October Nature Sightings

One doesn’t even have to venture out of the house to note one of early October’s nature events: the maturation of the seeds of our most common trees, the oaks. It’s been “raining” acorns this past week, and they can make quite a loud noise when they land on the deck, car and other hard surfaces outside. As far as I know, the trigger that causes annual fluctuations in acorn and other mast production, including hickories and beeches here, is still a mystery.

As is the case at our local farms, where the last crops are being harvested, the last of nature’s 2021 crops are ripening and wildlife are busy either fattening up for the coming winter, the long migration south, or gathering and storing food for the cold season. The now ripe, dark purple berries of tupelo are a rich source of energy and fat that fuels many songbirds on the flight south. Chipmunks and flying squirrels cache seeds and nuts in their respective dens; underground in the case of chipmunks and in tree cavities, tree nests, as well as attics in the case of the arboreal flying squirrel. Gray squirrels follow the “don’t put all your eggs in one basket” principle, digging many small holes to bury one to three acorns in each throughout their territories. Even after being buried in snow, they can locate and retrieve these small caches of food.

At this time of year, the great egrets are most numerous in our area. This large, white, long-legged wading bird is known to make a northward migration in late summer and early fall after its nesting season before heading south for the winter. This piscivore arrives in our salt marshes to harvest our local bounty of striped killifish, mummichogs and Atlantic silversides, now all fully grown. When the silversides leave the marshes and bays and head offshore to their wintering grounds, the egrets will turn south to overwinter in North Carolina and points south of there.

The great egret is one of many birds that were hunted for their feathers, which were used to adorn hats, in the latter half of the 1800s. One of my references states that, in 1903, an ounce of bird feathers commanded a price double that of an ounce of gold. By the time conservation laws were enacted in 1913, the millinery industry had nearly wiped out this species.

A slow and steady recovery began, and by the 1950s, it had expanded its nesting range north into coastal New Jersey, Long Island and Connecticut. Today some of the larger nesting colonies in our area are located on Gardiners Island and Plum Island.

The National Weather Service records for this past September showed an average temperature that was 2.7 degrees higher than normal. Classic September cool nights and comfortably warm days did not appear until October. Participants in last weekend’s Montauk triathlon were treated to the best conditions ever encountered at that race. The pre-dawn arrival, set up and sunrise start is usually a frigid affair, but the temperature was quite comfortable. And Fort Pond, the site of the swim portion of the race, was not only warmer than usual but the water was uncharacteristically clear. Many thanks to all who have been working on various techniques and strategies for improving the pond’s water quality.

Our fall flowers, dominated by the violet and white blossoms of the asters and the yellow-flowered goldenrods, are in peak color. Speaking of goldenrods, a favorite nectaring flower for migrating monarch butterflies, I have not seen very many of the latter this year.

Dr. Lisa Filippi of Hofstra University and a member of the Long Island Coyote Study Group sent me a photo from one of our study sites in Nassau County. It showed the adult male of a breeding pair, and two of its pups born this spring. The pups should be ready to disperse from their natal territory soon. This is probably the most dangerous period in their lives, when they strike out into unfamiliar areas in search of their own territories and potential mates. In western Long Island, this will involve crossing many busy roads, and a large percentage will succumb to motor vehicle collisions.