From Scully

First Fox Kits

 

May 9, 2013

Out of the den and onto ... the road? I was surprised to find a mother fox with two kits on South Bay Avenue this morning. It was a unexpected treat. At this age (probably 4 or 5 weeks), they're usually more reclusive and keep close to their den. After capturing some video I did my best to scare them away - I hate the thought of them getting comfortable near the road. Also, listen carefully to the video for the unmistakable call of the Eastern Towhee - it's commonly identified as "drink-your-tea!"

- Enrico

2013 Peconic Alewife Run

I toured of some alewife restoration sites across Long Island today, including projects on the Carmens, Swan and Peconic Rivers. Most impresssive of all was the HUGE congregation of alewives at the Woods Hull dam in Riverhead. As the video below shows, the sandy pool is blackened by an estimated 10 to 15 thousand fish. This is on a small branch of the Peconic, just a few hundreds yards upstream from tidal waters and the rock-ramp at Grangelbel Park. It's thrilling to see the Peconic run rebounding so well (thanks in large part to the rock-ramp). On the other hand, it's so frustrating to see these fish blocked by a wall of concrete at what should be just the start of their upstream journey  - they should have access to miles of good spawning habitat. 

- Enrico

 

Fire Island Breach - Let the Science Decide

Like everyone, we have been watching carefully over the past few months as the situation regarding the breach in the Otis Pike Wilderness Area on Fire Island has developed. We have been excited by the breach's potential to improve water quality in the Great South Bay and bolster the overall health of the estuary. At the same time, we have nervously watched the high tides at our home on the Scully Estate in Islip and wondered if the breach might be contributing to increased flooding. But we have buoyed by the ongoing research showing little change to the Bay's tidal regime and by reports that flooding has been increased of late, not just uniformly across Long Island, but consistently up and down the East Coast. Throughout the past few months, we have been proud that the National Park Service and other public officials have allowed science to govern the course of action, and have not been swayed by anecdotal claims and unsubstantiated fears. As calls for closure of the breach continue, we hope they stay the course. The breach at Fire Island impacts not just the many bayfront homeowners, but everyone who loves the Great South Bay and our dynamic coastal ecosystem - let's hope any and all decisions about its future are based on broad public interest and, most importantly, on sound scientific evidence.

 

 

 

 

reports of cleaner water, relieved by the studies showing little to no impact to the tidal regime and bouyed by the public officials' willingness let science govern the decisions. We have  

Early Season Grasshopper?

I was surprised, during a walk across a still largely snow-covered field in Nassau County today, to find small grasshopper-like insects fleeing my approach. It was so strange to see them walking across the snow. We've had a few days of mild temperatures, but it still seems early to me. I'll do some research on this, but in the meantime, anybody out there have any idea of the species? Is this always an early-emerging insect? I've attached a few photos below.

- Enrico

 

Katydid Memories

In reading through the Washington Post's Urban Jungle archive (which I just recently discovered), I was reminded (by the July 2010 post) of a katydid I encountered and photographed early last fall. I intended to post the photos, but didn't get to it. I was walking my dog on a gray, rainy afternoon when I stumbled upon this bright bit of green on the sidewalk in front of me. After years of craning my neck in frustration to try to see them in the treetops, I felt as if I had seen Nellie. Or Bigfoot. But after getting a close-up look at one it's no wonder they're nearly impossible to see in the trees - they look exactly like leaves! I remember being struck by the beautiful shade of green, especially through the shimmering beads of water. And by the eyes ... those strange, watchful eyes.

- Enrico

Walter Erwood Community Fundraiser

This year's Walter Erwood Community Fundraiser will benefit Seatuck! Make plans to join us on Friday, February 8 for what promises to be a fun night. Details below ...

Bats-n-Brews 2012 - Biggest & Best Yet?

Well, we hyped this past weekend's 3rd Annual Bats-n-Brews Fundraiser as our "biggest and best yet" ... and I don't think I'll get much of an argument in saying that I think we hit the mark. From the perfect autumn night right down to all the details that our team worked so hard to plan, the more that 200 people in attendance enjoyed a simply fantastic evening.

