Tim and I were on a quest today. I wanted to see the snowy owls that have been seen at Jones Beach and was afraid they may leave as the weather warms. We drove out to West End Beach 2 and met a mixed batch of birders. The first group we met was happy to point us in the right direction although we didn’t really know where they meant. The second group was quite a contrast and were quite closed and tried to discourage us from looking. Tim’s strategy was to use the binoculars to look for groups of bird watchers who might be watching the birds we were looking for. This didn’t work too well but then someone told us that the area had become so popular that it was fenced off. This we could find. Even then, we wouldn’t have been able to see the Saw-Whet owl sequestered there until a photographer showed us it hidden in a pine tree. It wasn’t the Snowy owl though so we were off to the nature center. There the guide told us they hadn’t seen it that day but had seen birders in the west end of the park. This seems to be our best strategy, find the birders who might actually be looking at something and then try to find it. We saw a snowy owl but it was off in the distance and really looked like a piece of styrofoam.
Then we were off to the Connetquot State park for a hike. We went to the fish hatchery where even without others, we were able to find trout trying to jump over a dam. The smaller ones had a clear advantage because they could slip between the dam and the bridge over it. The larger ones jumped so high that they rammed the bridge and fell back into the water, perhaps a little dazed, to be snagged by one of the fly fisherman.
When we returned to Fire Island, there was another crowd there enjoying the full moon rising over the lighthouse. Quite a day. We didn’t pack a lunch so I had some chocolate covered almonds in the car, which I saved in a clean exam glove and we enjoyed a snack from the candy man.
Candy Man
Island and North Country Life 