in June.

Spotted Wintergreen is starting to bloom. This is a striking pine barrens understory plant with bicolored green-and-white leaves (it looks like one of those tropical house plants). The white flowers make an almost ghostly appearance in the understory of the woods, first as round berry-like buds and then as a nodding waxy bloom.

Two desert plants which like our sandy soils are in full bloom right now: Prickly Pear Cactus (Opuntia) which is a LI native and Yucca or Spanish Bayonet, an almost native now widely escaped on LI. We used to have both of these plants on the property but they are now shaded out, the cactus gone completely, the Yucca still surviving but no longer blooming.

Eric Salzman

What is it?

Yesterday I received this blurry shot of a flycatcher from Terry Sullivan who reported seeing and photographing it with Larry Penny at the East Hampton Airport (didn't say when). His question was, why did an Eastern Kingbird have a yellow mark on his forehead. I first replied with a long and learned discussion about caratenoids and diet and how red plumage might occasionally turn up as orange or even yellow (or vice-versa). Then I did a double-take. Blurry as this photograph might be, I'm almost positive that it's not a Kingbird at all but a Fork-tailed Flycatcher from the tropics! Immature Fork-tailed Flycatcher can have a shortish tail (no longer than a Kingbird) and they have gray backs and a lot more white coming up around the nape. And they have a yellow crown patch that is larger than the Eastern Kingbird's red patch and more easily displayed. A better view of the tail would have clinch this but there doesn't seem to have been any better view. I'm trying to find out when this bird was there, if it might still be around and if there are any other shots that might have been taken! Fork-tailed Flycatcher is a super vagrant from South America but, unlikely as it might seem, it turns up in North America with surprising regularity. I once had one fly across the Long Island Expressway!

Unlike the Fork-tailed, the Great Crested Flycatcher is a local -- at least in the spring and summer -- but we usually see one bird at a time. This morning there were three, all calling and clearly traveling together. This was almost certainly a family group with at least one recently fledged youngster. Great Crested Flycatcher nests in old woodpecker holes and we have plenty of those.

The two young Osprey were on the twin poles of the crane barge this morning. No sign of the Yellow-crowned Night Heron but Green Herons were active. Also the Willets who have been staying on the east side of the creek recently. .

Pokeweed everywhere is sending up little spikes with clusters of those waxy white-and-green flowers that will later turn into purple berries. Its homely companion plant, Pilewort or Fireweed, is making a late arrival on the scene, and now pushing up everywhere. Both of these plants are taking advantage of edge and understory areas that were cleared out by the hurricanes.

Eric Salzman