Michael S. Fishman, Chair of the Northeast Bat Working Group, gave an informative and entertaining lecture (generously sponsored by the New York Community Bank Foundation!) on the bats of Long Island, including his recent research on LI Bat populations and the status of the White Nose Syndrome that is killing so many bats across eastern North America. He also teased the crowd with the possibility that he'll be conducting research at the Scully Estate and/or the Seatuck National Wildlife Refuge next summer - which may give our members the opportunity to participate in his unique study. Thanks for the great presentation, Mike - we hope to see you back in Islip next summer! 

Michael Fishman addressing the standing-room-only crowd

The night also included a delicous - and beautifully presented - spread of food from Marconi Manor Caterers. It was a crowd pleaser for sure. I heard people raving about everything from the roast turkey and butternut squash ravioli to the potato-leek soup and quinoa salad. I think it's safe to say that nobody went home hungry! We owe a big thanks to Anthony and Helen from Marconi for they're long-standing support of Seatuck and all their help in taking the Bats-n-Brews event to a new level. As always, they and their staff were a pleasure to work with.

There was, of course, also some beer. In fact, in the end, attendees were treated to tastes from 11 different breweries from across Long Island, all the way from Brooklyn to Southampton! The final list included: Barrage, Barrier, Blind Bat, Blue Point, Brooklyn, Great South Bay, John Harvard's, Port Jefferson, Six Point, Spider Bite and Southampton. It was an amazing assemblage of craft breweries!

And four of the breweries - Blind Bat, Spider Bite, Southampton Publick House and Port Jefferson - had representatives (in some cases the founders themselves!) present to discuss and promote their beer, which everyone seemed to enjoy. Between them and the other breweries, they put out quite an impressive offering, with everything from refreshing pilsners to rich stouts. There was certainly something for everyone and, from what I saw, the selection brought a lot of smiles to the crowd. I'll confess to having sampled a few myself and everything I had was excellent. I've been on a bit of a stout/porter kick lately, so if I was pressed for my favorites of the night, I'd probably say it was a toss-up between Blind Bat's Hellsmoked Porter (an all-time favorite!) and Spider Bite's Boris The Spider - their Russian Imperial Stout (which is destined to become an all-time favorite!)

And, on the topic of beer, I'd be remiss if I didn't mention the two people who made the whole thing happen: John Thomas, our volunteer Chair of the "Brew Committee" who was almost single-handedly responsible for wrangling so many breweries to participate, and Bob Almes of Islip Cold Beer & Beverage, who provided invaluable logistical support (not to mention a generous donation) to help make the event possible. Thanks, guys.

Finally, last but most certainly not least, the night was capped off by another rousing show by The Decoys, who had everyone clappin', toe-tappin', singing and dancing along! If you haven't seen this band, you're missing out. And if you haven't seen them in the friendly confines of the Scully Estate, then you really have to make sure to get a ticket for next year's event. They're just a great band that plays a wide range of music - all with an infectious passion and enjoyment. I'm already thinking that I won't be able to wait until next year's Bats-n-Brews to see them again - we'll have to figure out a way to get them back sooner!

All in all, it was a wonderful event that left all the attendees raving and, most importantly, raised a considerable amount of money to help support the Environmental Center and Seatuck's work. As always, our staff (Stephanie DerGarabedian, Ellen Hanzl and Peter Walsh) and our incredible Board members & volunteers deserve all the credit for the event's success. Thanks, everyone!

For those of you who have been to a few, do you agree - was this our best yet? And what can we tweak for next year? For those of you who missed it, we hope to see you for Bats-n-Brews 2013!

- Enrico

 

EcoSummit Day 4 – Presidential Inspiration

It’s not everyday that one gets to hear directly from a head of state. So it was with some anticipation and excitement that I settled in for EcoSummit’s Thursday plenary with Olafur Grimsson, the President of Iceland. Mr. Grimsson, who is serving his 5th term and is the nation’s longest serving President (he’s only their 5th since independence from Denmark in 1944), is a world leader on the issues of climate change and renewable energy.

I was impressed right away. The first thing he said was that it was an honor for him, “a mere President,” to follow Rattan Lal, the Ohio State University Professor of Soil Science, whom he called a “brilliant scientist.” Mr. Grimsson then launched into a rousing speech about climate change. He said that despite everything – the scientific consensus, the meetings, the speeches, and even Al Gore – the world was still far from taking the necessary actions to address the problem. He said the world has failed to recognize that its dependence on ice and on the “three poles” that harbor it (including the Himalayas as the “third pole”).

