color

We had guests from out-of-town -- far out-of-town (i.e. Colorado) -- and we took them down to Dune Road and the Quogue Wildlife Refuge. Dune Road was disappointingly quiet on the bird front but there was a regular stream of Monarch Butterflies, a very hopeful sign after the recent collapse of this species. We've had very few individuals visit us on the north side of the bay but they are still (again) working their way south along the barrier beach in some modest numbers.

The Quogue Refuge was extremely quiet -- it felt like there were more visitors than birds -- and the low level of the water table is shocking (this has been a summer almost without rain). But the refuge quite handsome in its early fall plumage. Although green holds its own in the evergreen forest, yellows and browns begin to dominate the understory shrubs and wildflowers and most of decidouous trees. But the most dramatic colors are the reds and oranges of the Tupelos and Red Maples that grow everywhere in the wet areas. Some of the local vines and shrubs -- Poison Ivy, Viburnum for instance -- also get in on the action. All together, they make a display that rivals on a smaller scale the fall colors of New England.

Eric Salzman