Category Archives: Avalon Preserve

A Night Heron Hangout

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Saturday, August 31, 2013,

In my previous post I mentioned seeing fourteen Black-crowned Night Herons behind the Old Grist Mill in Stony Brook. Here are twelve of them. I was shooting with a long lens and it was impossible to capture the whole lot in one shot. Missing here are the adult featured in my prior post and an immature bird that was feeding nearby. I have very little doubt that even more of these guys were congregating along Mill Creek as it leads to Stony Brook Harbor.

This is not a pic that I would ordinarily publish because, well, it’s not very good. But folks both here and on Facebook have expressed an interest in seeing it so here it is. As usual, click on the pic to view a larger version. It’ll make it easier to count the birds.

What I don’t really understand is why so many of these birds are adults. I only see two immature birds in this lot. The younger birds are those which are mostly brown, while the adult plumage is largely black and white. I would expect to find more young birds, especially at this time of year. When I see these guys on the Nissequogue River the ratio between between adult and immature birds is much more even. I imagine that there are features of Mill Creek that draw more adult or experienced Night Herons whereas the Nissy offers more of a family atmosphere. Maybe it’s easier to learn how to fish on the Nissequogue. Or, perhaps the Nissy makes for a better training ground for up and coming herons. I really don’t know. Look, I just take the pictures, even these lousy ones. JK

The Plume, Boss, The Plume

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Wednesday, August 28, 2013,

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Here’s a head shot of a Black-crowned Night Heron. Its plume is clearly visible from this angle along with that beautiful red eye. This is a pic I would never have gotten without a head’s up from my friend Sue. Sue is also my boss at Four Harbors Audubon Society. She says, “Take this pic”, and I say, “Yes, ma’am, thank you ma’am. May I take another?” Anyways, as I was stowing my gear at the end of our August walk, Sue approached me and asked if I had seen the Night Herons behind the Old Grist Mill. I hadn’t. In fact, I hadn’t even looked. The Mill is directly across from the Duck Pond but there are so many times that I’m like a horse with blinders on. I just don’t ‘see’ it, if you know what I mean. Lucky for me, Sue did. I grabbed a camera and went to check it out. Right from the street I could see a proud-looking adult standing tall upon a rock. I took a couple of pics but even at street level I was still fifteen or more feet above him. I wanted to see if I could get a more horizontal shot so I scouted out the area. Just beyond the Mill is a private road and I like to be respectful of such things. Plus, I’m afraid of shotguns. Happily, the Mill itself has a back yard of sorts and I skirted around to the left of the building and found an opening. And there, from an angle not available from the street, I saw the largest concentration of Black-crowned Night Herons that I have ever encountered. There were at least fourteen birds within view. It was amazing. I see these guys nearly daily on the Nissequogue River but never in such numbers. A real treat. I don’t think that the Old Grist Mill will be one of my blind spots anymore. Thanks, Sue, for opening my eyes.  JK

Two Green Frogs At Avalon

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Sunday, June 23, 2013,

I took an early morning hike through Avalon Preserve Friday. It was the first day of summer and truly beautiful. ‘Glorious’ as my friend Sue would say. As soon as I entered through the gate, Catbirds were serenading me. Always a good start to any day. After climbing the stone steps to where the Frog Pond is – that’s what I call it, I don’t know that it has an official name – I found myself being serenaded by an entirely different set of critters.

The banjo twang of the Northern Green Frog my not be as intricate or downright pretty as the melodies of the Gray Catbird, but to me it is no less welcome. When I was growing up, frogs (and toads) were everywhere. Their calls, especially at night, were a natural part of the landscape. The choruses of several species of frogs near any body of fresh water was a given from early spring throughout the entire summer.  But we live in a different world today. Amphibians have been in crisis for over two decades. They have been disappearing worldwide at an alarming rate. Those choruses that have provided the background soundtrack on this planet for over 370 million years are being silenced all too rapidly. These songs were already ancient when the first dinosaurs started showing up, let alone Catbirds. I miss those songs; I miss their sheer abundance. I think the whole planet is a lesser place without them. So when I tell you that I appreciate the song of our local frogs, from the deep bass of Bullfrogs to the high soprano calls of Spring Peepers and all those in between, please note that this is one occasion when I’m not being a wiseguy.

These pics are of two different Northern Green Frogs. As you can see, Green Frog coloration can vary quite a bit even amongst the same population. I took the first shot just after six AM. (I told you I was out early). The second shot was taken just before eight after I had strolled through Avalon’s fields. As always, I was out looking for pics to take. I took well over 500 hundred photographs that morning, capturing shots of several bees, birds, flowers, rabbits, and turtles, but these two pics were my favorites of the day. They were also the most difficult. I really had to stealth both of these guys. Judging their approximate location by their calls is one thing, but actually finding them and getting close enough to grab a shot is another. When I was young, I was very good at finding and catching anything from frogs, snakes, or turtles. It was what we did when we weren’t playing baseball. To be honest, I was much better at catching critters than I was fly balls. It’s nice to know I still have some skills left. I still don’t suggest putting me in center field. JK