He wondered what it would take to get the world to its “A-ha Moment.” He asked why, when we (humans, not just Americans) celebrate NASA for going to the Moon and to Mars, we don’t act on the bad news they present on climate change. Then, recounting a recent visit to his country from a group of Chinese scientists that had traveled through the newly passable Arctic Ocean, he suggested the A-ha Moment was upon us. The moment, he argued, should be that China, long one of the major obstacles to international agreement on climate change, was now ready to not only get serious on the issue, but to lead. He called it a “new reality” on climate change. The world must see the Chinese movement on climate change as the final evidence it needs to act. Grimsson said the Chinese were issuing a “wake-up call” to the West. The key question now, he explained, is whether the West will answer. He added, "there are no more excuses."

EcoSummit Day 3 - Into the Field

After two long days of lectures, I welcomed the EcoSummit’s “Field Trip” day on Wednesday. Like the rest of the conference, the choice of which field trip to attend was difficult; there were nearly 30 options, with everything from canoe trips to zip-lining to a visit to the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in Cleveland. Although many of the trips sounded like fun, I opted to join Metro Parks (a regional organization that manages thousands of acres of nature preserves) on a visit to the Darby Plains. I was initially interested because the area, which includes Darby Creek, is listed by the Nature Conservancy as one of the country’s “Last Great Places.” But I was sold on the trip because of its diversity: it included a visit to a huge grassland restoration site, a look at efforts to protect watersheds and a visit to a new nature center – all topics that related to our work at Seatuck.

- Enrico

Here’s a few photos from the day:

Site being readied for fall planting of tall grass prarie seeds: a large-scale herbicide application denuded the landscape of non-natives and heavy machinery works restoring the natural hydrology. For someone used to Long Island's smaller scale, the sheer size of the 800-acre undertaking was impressive.  

The new Metro Parks Nature Center, built into the side of a hill and boasting a green roof, will open in a few weeks. It will also feature a 55-foot "living stream" exhibit.

Darby Creek is not only beautiful, but also incredibly rich in diversity. It contains 40 species of freshwater mussels and more than a hundred fish species, including rare suckers, darters and longnose gar (see below)!

Dispatches from the EcoSummit - Day 1

Seatuck Director Enrico Nardone is attending the 4th International EcoSummit in Columbus, Ohio. He'll be reporting back regularly on the proceedings. 

Day One

Already impressed by the looming presence of Ohio State University and its 50,000+ students, I arrived at the cavernus Columbus Convention Center this morning to find the place swarming with the 1600 participants (from 78 countries!) attending the EcoSummit. It was an impressive scene of people and languages from all over the world. Then, thumbing through the day’s schedule, I found I had 25 concurrent symposia from which to choose, each with 4 or 5 speakers on the itineary! It was enough to have my head spinning before 8 a.m. 

Thankfully, E.O. Wilson was there to calm the storm. The renowned Harvard professor, conservationist, author, sociobiologist, and preeminent myrmecologist (ant scientist) gave the conference’s opening lecture. He wasn’t as dynamic as I expected given his reputation (c’mon, he’s an ant scientist, right?), but he was witty, charming and inspirational. He started by making the case for conserving biodiversity, arguing that we too often emphasize protection of the physical environment (water, air, etc.) over the living environment. Instead, he urged adoption of the “Wilson Principle,” which states that by conserving the living environment you also necessarily save the physical  environment in the process, but also that the converse is not necessarily true. And he explained (with great humility, I thought) that we just don’t know enough to begin to understand what the living environment needs. Where there are nearly 2 million named species on the planet, he said, there are another estimated 8 to 10 million species that remain unnamed ... let alone understood. It was a great start to the conference.

Professor Wilson was followed by Jared Diamond, another “rock star” of the conservation business. The author of the Pulitzer Prize winning Guns, Germs and Steel and a host of other popular science books also made the case for humility and a conservative approach, suggesting that past human societies have collapsed for failing to comprehend how they were dependant upon or impacting the environment (the subject is the topic of another of his books: Collapse: How Societies Choose to Fail or Succeed.) 

The rest of the day was a bit of a blur. It was a string of fantastic lectures on a variety of topics related to Seatuck’s work, from salt marshes to native plants to restoring ecosystem functions in suburban landscapes. I’ll have to sift through the nearly 15 pages of notes I took before attempting to summarize anything I learned. Professor Wilson's presentation aside, I have to confess that my head is still spinning. 

- Enrico